Let's Talk About Love World Tour

Let's Talk About Love World Tour
Tour by Celine Dion

Promotional poster for 1999 tour
Associated album Let's Talk About Love
S'il suffisait d'aimer
Start date 21 August 1998 (1998-08-21)
End date 31 December 1999 (1999-12-31)
Legs 5
No. of shows 71 in North America
6 in Asia
11 in Europe
88 Total
Box office US $52.4 million (Only 54 shows were calculated.) [$75.33 million in 2016 dollars][1]
Celine Dion concert chronology

The Let's Talk About Love World Tour is the eighth concert tour by Canadian recording artist Celine Dion. Visiting North America, Asia and Europe; the trek supported Dion's fifth English studio album Let's Talk About Love and her eleventh French studio album, S'il suffisait d'aimer. Initially planned for 1998, the success of the tour continued into 1999. In 1998, the tour earned nearly $30 million from its concerts in North America alone.[2] It was also nominated for "Major Tour of the Year" and "Most Creative Stage Production" at the Pollstar Industry Awards.[3] Overall, the tour grossed about $52.4 million from 54 reported shows.

Background

During a press conference following her win at the 25th Annual American Music Awards, Dion stated she would like to start touring during the summer of 1998. Following the award show appearance, the singer performed at the The Crown Showroom in Melbourne and the Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu with a set list similar to that in the Falling Into You Tour, but also including "The Reason" and "My Heart Will Go On." The tour was officially announced in February 1998. Originally called Celine Dion: On Tour 1998,[4] the tour was set to begin August in Boston, this would mark the third time Dion has begun a tour in the city.[5] She says it is the closest U.S. city to Montreal and considers it a "lucky charm".[5]

The tour was sponsored by Procter & Gamble (Canada), Avon (Europe)[6] and Ericsson (United States).[4] The telecommunications company initiated an aggressive campaign with Dion. Commercials were shown throughout the US and Canada showing concertgoers using their cell phones as lighters during Dion's performance.[4] Those who purchased an Ericsson phone were given a special behind-the-scenes tour video entitled "Celine Dion: In Her Own Words".[4] The tour was met early with controversy as the singer's performance at Madison Square Garden was subject to a ticket scam.[7] During the trek, Dion opened the Broward County Civic Arena. The concert was attended by nearly 20,000 spectators and was sold out with 2 two hours.[8]

Dion further remarked the setlist of the tour will contain songs from her current album, her hits and a few French selections. She continued:

"I'm going to definitely sing the new songs and a few French ones and definitely people's favorite. I can't do them all, unfortunately, because I have to do a two-hour show. It would take a long time to sing all my songs. I hope we have chosen the right ones for people to hear."[9]

During the course of the tour, Dion released a French-language album entitled, S'il suffisait d'aimer and a Christmas album called, These Are Special Times.[5] In November 1998, Dion had her first CBS special promoting the album. It featured Rosie O'Donnell performing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" with Dion. The show received two Emmy Award nominations.[10] The singer ended the year with performing at the Billboard Music Award, Top of the Pops and an appearance on Touched by an Angel.

As the tour continued into 1999, Dion performed in Hong Kong, Japan and an additional outing for North America. During this time, Dion's husband René Angélil was diagnosed with skin cancer.[11] This forced the singer to postpone the remaining dates in the U.S. and the entire European leg. Dion resumed the tour in mid-June and thanked fans for their support during the rough period. After her tour of Europe, Dion's team announced the singer would give a special New Year's Eve concert in Montreal. Dubbed "The Millennium Concert" the show featured a new setlist and special appearances by prominent Canadian singers.[12] At the same time, David Foster began negotiations to have Dion, Barbra Streisand, Whitney Houston and Andrea Bocelli to conduct a mini-tour titled "Three Divas and a Tenor". The tour never came to fruition.[13]

In October, Dion opened the new Pepsi Center in Denver, replacing the McNichols Sports Arena. Dion dedicated the concert to the victims and survivors of the Columbine High School massacre. All proceeds from the show were donated to Colorado Organization of Victim Assistance. The singer was joined onstage by the Colorado Children's Chorale to perform "Let's Talk About Love" and "Friend of Mine Columbine"— a memorial song written by Stephen and Jonathan Cohen.[14] The singer stated it would be her last tour as she wanted to focus on becoming a mother.[12] Later, Dion released her first English greatest hits album, All the Way... A Decade of Song. The album was promoted by Dion's second CBS special, taking place at Radio City Music Hall. The special featured Dion performing her classics along with new songs on the album. The show featured duets with 'N Sync and Gloria Estefan. After her break, Dion began her first residency show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace from 2003 to 2007. The tour serves as Dion's final concert tour until 2008 for the Taking Chances World Tour.

About the stage

The tour brought a new aspect to performing for Dion. The show was presented in the round. The stage designer Yves Aucoin states he wanted the show to be a big production while having an intimate feel.[15] The stage itself was shaped like a heart with five circular platforms that raised and lowered the members of the stage.[15] Above, four large video screens formed a circular pattern. The floor of the stage was made of large video screens utilizing the JumboTron technology.[15] Dion initially was nervous performing in the way, as the performer has very little time to relax while on stage.[9] She continues to say she got the idea from attending a Stevie Wonder concert during her childhood.[9] The entire production cost more than $10 million.[16]

Opening acts

Setlist

Additional notes

Shows

List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, amount of available tickets and gross revenue
Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
North America[20][21][22][23]
21 August 1998 Boston United States TD Garden 35,342 / 35,342 $1,950,481
22 August 1998
25 August 1998 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center 19,438 / 19,438 $1,110,747
26 August 1998 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center N/A N/A
30 August 1998 East Rutherford Izod Center 19,075 / 19,075 $1,172,810
31 August 1998 Uniondale Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 16,909 / 16,909 $1,004,330
3 September 1998 New York City Madison Square Garden 37,448 / 37,448 $2,256,115
4 September 1998
8 September 1998 Toronto Canada Molson Canadian Amphitheatre 41,666 / 41,854 $1,395,742
9 September 1998
14 September 1998 Chicago United States United Center 38,436 / 38,436 $2,402,720
15 September 1998
18 September 1998 Cleveland Quicken Loans Arena N/A N/A
19 September 1998 Cincinnati US Bank Arena
22 September 1998 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills 41,212 / 41,212 $2,253,511
23 September 1998
25 September 1998 Chapel Hill Dean Smith Center 19,942 / 19,942 $1,031,378
27 September 1998 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum N/A N/A
28 September 1998 Nashville Bridgestone Arena 17,805 / 17,805 $980,536
30 September 1998 Tampa Amalie Arena 17,987 / 19,558 $986,115
2 October 1998 Orlando Amway Arena N/A N/A
3 October 1998 Sunrise BB&T Center
7 October 1998 Calgary Canada Scotiabank Saddledome
9 October 1998 Vancouver Rogers Arena 18,858 / 18,858 $653,579
10 October 1998 Seattle United States KeyArena 14,986 / 14,986 $844,925
13 October 1998 Oakland Oracle Arena 17,832 / 17,832 $1,115,100
14 October 1998 San Jose SAP Center 17,648 / 17,648 $1,073,177
16 October 1998 Las Vegas Thomas & Mack Center 17,013 / 17,842 $1,178,721
21 October 1998 Inglewood The Forum 14,821 / 14,821 $894,590
22 October 1998 Anaheim Honda Center 16,043 / 16,043 $923,845
25 October 1998 Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Arena 17,489 / 17,489 $995,343
29 November 1998 Pittsburgh Civic Arena 17,347 / 17,347 $986,476
1 December 1998 Albany Times Union Center 13,774 / 13,774 $853,295
5 December 1998 Halifax Canada Scotiabank Centre N/A N/A
7 December 1998 Montreal Bell Centre 142,485 / 142,485 $5,070,308
8 December 1998
11 December 1998
12 December 1998
13 December 1998
17 December 1998
18 December 1998
Asia[22]
25 January 1999 Kowloon City Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport N/A N/A
28 January 1999 Osaka Japan Osaka Dome
29 January 1999
31 January 1999 Tokyo Tokyo Dome
1 February 1999
3 February 1999 Nagoya Nagoya Dome
North America[22][24][25]
12 February 1999 Honolulu United States Aloha Stadium N/A N/A
25 March 1999 Minneapolis Target Center 17,481 / 17,481 $963,771
26 March 1999 Milwaukee BMO Harris Bradley Center 18,765 / 18,765 $1,019,734
29 March 1999 Kansas City Kemper Arena 18,471 / 18,471 $982,038
31 March 1999 Indianapolis Market Square Arena 15,697 / 15,697 $898,713
2 April 1999 Dallas Reunion Arena 17,765 / 17,765 $993,233
4 April 1999 San Antonio Alamodome 17,715 / 17,715 $1,047,750
6 April 1999 Memphis Pyramid Arena 15,991 / 17,000 $948,130
7 April 1999 Birmingham Legacy Arena N/A N/A
11 April 1999 Houston Compaq Center 15,847 / 15,847 $904,499
12 April 1999 New Orleans Mercedes-Benz Superdome 20,047 / 20,047 $1,153,562
Europe[24][26]
14 June 1999 Amsterdam Netherlands Amsterdam Arena 61,183 / 61,183 N/A
16 June 1999 Brussels Belgium King Baudouin Stadium 70,000 / 70,000
19 June 1999 Saint-Denis France Stade de France 180,000 / 180,000
20 June 1999
1 July 1999 Zurich Switzerland Letzigrund 50,000 / 50,000
3 July 1999 Munich Germany Olympic Stadium 52,998 / 52,998
6 July 1999 Sheffield England Don Valley Stadium 50,000 / 50,000
8 July 1999 Edinburgh Scotland Murrayfield Stadium 67,000 / 67,000
10 July 1999 London England Wembley Stadium 160,000 / 160,000
11 July 1999
13 July 1999 Glasgow Scotland Hampden Park 58,621 / 58,621 $3,181,922
North America[24][26][27]
8 September 1999 Montreal Canada Bell Centre 41,666 / 41,854 $1,395,742
9 September 1999
11 September 1999 Quebec City Colisee Pepsi N/A N/A
13 September 1999 Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre 32,437 / 32,437 $1,435,498
14 September 1999
17 September 1999 Toronto Air Canada Centre 37,138 / 37,138 $1,786,345
18 September 1999
20 September 1999 Buffalo United States First Niagara Center 18,070 / 18,070 $977,299
24 September 1999 Boston TD Garden 18,845 / 18,845 $1,130,203
25 September 1999 Providence Dunkin Donuts Center N/A N/A
27 September 1999 Columbus Value City Arena 16,370 / 16,370 $924,251
29 September 1999 Omaha Omaha Civic Auditorium N/A N/A
1 October 1999 Denver Pepsi Center
3 October 1999 St. Louis Scottrade Center 19,354 / 19,354 $1,089,942
22 October 1999 Atlantic City Circus Maximus Theater N/A N/A
23 October 1999
24 October 1999
5 November 1999 Sunrise BB&T Center 18,179 / 18,701 $1,114,765
31 December 1999 Montreal Canada Bell Centre 20,001 / 20,001 $3,586,221
Total 1,177,858 / 1,182,165 (99.6%) $52,355,337
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
16 April 1999 Buffalo, New York Marine Midland Arena Rescheduled to 20 September 1999[28]
17 April 1999 Columbus, Ohio Value City Arena Rescheduled to 27 September 1999[28]
19 April 1999 Providence, Rhode Island Dunkin Donuts Center Rescheduled to 25 September 1999[28]
29 April 1999 Toronto, Canada Air Canada Centre Rescheduled to 17 September 1999[28]
30 April 1999 Toronto, Canada Air Canada Centre Rescheduled to 18 September 1999[28]
5 May 1999 Ottawa, Canada Canadian Tire Centre Rescheduled to 13 September 1999[28]
6 May 1999 Montreal, Canada Bell Centre Rescheduled to 13 September 1999[28]
7 May 1999 Montreal, Canada Bell Centre Rescheduled to 14 September 1999[28]
27 May 1999 Dublin, Ireland Croke Park Cancelled[29]
29 May 1999 Belfast, Northern Ireland Belfast Botanic Gardens Cancelled[29]
31 May 1999 Birmingham, England Alexander Stadium Cancelled[29]
3 June 1999 Frankfurt, Germany Commerzbank Arena Cancelled[29]
5 June 1999 Gothenburg, Sweden Ullevi Stadium Cancelled[29]
8 June 1999 Vienna, Austria Ernst-Happel-Stadion Cancelled[29]
12 June 1999 Cologne, Germany RheinEnergieStadion Cancelled[29]
22 June 1999 Lyon, France Stade de Gerland Cancelled[29]
24 June 1999 Marseille, France Stade Vélodrome Cancelled[29]
27 June 1999 Lisbon, Portugal Estádio José Alvalade Cancelled[29]
29 June 1999 Barcelona, Spain Palau Sant Jordi Cancelled[29]

Broadcasts and recordings

The first glimpse of the tour came via Dion's music video to "S'il suffisait d'aimer", which was recorded during her concert in Chicago. Footage of that show, along with footage of one the December 1998 Montreal concerts was also shown on the TV special "Un An Avec Céline" hosted by Julie Snyder. The final show at the National Car Rental Center was filmed and showed on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The special also includes a behind the scenes feature. The singer also performed "To Love You More" live in Tokyo for the United Negro College Fund's "An Evening of Stars." The millennium concert was aired on TVA (Canada).

The concerts at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis were recorded for a CD/DVD package. The performances were released under the title Au cœur du stade (meaning At the Heart of the Stadium). The package were released separately with DVD following the CD release. The DVD includes exclusive footage from the making of S'il suffisait d'aimer and Let's Talk About Love. It features an appearance by guest star Sir George Martin, and rare footage of Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, David Foster, and the "Tell Him" lyricists chatting around the piano.

For the show, Jean-Jacques Goldman joined Celine Dion on "J'irai où tu iras", "To Love You More" features Taro Hakase on violin, and Diana King can be seen on a screen during "Treat Her Like a Lady." The CD contains an abbreviated version of the concert, primarily showcasing her French-language songs. A live video of 'Dans Un Autre Monde" was used to promote both the CD and DVD packages. The anglophone version of the tour has not been released to the public.

Critical reception

For the tour, Dion received mainly positive reviews from music critics. Many of the writers commended the singer's intimate connection with the audience, despite the massive size of the stadiums and arenas. For the inaugural concert in Boston, Steve Morse (The Boston Globe) writes "Despite Dion's nerves, she was able to pull off a successful concert". He continues, "For pure entertainment, however, this was a volcanic triumph". Dion thanked Boston fans for being "lucky charm people"; this was the third time she opened a world tour here.[30]

At The Arena in Oakland, James Sullivan (San Francisco Chronicle) felt the night showed off Dion's prowess as a performer. He elaborated, "Easily the best part of the 80-minute set came when Dion summoned her band to center stage, where they sat on the lip of the riser as she essayed a medley of some favorite songs. Roberta Flack's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', the Beatles' 'Pet Sounds'-inspired 'Because' and Eric Clapton's 'Tears in Heaven' were all delivered with tender care—no small feat in a basketball gym. Even Sinatra's 'All the Way' steered clear of swagger, and the accordion gave all four songs a touch of Dion's romantic French-language roots."[31]

Adam Sandler (Variety) provided a positive review of Dion's concert at the Great Western Forum. He states, "To her credit, Celine Dion kept the vocal histrionics and hyper stage movements she has become known for to a minimum during her sold-out show Wednesday at the Forum, preferring instead to illustrate her evolution as an artist through singing prowess and a relaxed stage manner."[32] Jane Stevenson (Jam! Music) gave the singer's show at the new Air Canada Centre four out of five stars. She says, "But as the first song of the night, 'Let's Talk About Love', progressed, her nine-person band eventually rose up alongside her, while a children's choir later took the stage for the song's big ending."[33]

Personnel

Production[15]
Band[32]

References

  1. ↑ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  2. ↑ Morse, Steve (18 December 1998). "Stones have top-grossing tour of 1998". The Boston Globe. pp. C3.
  3. ↑ "Pollstar Awards Archive (1998)". Pollstar. Pollstar, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hume, Scott (17 August 1998). "Ericsson Hopes Celine Dion Has 'Power to Be Heard'". Adweek. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Mose, Steve (21 August 1998). "Celine Dion Rides Titanic Wave in New Tour". The Day. New London, Connecticut. pp. B12–B13. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  6. ↑ Spethman, Betsy (1 September 1998). "Is Advertising Dead?". Promo. Penton Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "Spice Girls Sell Out Spawns Ticket Scalping Investigation, Probe Expands To Include Celine Dion Tour". MTV News. 21 August 1998. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  8. ↑ Pccoli, Sean (11 October 1998). "NEW ARENA A LUXE LAIR FOR MORE THAN HOCKEY". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. pp. 1F.
  9. 1 2 3 Morse, Steve (11 September 1998). "Unsinkable Celine Dion". Post-Gazette Weekend Mag. p. 21. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Emmy Awards". Internet Movie Database. Amazon, LLC. 28 August 1999. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  11. ↑ Barr, Naomi (November 2007). "Celine Dion's Aha! Moment". O: The Oprah Magazine. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  12. 1 2 Helligar, Jeremy; Morton, Danielle; Miller, Sue (1 March 1999). "Family Matters". People. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  13. ↑ Rush, George; Molloy, Joanna; Baram, Marcus; Baker, K.C. (2 March 1999). "FOUR MEGA-STARS MAY $ING IN UNISON". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  14. ↑ "Columbine song reaffirms life and hope". CNN. 28 April 1999. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Ferreira, Ted (1 February 1999). "Heart to heart: Yves Aucoin brings intimacy to the arena for Celine Dion". Live Design. Penton Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  16. ↑ Jaeger, Lauren (10 August 1998). "Special Guests To Join Celine Dion On Tour". Amusement Business. AllBusiness. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  17. ↑ "Celine Dion cheers Gagnon". Star-Banner. Ocala, Florida. 15 December 1999. pp. 4C. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  18. ↑ Roselli, Dayna (7 April 2011). "Human Nature Attends Celine Dion's Show". KLAS-TV. Landmark Media Enterprises. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  19. ↑ Houston, Julie E. (5 December 1999). "A day in the life ... of a comedian". Bankrate. Bankrate, Inc. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  20. ↑ "Celine To Set Sail On Summer Tour". MTV News. 13 April 1998. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  21. ↑ "Tours and Events: OCTOBER 10 1998 – AUGUST 22 1998". Dion's Official Website. Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  22. 1 2 3 "Tours and Events: MARCH 26 1999 – OCTOBER 13 1998". Dion's Official Website. Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  23. ↑ Box score:
  24. 1 2 3 "Tours and Events: JULY 08 1999 – MARCH 29 1999". Dion's Official Website. Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  25. ↑ Box score:
  26. 1 2 "Tours and Events: MARCH 28 2002 – JULY 10 1999". Dion's Official Website. Sony Music Entertainment. Archived from the original on 31 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  27. ↑ Box score:
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Celine Postpones U.S. Dates After Husband's Cancer Diagnosis". MTV News. 8 April 1999. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "CELINE DION TOUR MUST BE RESCHEDULED". The Hamilton Spectator. Hamilton, Ontario. 5 May 1999. pp. F10.
  30. ↑ Morse, Steve (25 August 1998). "Fion is a dream in world-tour launch". Sun Journal. Lewiston, Maine. pp. C15. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  31. ↑ Sullivan, James (15 October 1998). "HER HEART GOES ON / Celine Dion delivers show that's big on sweetness and gimmicks". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  32. 1 2 Sandler, Adam (22 October 1998). "Celine Dion (The Forum, Inglewood, Calif; 20,000 capacity; $75 top)". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  33. ↑ Stevenson, Jane (18 September 1999). "Concert Review: Celine Dion Air Canada Centre, Toronto. – Sep 17, 1999". Jam! Music. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
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