There's a reason some refer to Celine Dion as the “Queen of Pop.” Her gravity-defying vocals have inspired a generation of singers on the way to selling more than 200 million albums worldwide, creating iconic hits such as 'My Heart Will Go On', 'The Power of Love', 'Because You Loved Me” and “All By Myself”, among many others. But in 2022 the indomitable powerhouse singer shared that she was diagnosed with the autoimmune disorder Stiff Person Syndrome.
The rare neurological disorder that can cause uncontrollable muscle spasms that make movement difficult has forced Dion to cancel her planned 2023 tour as her sister revealed the singer had “no control” over her muscles. Her difficult journey in navigating the disease is the subject of the moving documentary I am: Celine Dionwhose first trailer premiered on Thursday morning (May 23).
The two-minute teaser opens with Dion, 56, in her prime, belting out one of her trademark power ballad notes in the studio as she playfully worries whether the sound man survived the vocal assault. “My voice is the conductor of my life,” Dion says, shouting over footage of her on stage over the years. “When your voice brings you joy, you are your best self… I need my instrument.”
Next, the Canadian singer – who has been captivating audiences around the world since she was a teenager – delves into being diagnosed with SPS as an unseen voice calls 9-1-1 to report a medical emergency. “I wasn't ready to say anything before … but I'm ready now,” Dion says, exhaling deeply with a pained look on her face in one of her first extended looks since her diagnosis took her out of the spotlight.
Walking through her costume archive, Dion says, “I see my life and I love every bit of it. When a girl loves her shoes, she'll always make them match,” as she stands in front of racks of stage gear. The rest of the trailer cuts between live shots of a vibrant, electric Dion on stage at various times in her career, as she describes the “magic” she created in concert over four decades in the spotlight.
“It's not hard to put on a show, you know?” she says through footage of her taking her daily regimen of pills, doctor's appointments and a backyard catch with one of her three sons. “It's hard to cancel a show.” Dion says she works hard every day to get better, as evidenced by the film of her ballet moves in a studio. “But I have to admit,” she says tearfully, “it's been a struggle. I miss you so much, people. I miss them. If I can't run, I'll walk. If I can't walk, I'll crawl.”
The trailer ends with Dion in the studio belting out an unheard song as she promises, “I will not stop” over the strains of one of her most beloved power ballads, 1996's “It's All Coming Back to Me Now.” The film Amazon MGM Studios directed by Irene Taylor (Watch out for Slenderman) and will debut on Prime Video on June 25.
Watch it I am: Celine Dion trailer below.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/celine-dion-trailer-i-am-celine-dion-documentary-watch-1235690988/
