Entertainment

Celine Dion on track to re-enter UK charts after return to singing at Olympics

On Friday evening the singer closed the ceremony from the Eiffel Tower, singing Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour.

Celine Dion performed at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
Celine Dion performed at the Paris Olympics opening ceremony (Ian West/PA)
By Hannah Roberts, PA Entertainment Reporter

Celine Dion is on track to re-enter the UK albums chart top 40 following her return to public performance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

The 56-year-old closed the Friday ceremony from the Eiffel Tower, singing Edith Piaf’s L’Hymne A L’Amour.

The Canadian singer cancelled dates for her Las Vegas residency because of health concerns in 2021, before revealing her stiff person syndrome (SPS) diagnosis in December 2022 and cancelling tour dates because of illness.

Following her performance, Dion’s 2008 album My Love: Essential Collection has vaulted to 39 on the albums chart, according to the Official Charts Company, and is expected to land at number 29 this week.

The album peaked at number five following its release, and was last in the UK albums chart top 40 in 2017, according to Official Charts data.

Dion’s struggles with SPS are documented in her 2024 documentary I Am: Celine Dion, in which she spoke about her desire to return to performing.

The condition is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that most commonly causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms, according to the Johns Hopkins Medicine website.

Elsewhere in the albums chart Brit pop band Blur are on track to secure the top spot with their album Live At Wembley Stadium.

The band returned with their ninth studio album, The Ballad Of Darren, in 2023 and played two gigs at Wembley Stadium, which were made into their 2024 record and a feature-length concert film.

Celine Dion attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2019
Celine Dion attending the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala 2019

The LP could spell their eighth number one album joining Parklife (1994), The Great Escape (1995), Blur (1997), 13 (1999), Think Tank (2003), The Magic Whip (2015) and The Ballad of Darren (2023).

Swedish rock outfit Ghost are hot on the boys’ heels, however, with Rite Here Rite Now, the soundtrack to their concert film of the same name.

These two new entries could push Eminem’s number one album, The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grace), down to number three in the albums chart while Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department is on track to come in at number four.

The US pop star’s chart-topping 11th original studio album was released in April and has subsequently spent eight non-consecutive weeks at the top of the UK albums chart.

Another new entry is from British singer Sam Tompkins who recently released his first album Hi, My Name Is Insecure, which is expected to debut at number five.