Awkward Céline Dion Moments Caught On Camera
Céline Dion belongs to that rare class of artists who don't let their eminence weigh down on them. With countless laurels and recognitions to her name, she is revered as one of the world's bestselling musical artists of all time. In other words, she is one of the world's most important treasures. It isn't just her music that gives her this distinction though; Dion's unassuming character plays a big part. Those with even a remote knowledge of her legacy will be able to identify the unique genre of quirkiness her public image is associated with. It leads to Dion routinely finding herself in awkward situations — and, more often than not, it is Dion herself who manufactures those clumsy consequences for herself.
She is unafraid to break into high-pitched rhythms in the middle of interviews, thoroughly confounding reporters. She is shockingly carefree with her expressions. Good, bad, ugly — she lets her emotions flow. And most importantly, despite it all, she just doesn't embarrass easily. Dion is the queen of confident self-possession if there ever was one. Owing to a rare neurological disorder she is facing, Dion has all but retreated from the public eye over the past three years. It's why her recent surprise appearance at the 2024 Grammys drew such a seismic response; fans couldn't get enough of seeing Dion take the stage once again. To honor the musical genius in all her bold, bizarre glory, here are the most awkward Céline Dion moments caught on camera.
Céline Dion appeared to go unnoticed on the Grammys stage
It was an important moment for music when Céline Dion came out to grace the audience at the 66th Grammy Awards. Since she made her diagnosis of Stiff Person Syndrome known to fans in 2022, the legendary singer's public appearances have become few and far between. Céline Dion's surprise return to music's biggest night was, therefore, nothing less than an event and spectators regarded it as such. Dion was greeted with thundering applause and a standing ovation from industry peers as she crossed the stage to present the Grammy for Album of the Year. Taylor Swift's "Midnights" won the award, making her the only artist ever to bag the honor four times.
Surrounded by euphoria and collaborators, Swift ascended the stage to collect her trophy. Her ecstatic mood over creating history likely eclipsed everything else just then but viewers were quick to notice that Swift failed to acknowledge the legendary Dion while accepting her award. It made for an awkward moment with Swift not sparing Dion so much as a look, let alone a response to the congratulations she mumbled. The exchange — or rather, the lack of it — caused an uproar on social media, with fans calling out Swift for her alleged disrespect of a senior artist. However, Swift more than made up for the supposed snub backstage after her win by posing warmly with Dion for pictures that proved there was no bad blood.
Her Carpool Karaoke was just a string of surreal moments
It took talk show host James Corden years to get Céline Dion on his "Carpool Karaoke" series but when he did, the payoff exceeded expectations. The 2019 episode was an exhibition of Dion at her bizarre best, as she took the stage (rather, the passenger seat) beside Corden to brandish her world-famous skills of singing, face-making, and being delightfully random. The interview started out on a high note, with Dion making a song out of everything Corden uttered — a gag she ran with longer than the humor of it lasted. Well, to be fair, this wasn't entirely unexpected since the show does have the word karaoke in its title. And more importantly, it's Céline Dion we're talking about here.
The session veered into awkward territory at one point when Corden played Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" on the radio, only to be met with some seriously nutty expressions from the singer. She even planted a smooch on the TV host when the lyric called for it. Seriously, which artist as influential as Céline Dion would be cheeky enough to explore their silliest side on-camera as nonchalantly as she does? Her spirited rendition of "Baby Shark" even made the annoying earworm bearable for a second.
Just when we thought nothing could have topped the wacky car ride, the duo cinematically reconstructed Dion's magnum opus "My Heart Will Go On" right in the middle of Vegas' Bellagio fountains.
She retorted sharply when asked about her son's hair
Social media's tendency to regurgitate long-forgotten videos has not bode well for television hosts like Ellen Degeneres, who have accusations against them of taking things a tad bit far during their interviews. One such moment occurred when singer Céline Dion appeared as a guest on the comedian's long-running talk show back in 2007. As she often does, Degeneres initiated a rather brazen line of questioning about Dion's busy life, quipping about her son's appearance in the process. "It seems like you're busy with something because you're forgetting to cut your son's hair," the host remarked, as a picture of Dion's son René-Charles Angélil sporting long golden locks blew up on the screen behind them.
Not amused by the observation, Dion retorted, "Do you have a problem with that?" Degeneres tried to put out the fire by making light of the situation but the music icon launched into a defence about not pleasing everyone and respecting her 6-year-old son's individual agency. "When he's ready, I'll cut it," she concluded. The exchange — which went down as one of the worst interview moments on Degeneres' show – returned to public consciousness in 2020 when the funnywoman was under fire for reportedly fostering a toxic workplace culture. Archival footage of Degeneres seemingly putting celebrity guests in tight spots on-air added fuel to the controversy, which prompted a significant decline in the show's ratings and viewership, The New York Times reported.
Her on-air outburst over Hurricane Katrina is unforgettable
During his decades-long career as a talk show host, Larry King conducted thousands of interviews, talking to just about every important public figure. But there are few interviews as remarkable on the TV legend's portfolio as the one he had with Céline Dion. It wasn't long after Hurricane Katrina devastated the United States that Dion appeared as a guest on CNN's "Larry King Live" in 2005, launching into an impassioned monologue that has people in a chokehold even decades on.
Dion was overcome by emotions talking about the cyclonic disaster and its implications, with King barely being able to get a word in between her tearful outpouring. "We need the cash. We need the blood. We need the support," she said, impressing upon the need to amp up rescue missions to a point where she suggested: "Take a kayak." This declaration became one of the most-discussed bits from her interview, sandwiched between her dramatic hand gestures and anti-authoritarian stance.
"I do not want to talk to you about money," she told King; a prescient uttering, considering that her live response to the hurricane made as much impact, if not more, on public consciousness as did her $1 million pledge for disaster relief. Dion's interview has since turned into television gold, with comedians and impersonators making the most of it in their spoof videos. To top it off, The Guardian listed it as one of the best moments ever on King's show.
She found herself in a strange situation with a drunk fan on stage
Celebrities often run into awkward fan encounters. Whether they enjoy it or not, it's part of their job profile. Even so, not every superstar would have the finesse to deal with a situation as extreme as being rushed by a fan in the middle of a performance — but Céline Dion did.
The five-time Grammy winner was the figure of composed sophistication when a woman crashed the stage and all but disrupted her show at Vegas' Caesar's Palace in 2018 (via YouTube). From hugging Dion to rubbing up against her, the woman got up to all sorts of drunk antics that mere mortals wouldn't dream of doing to a legend as revered as her. Dion, on her part, commanded the extraordinary scene like a total queen.
Unfazed, she engaged with the fan calmly, talking to her and embracing her, even as security tried to restrain the other woman. "We've got babies that we love, and we're going to fight for them," Dion told her fan. According to an audience member, the woman allegedly took the stage to talk about bone marrow transplant, following her son's experience with it, The Independent reported. Dion continued to shower the woman with words of compassion until she made it off the stage, after which Dion took a few moments to fully sprawl out before resuming her show. Nothing like some good ol' Dion eccentricity to wrap up a memorable scene.
There was little explanation for this expression she pulled
Céline Dion isn't just the queen of power ballads. She's also the queen of expressions. The iconic singer is famous for not reining in her emotions, an attribute that has made for genuinely candid moments caught on camera. Some pure gold shots of Dion date back to 2016, when the singer performed for NBC "Today" at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Rocking a shimmery ensemble and her ever-powerful voice, Dion was in top form that summer day — and wasn't afraid to let it show. Her trademark eccentricity was on loud and proud display, with the singer photographed in the midst of some very animated (and should we say, meme-worthy) interactions for which little to no explanation was offered.
Dion's face-pulling skills are notorious on the couture show circuit. Her dramatic reactions to runway fashion have often gone viral in the past, including one particular look of disapproval she gave at the 2016 Giambattista Valli Couture show in Paris (via Harper's Bazaar). She also found herself in an awkward position at a meet-and-greet in Las Vegas, where she was made part of a fan's marriage proposal that didn't go as smoothly as planned. According to Cosmopolitan, the woman didn't immediately say yes when her boyfriend popped the question, prompting Dion to go behind the curtains out of second-hand embarrassment. It wouldn't be surprising if the couple had their engagement photos, complete with Dion's melodramatic expressions, framed on their walls!
Her impressions of other singers were delightfully over-the-top
Right from that first iconic performance at Eurovision 1988 that turned her into a global sensation, Céline Dion has never been one to deliver a half-baked show. She is always committed to the act, whether it's a long-term residency in Las Vegas or an episodic appearance on Jimmy Fallon's talk show. The latter gave Dion an especially unique occasion to show off her musical range — which she did, rather extravagantly — by impersonating other famous singers. Dion was in her element throughout the show's Wheel of Musical Impressions segment, mimicking everyone from Cher to Michael Jackson right down to the last note.
Since this is Dion we're talking about, there was obviously a lot of ad-libbing and impromptu singing. She really got into it at one point when the wheel demanded that she sing the children's rhyme "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" as Rihanna. A pitch-perfect impression that started out innocently quickly turned PG-13 when Dion broke out some raunchy dance moves that Fallon had to step in to stop. In classic Dion fashion, she kept at it for a few awkward seconds more than necessary before she sat back down. She was also exceedingly devoted to her representation of Sia, using a stuffed toy — and then oddly enough, the bulk of her own hair — to reconstruct the "Chandelier" singer's iconic fringe. Over-the-top as it was, Dion's enactment, infused with her particular strain of zaniness, was well-received by viewers.
She gave a meme-worthy reaction to a fan serenading her
It doesn't take much for Céline Dion to turn into an internet meme. The singer, it seems, has a penchant for not just hitting the right notes but also finding herself in sticky situations that often make for great online material. Usually the performer, Dion wound up on the audience side of things back in 2020 when she encountered a fan on the streets of New York City insistent on serenading her. It's not every day that aspiring singers come across their role models, and so, Frieda Solomon seized the opportunity to showcase her musical talents to Dion with a version of her beloved 2002 song "I Surrender."
Ever the figure of grace, Dion was kind enough to listen to Solomon through to the end, give her a fist bump, and thank her for singing to her. It was a wholesome moment, to be honest. But nothing escapes hawk-eyed observers on the internet, and netizens pinpointed one particular frame in the viral clips where Dion seemed to flash a deadpan expression as Solomon's voice went croaky. This reaction shot took over social media, reportedly leading to Solomon being massively trolled. At 22, Solomon spoke to Paper about her experience and the response it received. "There are so many different ways it could have got shown, of what they edited, but for me it was such a pure moment that will stay that pure no matter what."
Believe it or not, she barked in the middle of an interview
Not everyone gets Céline Dion's unique brand of whimsy. But sometimes, no one gets it. Few other celebrities of her stature would behave with as much abandon during public appearances as the "I'm Alive" hitmaker does. In the language of the internet, Dion is someone who always lets her intrusive thoughts win. Things turned especially surreal during one particular segment of an interview she did with Lorraine. The host, Ross King, was discussing the music icon's famously large collection of footwear and asked if she ever got sore feet while performing. The queen that she is, Dion brushed it off saying, "I don't care if it hurts. If it looks good, it's okay with me. I'll complain after."
This grand mic drop was followed by a fantastically odd (and on-brand) moment from Dion. When King brought up the phrase "my dogs are barking" — to mean that one's feet are hurting — Dion let out a gruff bark before belting out a rendition of "Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baha Men. Though strange, it was hardly unexpected from Dion for whom launching into song in the middle of interviews has become a signature move — as has barking. Besides the famous anecdote about Dion woofing on her hair and makeup chair, The New York Times once noted how the Grammy winner made no bones (pun intended) about using her dog voice at a concert in Brooklyn.