Celine Dion Graces Tampa Bay With Her Impeccable Vocals During Her ‘Courage’ Tour
WOW! Is the word to describe Celine Dion who graced the Amalie Arena stage in Tampa Bay Wednesday night.
You would think that for a Wednesday night, the crowds would be iffy. But not for this show, which we’ve waited for since 2009; when she last performed in Tampa.
15,000 fans packed in to the Amalie Arena for a grand ol’ night and that’s exactly what they got. Dj Pete was on the turntables getting the crowd going for the night. The all of a sudden a dramatic video with a light show starts playing and you hear those impeccable vocals that just give you chills and multiply.
Celine kicked off the show with the dramatic,’It’s All Coming Back To Me’, which was released in 1996 but remains one of those songs that you just can’t wait to hear her sing. Watching her perform, it would never cross your mind that this being is 51-years-old and still killing it with her iconic pipes. She acknowledged the fact that it had been ten years since she had played a show in Tampa, ‘Ten years, This is a lifetime! She continued with, ‘Maybe it’s because they locked me up in the Nevada desert all that time. But you know what… I escaped and finally made it back here to the great state of Florida. She went on to also say, ‘ It feels fantastic, the palm trees, the sunshine, the blue sky, the breeze, the salt air…WOW!’
She wasn’t alone for the show, she had a 17-piece band join her, including strings and a guitarist. Perhaps one of the best parts of the show was seeing her engage the audience by letting her quirky and sassy side come out as she toyed with the crowd. She had quite a few wardrobe changed and each of them were up to diva-standards and were just jaw-dropping.
Towards the end of the show, she got the crowd really going when she did a medley of iconic hits done by the late, David Bowie, Prince, Queen’s Freddie Mercury along with River Deep, Mountain high and a Lady Marmalade in French.
Of course she could not end the show without singing one of the most iconic songs in film, “My Heart Will Go On”, which won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Original Song. It dominated the 1999 Grammy Awards by winning Record of the Year; marking the first time to be won by a Canadian. It also went on to win Song of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or Television. She emerged onto the stage in a stunning gown that made it appear as it she were walking on clouds.
To end the show she expressed her gratitude, ‘It is such a privilege and a gift to be able to use something to be able to communicate, like music, like songs, like singing.’ She continued on with, ‘Even though I have been spending my whole life on stage doing what I love, it’s something that I will never get used to.’ She said her good-byes to the crowd and expressed everyone getting home safe and leaving us with a little bit of peace by singing John Lennon’s timeless song, Imagine.
Thank you Celine for such an incredible night of emotions and iconic vocals.
Setlist
It’s All Coming Back to Me Now
That’s the Way It Is
I’m Alive
If You Asked Me To
The Power of Love
Love Can Move Mountains
Beauty and the Beast
You’re the Voice
Tous les blues sont écrits pour toi
To Love You More
Courage
All by Myself
Imperfections
The Prayer
Because You Loved Me
Let’s Dance / Another One Bites the Dust / Kiss / River Deep, Mountain High / Lady Marmalade
Encore:
My Heart Will Go On
Imagine
