This Thursday, October 10, one of the articles published by Libération had the effect of a bomb. “Did Celine Dion lip-sync during the Olympic opening ceremony?”headlines the newspaper. While her rendition of “The Hymn to Love” has just been released on listening platforms, experts accuse the famous singer of not having sung live that evening.
After the performance of the Canadian star on July 26, with the chills still present on the body, some already had doubts. And for good reason: for several years already, Céline Dion had to be absent from the stage for health reasons. She revealed herself in a documentary just a few weeks before the Paris Olympic Games and explained, among other things, that her illness had now affected her vocal abilities. “If I have to come back and sing, it will be for the Olympic Games”she assured. Done… but at what cost?
“What we heard on TV was a corrected playback”
The day after the ceremony, Victor Le Masne, musical director of the ceremony, assured him: no, Céline Dion did not sing playback. “We anticipated this possibility, but she actually sang.” On the set of C à vous, Thomas Jolly, artistic director of the ceremonies, affirmed this again.
However, as Libération writes in its columns, “several technical analyzes and specialists in the music production sector contacted by CheckNews seriously undermine this hypothesis of a live performance”. On July 31, Wings of Pegasus released a first analysis of Celine Dion’s performance. For this musician whose specialty is the analysis of pitch corrections in musical works, the verdict is clear: “someone has adjusted their voice.” A correction which requires a playback according to him, since it is impossible to correct the accuracy of certain notes only on a live performance.
We have a point of comparison, since Céline Dion has already sung the Hymn to Love, in 2015 (…). I don’t see how today, being ill and not having sung in public for years, she could sing the same song without a false note, in these conditions.Etienne Guéreau, pianist and composer interviewed by CheckNews
Etienne Guéreau, pianist and composer, thinks no less. “What we heard on TV was a corrected playback”he also assures. Contacted by CheckNews, he explains: “We have a point of comparison, since Céline Dion has already sung the hymn to lovein 2015, and live this time. In this version, which is not corrected, we hear false notes, and that’s normal for live music! I don’t see how today, being ill and not having sung in public for years, she could sing the same song without a false note, in these conditions.”
The sound engineers and sound designers interviewed by CheckNews are unanimous: Céline Dion did indeed sing playback this evening of July 26, 2024. “Without a shadow of a doubt”assures one of them, wishing to remain anonymous. “It was 100% playback, you can hear it from the first notes. You can’t have such a clean vocal sound live.” reveals another. “It’s impossible that what we hear is live.”also provides a sound engineer who has already worked with the Canadian star.
The lack of transparency regretted by the world of music
If no one blames Céline Dion for her performance, nor criticizes the practice of playback, everyone regrets the lack of transparency on the part of the organization. For its investigation, Libération obviously tried to get clear answers from the latter, in vain.“As for the technical teams mobilized on July 26, all our interlocutors refuse to discuss the subject, highlighting the confidentiality clauses”assures the newspaper in its columns.
As for Céline Dion’s teams, the singer’s musical director and pianist did not respond to Libération’s requests. Just like the Paris Olympic Games organizing committee.
“Having her sing live without a net would have been completely stupid.”
Internet users, for their part, have had a mixed opinion since the official release of the title on streaming platforms. Under the post of Céline Dion herself, many people remember the moment with emotion. “I still get chills just listening to you. Magnificent moment”slips one into a comment. “The symbolism, the song, the interpretation: everything came together to experience an unprecedented emotion. Thank you for this moment anchored forever in our memory”confides another. “Singing about eternal love is sublime”, “Thank you Céline”, “An extraordinary performance”, Best moment of these Olympics”, “It was exceptional Madame Dion”… So playback or not, it doesn’t matter. Well, maybe not for everyone…
“The song was sung in playback”plagues an Internet user, still under the artist’s publication. “Your voice frequencies have been changed…”says another with disappointment. And on X, everyone has their own opinion. “Another adulterated and false performance of #Paris2024! All you saw was fire”annoys someone on the social network. “A downright revelation? Because some people thought she was singing live?”, “Everything is false, everything is bogus”, “I saw the excerpt yesterday, in fact it’s obvious” , …
There are those who believe in a live performance. Those who chant on the playback. And those who assure that it was indeed option number 2 and who applaud that. “So, it’s no secret that the performance is in playback, AND LUCKLY! It was raining, it was cold, you think for a single second that we were going to take the risk of the microphone breaking down because of the water? That her voice is not hot enough to be placed in front of 1 billion people? It would have been inconsequential for her to sing live, too risky for many reasons. It is normal and logical that they used the play. -back. It’s having her sing live without a net that would have been completely stupid.” The final word.
