(SOUNDBITE OF CELINE DION SONG, "MY HEART WILL GO ON")
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Celine Dion returns to the stage tonight, and she'll be belting out many of her best-known power ballads. Her performance comes four years after she announced that she'd been diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome. It's a rare neurological condition that causes painful muscle spasms. The illness forced her to take a break, but now Celine Dion is back in a country where she has a huge fan base.
Over the next couple of months, the singer will perform 16 shows in Paris, and the city is putting on a warm welcome. Metro stations have been decorated. Paris City Hall even organized free outdoor karaoke on Friday evening for thousands of fans to sing their favorite songs. Some of the fans even got a chance to sing a note or two with the star. One of them was Sacha Dally, who got his duet moment outside of the star's hotel.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CELINE DION AND SACHA DALLY: (Singing) Comfortable.
SACHA DALLY: (Singing) How did you get here?
CELINE DION: (Singing) How did you get here?
DION AND DALLY: (Singing) How did you...
DION: (Singing) ...Get here?
DALLY: (Singing) How did you?
SIMON: Pretty good. I can see why that moment went viral on the news network France 24's Instagram page. Probably a useful warm-up for tonight's performance. Now, Celine, if you're listening to this...
(Singing) Is it all coming back to you now?
Boy, that's horrible.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW")
DION: (Singing) I can barely recall, but it's all coming back to me now. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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