D'elles
D'elles is the twenty-second studio album and thirteenth French-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Columbia Records on 18 May 2007. It is a concept album which features 13 songs written by influential female authors from France and Quebec, including: Françoise Dorin, Christine Orban, Nina Bouraoui, Marie Laberge, Lise Payette, Denise Bombardier, Nathalie Nechtschein, Jovette Bernier, Janette Bertrand, and George Sand. The themes throughout this album centre on womanhood; the album's title is a play on the title of Dion's earlier album D'eux, replacing the third person plural masculine or neutral pronoun eux with the feminine elles.
D'elles received favourable reviews from music critics, some of whom noticed that it was Dion's most ambitious project in a long time. It was nominated for Album of the Year and Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2008. On the commercial level, D'elles debuted at number one in Canada and France, and also topped the chart in Belgium and reached number three in Switzerland. It was certified double platinum in Canada, platinum in France, and gold in Belgium and Switzerland. The first single, "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " reached number one in France and number two in Quebec. It was followed by another Quebec top ten single, "Immensité".
Background
On 14 September 2006, Dion's official website posted information that she would release a new French album in 2007. Prominent female writers from Quebec and France wrote the lyrics and a team of famous French composers worked on the music. Jean-Jacques Goldman would be overseeing the album which will be recorded in Las Vegas. On 3 January 2007, it was announced that the new French-language album, D'elles was scheduled for release in May 2007. The title is a spin-off of Dion's 1995 album D'eux. Both can be translated as "about them" or "from them", with D'elles being specifically the feminine version. In a press release from 12 January 2007, it was confirmed that Dion was still working on her upcoming album which is a concept project. The lyrics were written by females only: Françoise Dorin, Christine Orban, Nina Bouraoui, Marie Laberge, Lise Payette, Denise Bombardier, Nathalie Nechtschein, Janette Bertrand, Jovette Bernier and George Sand, and the themes throughout this album centre on womanhood. Many of Dion's long-time collaborators, including Jean-Jacques Goldman, participated in this project. Although Goldman did not write any of the songs, he supervised the album and arranged the song lyrics. Music composers included: Erick Benzi, Jacques Veneruso, David Gategno and Gildas Arzel.The first single "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une ", written by Françoise Dorin and David Gategno, was scheduled for release in Francophone countries on 14 February 2007. Dion's official website posted information that D'elles will be released in two special editions: a double digipak and a collectors box set. The album was scheduled for release on 21 May 2007 in selected European countries and 22 May 2007 in Canada. "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " premiered on 14 February 2007 and was sent to radio and released as a digital download on the same day. In a press release from 16 February 2007, celinedion.com announced that Dion is putting the finishing touches on D'elles, an album which celebrates womanhood. Also two new music composers were added to the list: Marc Dupré and Jean-François Breau. The first excerpt from the "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " music video was posted on 28 March 2007 and the full video premiered on 4 April 2007. The "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " CD single was issued on 13 April 2007 in Francophone countries. The cover art for the album, by Daniela Federici, was released on 19 April 2007.
Content
On 17 April 2007, the complete track listing for the album containing 13 songs became available for TeamCeline members. D'elles includes two versions of the song "A cause". While the lyrics, written by Françoise Dorin, are the same on both versions, there are two different musical arrangements. The music for the first version, titled "A cause", was composed by Jacques Veneruso, and the music for the second version, titled "On s'est aimé à cause", was composed by Marc Dupré and Jean-François Breau. Dorin also wrote the first single, "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une ". D'elles also includes "Immensité", the second single which was sent to radio on 27 April 2007. It was written by Nina Bouraoui, a French-Algerian author whose work focuses mainly on the bond between females. She also wrote "Les paradis".Other songs include: "Je cherche l'ombre" with lyrics by Lise Payette who is a well-known Quebec author, an avid writer and a weekly columnist for Le Journal de Montréal, a television and radio personality, a politician and a strong advocate for women; "La diva", a tribute to the famous opera singer Maria Callas, written by Denise Bombardier, an established journalist, novelist and media personality in Quebec who was honoured with the prestigious Legion of Honour and the National Order of Quebec ; "Femme comme chacune" whose lyrics are an adaptation of the poem "Ses yeux de clair de lune", by the late Quebec author, Jovette Bernier; "Si j'étais quelqu'un" which is a reflection on what society judges as being "normal" and whose lyrics are adapted from a poem written by Nathalie Nechtschein, a young French poet; "Je ne suis pas celle" written by Christine Orban, a Moroccan-French novelist who has authored many books and describes herself as a romantic who treasures the female's ability to dream; "Le temps qui compte" with lyrics by Marie Laberge, a Quebec author known in Canada for her literature, and in other Francophone countries for her plays; "Lettre de George Sand à Alfred de Musset", an adaptation of a letter exchanged between two lovers in the 19th century, written by George Sand; and "Berceuse", a lullaby written for Dion's son René-Charles by Janette Bertrand, a famous writer and public personality in Quebec, winner of the 1990 Montreal Salon de la Femme 'Femme du Siècle' award.
D'elles was released in three versions: standard edition in jewel case, a special edition in double digipak, and a second special edition in collectors box set. The bonus DVD, titled Céline parle d'elle includes the making of the album in a recording studio, behind-the-scenes from the "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " music video and photo shoot for the album.
Promotion
For the release of her new French-language album, Dion taped a two-hour television special about D'elles which was broadcast on 21 May 2007 on TVA in Canada. It was hosted by Quebec television icon Julie Snyder and featured Dion and the female authors who wrote the song lyrics for the album. Dion performed: "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une ", "Immensité", "Je cherche l'ombre", "Berceuse", "La diva", "Le temps qui compte", and "On s'est aimé à cause". The recording sessions for "Femme comme chacune", "Lettre de George Sand à Alfred de Musset" and "Si j'étais quelqu'un" were also shown. The television special was watched by 1,614,000 viewers and became the number-one-rated show for the week of 21 to 27 May with 82% share of the audience.On 9 June 2007, another television special was broadcast, this time in France on TF1. Dion was interviewed and performed three songs from D'elles and various duets: "Stayin' Alive" with Vitaa, Shy'm and Amel Bent, "Hymne à l'amour" with Maurane and Johnny Hallyday, "Blueberry Hill" with Johnny Hallyday, "The Show Must Go On" with Christophe Maé and David Hallyday, "My Heart Will Go On" with Lââm and Amel Bent, "Caroline" with MC Solaar and Nolwenn Leroy, "Être à la hauteur" with Merwan Rim and Christophe Maé, and "Caruso" with Florent Pagny. This television special was watched by 4,987,440 viewers. At the end of the year, during Dion's promotional visit to France, she performed "Immensité" on various occasions: on 2 November 2007 on Star Academy as a duet with one of the contestants; on 5 November 2007 during the Chérie FM Awards ceremony which wasn't broadcast on television; on 10 November 2007 on Hit Machine on M6; and on 29 December 2007 on Les Stars de L'année on France 2.
In 2008 and 2009, Dion performed "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " in French-speaking territories during the Taking Chances World Tour. She also performed "Immensité" in Francophone countries during her tours in 2013, 2016, and 2017.
Singles
The first single, "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " was released as a digital download in Francophone countries on 14 February 2007. As the singles charts in these countries did not include digital sales at that time, "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " entered them after the CD single release on 13 April 2007. The song debuted at number one in France, becoming Dion's fifth chart-topping single there. It also peaked at numbers four in Belgium and 34 in Switzerland. Because of these positions, the single reached number seven on the European Hot 100 Singles. In Quebec, "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une " peaked at number two. It also reached number 28 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.The second single, "Immensité" was released as a digital download in Francophone countries on 14 May 2007 and the music video premiered on 22 May 2007. As the digital sales did not count towards singles sales charts at the time, "Immensité" did not enter them. However, it peaked at number seven on the radio chart in Quebec and number 30 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. In November 2007, "Immensité" was included as a B-side on the "Taking Chances" French CD single and as a bonus track on the French digital edition of the Taking Chances album.
In Poland, "Le temps qui compte" was released as a promotional single on 18 May 2007. It reached number one on the Polish radio station RMF FM on 11 June 2007. "On s'est aimé à cause" started receiving airplay in Quebec in August 2007 and eventually peaked at number five on the radio chart. It also reached number 23 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. In France, "A cause" with a dance remix was released as a promotional single in January 2008. However two weeks later, it was replaced by "Alone" from Dion's latest English-language album, Taking Chances.