Looking back at Celine Dion’s triumphant year, the inspirational pop culture story we needed in 2024

Celine Dion showed us just how powerful her voice really is this year when she reemerged to her public life after a hiatus to focus on her health following a life-altering diagnosis. “I Am: Celine Dion” filmmaker Irene Taylor and “The Celine Dion Podcast” host Shaun Brown speak to CNN about how Dion’s triumphant year had an effect on us all.

Perched atop of a platform on the Eiffel Tower at the start of the Paris Olympics in July, Celine Dion, gone for years amid a bitter health battle, marked her return in grand fashion with a rendition of Edith Piaf classic “Hymne À L’Amour.” It was, you could say, her own hymne à la résilience. Dion announced in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), a rare neurological disorder. At the time, she said the condition did not allow her “to sing the way I’m used to.” When she took the Olympic stage, seemingly closer to the heavens than the ground, she hadn’t performed live since 2020. Just one month prior, the world was invited into her battle like never before via “I Am: Celine Dion,” which offered an intimate look at Dion’s return to performing live amid her battle with the disease. “I think the performance really gave her confidence and also just really allowed her to show how far she’s come this last year,” Irene Taylor, who directed the documentary, told CNN in a recent interview. As one of the most revered vocal talents of our time, Dion’s voice has been used to amplify some of the greatest stories ever told both in song and on the big screen. This year, she told her own story as she reemerged into public view, finding and sharing the power of her voice like never before.