Sans Attendre
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''Sans attendre'' (English: "without waiting") is the twenty-fourth
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
and fourteenth French-language album by Canadian singer
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
, released by
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
on 2 November 2012. It is her first new French studio album since 2007's '' D'elles''. ''Sans attendre'' features sixteen songs produced mainly by Jacques Veneruso, David Gategno and Scott Price. It contains three duets with
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
, Jean-Pierre Ferland and the late
Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...
. The first single from the album, " Parler à mon père" was released on 2 July 2012 and " Le miracle" was selected as the second track to promote ''Sans attendre''. Both songs reached number one in Quebec and "Parler à mon père" also peaked inside the top ten in France. The third single " Qui peut vivre sans amour?" was sent to radio stations in March 2013. ''Sans attendre'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics, some of whom opined that it is a tastefully restrained and personal album. The themes in its songs include longing for a departed father, love, and the waning days of an aging mother, among others. The album saw success in Francophone territories. It debuted at number one in Canada and France with first week sales of almost 100,000 units in both countries. ''Sans attendre'' also reached number one in
Romandy Romandy ( or ; Arpitan: ''Romandia'')Before World War I, the term French Switzerland () waalso used ( or , , ) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss pop ...
,
Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...
and debuted within the top ten in Switzerland and Poland. It was certified
Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
in France, three-times Platinum in Canada,
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in Belgium, and
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
in Switzerland and Poland. ''Sans attendre'' has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.


Background

On 7 June 2012, Dion's official website announced that during April and May, the singer began recording songs for her next French and English albums. The French album would feature all new material and the English one would include studio versions of previously unreleased songs from Dion's
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
show, '' Celine'', as well as several brand new tracks. When asked about the difference between singing in French and in English, Dion answered: "It's like wearing a pair of jeans or an evening gown. You cannot change what's in your blood. French is my home, my roots. It's where I live first. French is a more interior energy, more poetic. But, when I sing in English, there are different emotions. As a singer I cannot choose, I need both". On 29 June 2012, celinedion.com previewed a thirty-second fragment of the first single written and co-produced by Jacques Veneruso, " Parler à mon père" from the French-language album which was scheduled for release on 5 November 2012. However, in selected European countries, it was released on 2 November 2012. The cover art for the single was revealed at the same time. The full version of "Parler à mon père" premiered on 1 July 2012 and the single was released to digital outlets in selected countries on the next day. During the interview with ''
Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...
'', Dion announced the title of upcoming French album, ''Sans attendre'' which means "without waiting". Later she revealed that for her the title means "don't leave until tomorrow what you can do today" and that "today" is the most important day. She also talked about "Parler à mon père", which is about her father who died in 2003. He was her biggest fan and she thinks of him every day and knows that he is always with her, watching over her children. On 19 August 2012, Dion's official website posted information that the album will include "Une chance qu'on s'a", a duet with Canadian artist Jean-Pierre Ferland, who also wrote the song's lyrics. Dion and Ferland had previously joined their voices during the '' Céline sur les Plaines'' concert that celebrated
Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...
's 400th anniversary in 2008. Another duet with French singer
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
was also announced. A sneak preview of the music video for "Parler à mon père" was posted on celinedion.com on 5 September 2012 and the full video premiered the next day. It was filmed in Las Vegas on 16 July 2012 and in the
Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer. Death Valley's Badwat ...
, and directed by Thierry Vargnes who previously worked with Dion on the music videos for " Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)" and " Immensité". Dion finished recording her French-language album in September 2012.


Content

On 1 October 2012, Dion's official website presented the album's cover art and announced in a press release that ''Sans attendre'' will be released in two versions: standard edition with fourteen tracks and twenty-four-page booklet in jewel case and deluxe edition with sixteen songs, twenty-four-page booklet and a twelve-page desk calendar in a special
digipak Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage. Jewel case A ...
. The cover for the album was created by the illustrator Aurore Hutton, niece of former French President
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...
. Jean-Pierre Ferland, a Canadian singer and songwriter appears twice on the album. He recorded his own song, "Une chance qu'on s'a" in duet with Dion and wrote the lyrics for "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour". Ferland already performed two songs with Dion during the '' Céline sur les Plaines'' concert which was released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
in 2008.
Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon (born March 2, 1942) is a French Canadians, French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. His work includes the musicals Starmania (musical), ''Starmania'' and Notre-Dame de Paris (musical), ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brot ...
, a Canadian lyricist offered her "Que toi au monde". Both artists worked together on ''
Dion chante Plamondon ''Dion chante Plamondon'' (English: "Dion sings Plamondon") is the ninth French-language studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released on 4 November 1991 by Sony Music and features songs with words written by French-Canadian lyrici ...
'' in 1991. Several other artists also joined Dion for duets: a French singer and actor,
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
on "L'amour peut prendre froid" (a French-language adaptation of "Love Me Anyway" performed by Mary Ann Redmond) and the late French-Caribbean singer,
Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...
in a virtual duet titled "Tant de temps". Dion performed two duets with Hallyday in the past, both during the French television specials: "L'envie" in 2005 and "
Blueberry Hill "Blueberry Hill" is a popular American song published in 1940 and first recorded and released by Sammy Kaye in 1940 on RCA Victor. It is best remembered for its 1950s rock and roll version by Fats Domino. Glenn Miller peaked at no. 2 on the ' ...
" in 2007. Also during the French television special in 2003, she performed a duet with Salvador on "Le loup, la biche et le chevalier (une chanson douce)". The studio solo version of this song was later included on ''
Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...
''. Newcomers to Dion's list of collaborators include Grand Corps Malade, who penned the lyrics for "La mer et l'enfant" and Stanislas with
Maxime Le Forestier Maxime Le Forestier (; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to Robert Le Forestier and Genevieve (''née'' Lili 1917–2010), who had ...
who wrote "Moi quand je pleure" (in 2000, Le Forestier co-wrote "Tomber" which was later recorded by Dion in English as "Ten Days" and included on '' A New Day Has Come''). Jacques Veneruso, a longtime collaborator wrote " Parler à mon père", the first single. He also co-produced the album and composed the arrangements for most songs. Veneruso worked with Dion on her previous number-one albums: '' 1 fille & 4 types'' (2003), ''
On ne change pas ''On ne change pas'' ( ''We Don't Change'') is the first comprehensive French-language greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music on 30 September 2005. It features songs recorded between 1981 and 2005, including t ...
'' (2005) and '' D'elles'' (2007). He is the author of many of her French-language hits, including " Sous le vent", " Tout l'or des hommes" and " Je ne vous oublie pas". Another member of the team was David Gategno who produced and wrote the music for four songs. He worked with Dion previously on ''D'elles'' and was responsible for her French number-one single, " Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)". ''Sans attendre'' also includes a studio version of "
Ne me quitte pas "Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...
", which Dion performed during her
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
residency show, '' Celine''. The song was written and originally recorded by the Belgian singer-songwriter
Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...
in 1959. The lyrics and thirty-second previews of all songs were posted on celinedion.com on 18 October 2012. According to Dion, "this album is about feelings and being close to the people who have known me a long time. I can speak to them freely without having to convince them of what I'm capable of. It's like a VIP invitation: I invite you into my home". In May 2013, the deluxe edition of ''Sans attendre'' was re-released in France, Belgium and Switzerland including a fifty-six-page
notebook A notebook (also known as a notepad, writing pad, drawing pad, or legal pad) is a book or stack of paper pages that are often ruled and used for purposes such as note-taking, journaling or other writing, drawing, or scrapbooking and more. ...
with drawings by Aurore Hutton, replacing the desk
calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
.


Promotion

For the release of her new French-language album, Dion taped a television special, ''Céline Dion… Sans attendre'' in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
on 15 October 2012 which was broadcast on 4 November 2012 on TVA. She performed selected songs from ''Sans attendre'', including: " Parler à mon père", "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour", "Une chance qu'on s'a" with Jean-Pierre Ferland, " Celle qui m'a tout appris", "Que toi au monde", "La mer et l'enfant" and " Le miracle". In other parts of the television special, the recording of "Les petits pieds de Léa" in the studio was shown, Dion performed " Mille après mille" with
Fred Pellerin Fred Pellerin (born November 22, 1976) is a Canadian musician and storyteller from Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, Quebec. He is a three-time Juno Award nominee for Francophone Album of the Year, garnering nominations at the Juno Awards of 2011 for ''S ...
and a medley of her hits with ''
Star Académie ''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sens ...
'' contestants. Véronic DiCaire, a Canadian imitator also performed on the show. The television special became the most watched show of the fall on Quebec television with 2,386,000 viewers and 57,9% market share. Also for the promotion in
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
, Dion performed "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour" on '' Tout le monde en parle'' which aired on 11 November 2012. On 22 November 2012, she received a Bambi Award in Germany and performed " River Deep, Mountain High" and "
Ne me quitte pas "Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...
" during the ceremony. The second television special, this time for France was titled ''Céline Dion, Le grand show'' and broadcast on 24 November 2012 on
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
. Dion performed four songs from ''Sans attendre'': "Parler à mon père", "L'amour peut prendre froid" with
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
, "Le miracle" and " Qui peut vivre sans amour?". The show included performances by many various artists who sang their own songs or Dion's tributes. She also performed duets with Patrick Bruel on " Qui a le droit...",
Florent Pagny Florent Pagny (; born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and "Ma Liberté de p ...
on " J'irai où tu iras" and
Michel Sardou Michel Charles Sardou (; born 26 January 1947) is a French singer and occasional actor. He is known not only for his love songs ("La maladie d'amour", "Je vais t'aimer"), but also for songs dealing with various social and political issues, su ...
on " Voler", and sang few of her hits. The television special became the second most-watched show that night, drawing an audience of 4,874,000 viewers and losing only slightly to ''
Danse avec les stars ''Danse avec les stars'' (''DALS''; ) is the French version of the British reality TV competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and is part of the ''Dancing with the Stars'' franchise. The show was first broadcast on TF1 on 12 February 2011, the parti ...
'' with 5,040,000 million followers. On 28 November 2012, during ''C à vous'' on
France 5 France 5 () is a French free-to-air public television channel, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring nonfiction and educational programming, the channel's motto is ''la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir'' (the knowl ...
Dion performed "La mer et l'enfant". On 2 December 2012, she appeared in ''Chabada'' on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...
and sang three songs from ''Sans attendre'': "Le miracle", "Ne me quitte pas" with Florent Pagny, and "Parler à mon père". She also performed some duets with artists invited to the show. The episode dedicated to Dion became a great success with 1.5 million viewers, setting a record for ''Chabada''. Also on 2 December 2012, Dion sang "Parler à mon père" on ''Vivement Dimanche'' on France 2. On 17 December 2012, she appeared on France 3 on a show called ''Céline en toute intimité''. Dion was interviewed by the host and performed selected songs from ''Sans attendre'', including "Si je n'ai rien de toi", "Le miracle", "Attendre" and "L'amour peut prendre froid" with Johnny Hallyday. The show also included fragments form the Canadian television special. On 20 December 2012, Dion was the guest of honour in another television special titled ''We Love Céline'' on NRJ 12. She sang "Parler à mon père", "Qui peut vivre sans amour?" and "Le miracle". Dion also performed a duet with Maurane on "Quand on n'a que l'amour" and sang "
Pour que tu m'aimes encore "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (meaning "so that you'll love me again") is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, from her thirteenth studio album, '' D'eux'' (1995). It was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, and produced by Goldman and Erick Benzi. ...
"
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
with Chimène Badi. Many other artists paid her tributes singing her songs, including Stanislas who performed "Moi quand je pleure". During Dion's promotional visit in France in November 2012, she has also recorded a performance of "Ne me quitte pas" for ''Simplement pour un soir'' which was broadcast on 12 January 2013 on France 2. The promotion for ''Sans attendre'' ended on 20 January 2013, when a performance of "Le miracle" filmed in November 2012, was shown on ''Vivement Dimanche''. Six months later on 27 July 2013, Dion performed six songs from ''Sans attendre'' during her one night only concert in Quebec, called '' Céline... une seule fois''. Because of the success of ''Sans attendre'', she also embarked on the Sans attendre Tour in November 2013 and performed sold-out concerts in Belgium and France. During her visit in France in November and December 2013, Dion performed "Parler à mon père" and "Qui peut vivre sans amour?" on ''C'est votre vie'' and "Parler à mon père" on ''Les chansons d'abord''. Additionally, her concert ''Céline... une seule fois'' was broadcast in late December 2013 in Switzerland, France and Belgium. She also performed "Parler à mon père" as a duet with Tal on ''Ce soir on chante'', which was broadcast on 3 January 2014. The ''Céline... une seule fois'' concert with bonus tracks recorded in Paris during ''Sans attendre Tour'', titled ''
Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 ''Céline une seule fois / Live 2013'' (English: "Celine Only Once / Live 2013") is a live album/home video by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records on 16 May 2014 as a three-disc set (2 CD/ DVD and 2CD/Blu-ray). The al ...
'' was released on 16 May 2014.


Singles

The first single, " Parler à mon père" was released to digital stores on 2 July 2012 and reached number one for ten weeks in Quebec, number seven in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (
Romandy Romandy ( or ; Arpitan: ''Romandia'')Before World War I, the term French Switzerland () waalso used ( or , , ) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss pop ...
), number eight in France, number eleven in Belgium Wallonia and number twenty-five in Switzerland (including the non-French-speaking areas). The music video for the song premiered on 6 September 2012. The second single, " Le miracle" was announced on 28 October 2012 and the music video premiered on 20 November 2012. The song peaked at number one in Quebec and reached number twenty-seven in Belgium Wallonia and number seventy-seven in France. Although not released as a single, "Les petits pieds de Léa" reached number eighty on the
Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...
thanks to digital sales after the album's release. Third single, " Qui peut vivre sans amour?" was announced by Dion's official website on 10 February 2013 and it was sent to radio stations in Francophone countries in March 2013. The music video premiered on 19 April 2013. On 8 April 2014, " Celle qui m'a tout appris" was announced as a single supporting Dion's new live release, ''
Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 ''Céline une seule fois / Live 2013'' (English: "Celine Only Once / Live 2013") is a live album/home video by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records on 16 May 2014 as a three-disc set (2 CD/ DVD and 2CD/Blu-ray). The al ...
''.


Critical reception

''Sans attendre'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from music critics. According to Bernard Perusse from '' The Gazette'', the album is full of big dramatic emotion with various themes in the songs: longing for a departed father, the cruelty of love, the healing power of tears, the waning days of an aging mother, the emotional consolation sought by a single parent, the loss of a lover to war, the realization that a long-standing relationship is dead, the misery of a baby's death and the romantic upheaval of a serious fight. Perusse praised the "lightly-orchestrated" "Moi quand je pleure" with unusual chord structure, the "refreshingly subdued" " Parler à mon père" and " Le miracle", a "forceful attack" on
Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...
's classic "
Ne me quitte pas "Ne me quitte pas" (''"Don't leave me"'') is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known ...
" and the "serviceable pop" of "Les jours comme ça". However, he called " Qui peut vivre sans amour?" a "quasi-arena-rock showcase" and "Les petits pieds de Léa" an "unfortunate" composition which came out of the grief. In the latter track, a mother sings to her dead baby and ruminates on all the moments they will not share. The inspiration is from lyricist Marianne L'Heureux's real-life tragedy. According to Alain de Repentigny from '' La Presse'', authors and composers on ''Sans attendre'' are not equally talented and often the singer looks better. He suggested that finding someone like
Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...
and making the whole album with him would be a better choice. Repentigny praised " Celle qui m'a tout appris" with lyrics by Nina Bouraoui, calling it one of the best songs on the album. Another song that stands out is "Que toi au monde", written by
Luc Plamondon Luc Plamondon (born March 2, 1942) is a French Canadians, French-Canadian lyricist and music executive. His work includes the musicals Starmania (musical), ''Starmania'' and Notre-Dame de Paris (musical), ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He is the brot ...
about the soldier who goes to war. Repentigny also mentioned "Tant de temps" as a "beautiful" track and a "great vintage", quite different from the version published on
Henri Salvador Henri Salvador (18 July 1917 – 13 February 2008) was a French Caribbean singer, comedian and cabaret artist. Biography Salvador was born in Cayenne, French Guiana. His father, Clovis, and his mother, Antonine Paterne, daughter of an Indigen ...
's bossa nova album of the same name, released earlier in 2012. According to Kieron Tyler from The Arts Desk, the album "isn't going to stop the world turning" but "it is good. In general, ''Sans attendre'' embraces a glossy, modern "chanson Française" with songs that have "yearning, rolling" melodies. The "mid-pace is never breached", and any chance to "dive into a soaring chorus" is taken. What's most striking about ''Sans attendre'' is its restraint. The "swirling" "Celle qui m'a tout appris" could have transformed itself into a power ballad, but instead it's about the melody and mood. Even the "massed kiddie chorus" on "Le miracle" is "kept in check" and doesn't "stray into the glutinous". "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour" is an "intimate, aural swoon". Although Tyler criticized the album's "slightly cheesy chick lit-style graphics", he wrote that ''Sans attendre'' contains stylish modern pop of a type that "begs to be heard beyond the world it's addressing". Among the songs worth downloading, Darryl Sterdan from ''
Ottawa Sun The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In April 2 ...
'' mentioned "Qui peut vivre sans amour?" and "Attendre". Paula Haddad from Music Story praised the playful melody of "Moi quand je pleure" and wrote that the
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...
-driven "La mer et l'enfant" is the most beautiful song dedicated to motherhood. Lea Hermann from ''
Focus Focus (: foci or focuses) may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in East Australia Film *Focus (2001 film), ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based on the Arthur Miller novel *Focus (2015 ...
'' praised Dion's vocal talent but called the album trivial. She noticed that especially two songs stand out: a rock-inspired, dramatic "Qui peut vivre sans amour" and the '90s-sounding duet with
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
, "L'amour peut prendre froid". Among good tracks she also mentioned "Le miracle" with "fresh spring-like" background vocals, the brisk opener "Parler à mon père", "Une chance qu'on s'a" which she compared to "
Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
", quiet and melancholic "Que toi au monde", and "Les petits pieds de Léa" with the intro which sounds like the melody of a
music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...
. Hermann praised the playful and girlish look of the album cover and booklet, "lovingly" illustrated with hearts, children's toys and clef that alludes to Dion's double life as a singer and mother. She stated that most of the songs on ''Sans attendre'' are equally playful and girlish. According to Łukasz Mantiuk from All About Music, the album is good. ''Sans attendre'' is definitely a lot quieter and milder than '' D'elles'' but it has its charm. Among the best tracks he mentioned "Qui peut vivre sans amour?", "Si je n'ai rien de toi", "Le miracle", "Parler à mon père" and "Ne me quitte pas". However, he criticized the duets, calling them similar to each other. According to Jonathan Hamard from Pure Charts, "Si je n'ai rien de toi" is one of the most enjoyable songs on the album. On the other hand, themes of life and dead are mixed on tracks like "Les petits pieds de Léa" and "Parler à mon père". Generally, the melodies on the album are very successful but several new titles lack of character. The single, "Le miracle" which is "one big ray of sunshine" in this melancholy album, is not very original, the same as "Celle qui m'a tout appris", "Que toi au monde" and "Une chance qu'on s'a". Hamard also stated that the duets left him "hungry for more". According to him, the album is uneven and inconsistent, maybe because of many writers and producers participating in the project. Marty Tobin from ''Quai Baco'' also wrote that the album is unequal with good songs and some which are superfluous. He praised "Parler à mon père" for its composition and production by Jacques Veneruso and "Le miracle" which works because of the choir and "Céline's touch", but the best song on the album is "Moi quand je pleure", written by
Maxime Le Forestier Maxime Le Forestier (; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to Robert Le Forestier and Genevieve (''née'' Lili 1917–2010), who had ...
and Stanislas. Among the weakest songs, Tobin mentioned "Attendre" which according to him does not leave a lasting impression.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...
of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
gave the album three and a half out of five stars calling it a moody collection. According to him, the production is relatively restrained and, in turn, it gives plenty of space for Dion to "grandstand on these tales of heartbreak, aging, and death". Erlewine noted that "these aren't songs of love; they're songs of loss, and that there's a genuine pathos in them". He called ''Sans attendre'' one of Dion's best albums in recent years.


Commercial reception

In Canada, ''Sans attendre'' entered atop the albums chart with sales of 92,135 copies, including 88,206 units sold in Quebec alone. ''Sans attendre'' achieved the second biggest one week sales total in 2012, trailing
Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...
's '' Red'' by less than 450 copies. It was also the best debut week for Dion since '' One Heart'' sold 97,000 units in 2003 and the best first week total for a Canadian artist since 2006, when Gregory Charles sold 93,000 copies of ''I Think of You''. ''Sans Attendre'' also achieved the second best one week sales for a Francophone album in the SoundScan era, trailing the first ''
Star Académie ''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sens ...
'' release, which sold 174,000 units in its debut week in 2003. In the second week, the album fell to number two selling 28,000 copies. The next week, it fell to number three and on 26 November 2012, ''Sans attendre'' was certified three-times Platinum in Canada for shipping 240,000 units. In the fourth week, it jumped to number two and the next week the album fell to number four. After only five weeks, ''Sans attendre'' was placed at number seventeen on the ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
s Canadian Albums Year-End Chart of 2012. In the sixth week, it fell to number seven, and the next week it climbed to number six. In the eighth week, which was the last week of 2012, the album fell to number ten. On the SoundScan's Canadian Albums Year-End Chart of 2012, which included only eight weeks of sales of ''Sans attendre'', the album reached number five selling 209,000 copies, including 198,500 units sold in Quebec alone. ''Sans attendre'' also spent nine weeks at number one on the Quebec Albums Chart. As of July 2013, the album has shipped over 300,000 copies in Canada. In France, the album debuted at number one selling 95,569 copies. It became the second-biggest debut of 2012, only behind ''Le bal des Enfoirés'' by Les Enfoirés. In the second week, ''Sans attendre'' fell to number two selling 48,109 units. It was dethroned by
Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...
's album, ''L'attente'' which also includes "L'amour peut prendre froid", a duet with Dion. On 24 November 2012, during the French television special, Dion received three-times Platinum award for shipping 300,000 copies of ''Sans attendre'' in France. In the third week, the album has sold 35,910 units and fell to number four. The next week, after the television special, ''Sans attendre'' jumped to number three with sales of 57,643 copies. In the fifth week, it stayed at number three selling 65,220 units. The next week, the album jumped to number two with another sales increase, selling 77,835 copies. In the seventh week, just before
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...
, ''Sans attendre'' returned to the number one position with its biggest weekly sales of 140,718 units (up 81%) and the second-best weekly score of 2012. In the last week of 2012, it fell to number two selling 47,605 copies. After just eight weeks, ''Sans attendre'' became the best selling physical album of 2012 in France and second best selling album overall, with total sales of 568,609 units. On 31 December 2012, it was certified
Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
for selling over 500,000 copies. In the first four weeks of 2013, ''Sans attendre'' stayed at number two selling 20,397, 13,929, 10,323 and 9,854 copies, respectively. The next week, the album fell to number four selling 7,905 units. In the fourteenth week, ''Sans attendre'' fell to number five with sales of 7,068 copies. The next week, the album fell to number eight selling 7,200 units and bringing the total sales to 645,285 copies. As of November 2013, ''Sans attendre'' has shipped over 800,000 copies in France, making it one of the best selling albums in recent years. It also peaked at number one in Belgium Wallonia (for five non-consecutive weeks) and the French-speaking part of Switzerland (
Romandy Romandy ( or ; Arpitan: ''Romandia'')Before World War I, the term French Switzerland () waalso used ( or , , ) is the French-speaking historical and cultural region of Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss pop ...
), number two in Switzerland (including non-French-speaking areas) and Taiwan, and number eight in Poland and South Korea, and was certified
Platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
in Belgium, and
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
in Switzerland and Poland. After only six weeks, the album was placed on the year-end charts of 2012 in Belgium Wallonia (number four) and Switzerland (number thirty-nine). As of November 2013, ''Sans attendre'' has sold over 1.5 million copies around the world.


Accolades

In January 2013, Dion was nominated as Female Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique but lost to Lou Doillon. In February 2013, she was nominated in three categories at the Juno Awards of 2013, including Album of the Year (''Sans attendre''), Adult Contemporary Album of the Year (''Sans attendre'') and Fan Choice Award. In March 2013, Dion was also nominated in four categories at the
World Music Awards The World Music Awards was an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event was based in Monte Carlo. Awards were presented to the worl ...
: World's Best Female Artist, World's Best Live Act, World's Best Entertainer of the Year and her album ''Sans attendre'' was nominated for World's Best Album. In September 2013, she was nominated for six Félix Awards in the categories: Female Artist of the Year, Most Successful Quebecois Artist Outside Quebec, Most Popular Song of the Year (" Parler à mon père"), Adult Contemporary Album of the Year (''Sans attendre''), Best-Selling Album of the Year (''Sans attendre''), and Music Television Show of the Year (for the television special ''Céline Dion… Sans attendre''). ''Sans attendre'' won two Félix Awards in October 2013, including Adult Contemporary Album of the Year and Best-Selling Album of the Year.


Track listing


Personnel

Adapted from
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
. *
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
– lead vocals * John C. Arnold – violin * Stephane Aubin – piano, keyboards, programming * Michel Aymé – guitars * Svetlin Belneev – violin * Denis Benarrosh – percussion * Thierry Blanchard – producer, arranger, piano, keyboards, programming, engineer * Marc Berthoumieux – accordion * Audrey Bocahut – harp * Jean-Sébastien Carré – violin * Yvan Cassar – producer, piano * Raphaël Chassin – drums, percussion * Eric Chevalier – programming * Choeurs du Studio Meyes de La Ciotat – background vocals * Bob Clearmountain – engineer * Laurent Coppola – drums * Irena Z. Chirkova – cello * Lisa D. Donlinger – violin * Mathieu Dulong – engineer's assistant * Jean-François Durez – percussion * Philippe Dunnigan – violin solo * Jenny K. Elfving – violin * Delphine Elbé – background vocals * David Diffon – engineer's assistant * Ensamble Philippe Dunnigan – strings and horns * Ryan Freeland – engineer * François Gauthier – engineer * David Gategno – producer, piano, keyboards, guitars, percussion, programming, engineer * Jerome G. Gordon – violin * Emmanuel Guerrero – piano * Lenka Hajkova – violin * André Hampartzoumian – electric guitars * Patrick Hampartzoumian – producer, arranger, percussion, background vocals, programming, engineer * Jean-Marc Haroutiounian – bass * Raymond Holzknecht – engineer's assistant * Pierre Jaconelli – guitars * Laraine Renee Kaiser – violin * Freddy Koella – guitars * Dimitri Kourka – violin * François Lalonde – engineer * Marc Langis – bass * Claude Lemay – producer, arranger, piano, orchestrator, conductor * Deann Letourneau – violin * Stéphane Levy – engineer * Christian Loigerot – engineer * Sean O'Dyer – engineer's assistant * Paul Picard – percussion * Paris Pop Orchestra – orchestra * Kalia A. Potts – violin * Scott Price – producer, arranger, piano, keyboards * Agnès Puget – background vocals * Rebecca Ramsey – violin * Stanislas – producer, conductor, orchestrator * Stéphane Rullière – violin solo * Zizou Sadki – bass * Denis Savage – engineer * Julien Schultheis – producer, arranger, piano, keyboards, drums, programming * Raymond Bill Sicam – cello * Jeff Smallwood – guitars * Emilie Smill – background vocals * Dominique Spagnolo – piano * Lindsey Springer – cello * Cyril Tarquiny – guitars * Jean Michel Tavernier – horn * Eric Tewalt – flute * Laurent Vernerey – bass * Jacques Veneruso – producer, arranger, guitars, ukulele, background vocals


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


All-time charts


Certifications and sales


Release history


See also

* Félix Award *
List of best-selling albums in France This is a list of the best-selling albums in France that have been certified by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Diamond album certifications The SNEP provides "certifications" for album sales, similar to the RIAA certif ...
* List of number-one albums of 2012 (Canada) * List of number-one singles of 2012 (France)


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2010s French-language albums 2012 albums Celine Dion albums