Elvis and Celine?

Um...has anyone heard about Elvis and Celine Dion doing a duet for the next American Idol results show? It's a special called "Idol Gives Back" (eyeroll is not for the charity but for it being AI who has decided to be the middle man, i.e. it reads as a publicity stunt, even if intentions are good).

I was reading the Television Without Pity forums and came across this as being a "surprise duet", so I googled idol forums and found this:

The duet is called If I Can Dream and it is CELINE DION and ELVIS PRESLEY!!!! Here's the board post:

First off ... she said it was amazing. Celine sang a song WITH Elvis called "If I Can Dream." Much like her duet with Mr. Sinatra but using an Elvis Impersonator from Vegas for the on-stage person. Sounds complicated ... I agree, but she said they were going to actually use the REAL Elvis's face and voice, which is why she prerecorded the performance.

The Idols do come on stage through the song doing back-up vocals. They were dressed in all white.

Celine wore all black, blazer type top with a shear/mesh type top underneath, hair down and long ... loose curls/flips here and there.

She said Celine was in perfect voice and sweet as could be, even after performing it 5 or 6 times.

This will air Wednesday the 25th.

That's all for now ... I'm so excited!!

And here are the lyrics:

There must be lights burning brighter somewhere
Got to be birds flying higher in a sky more blue
If I can dream of a better land
Where all my brothers walk hand in hand
Tell me why, oh why, oh why cant my dream come true

There must be peace and understanding sometime
Strong winds of promise that will blow away
All the doubt and fear
If I can dream of a warmer sun
Where hope keeps shining on everyone
Tell me why, oh why, oh why wont that sun appear

Were lost in a cloud
With too much rain
Were trapped in a world
Thats troubled with pain
But as long as a man
Has the strength to dream
He can redeem his soul and fly

Deep in my heart theres a trembling question
Still I am sure that the answer gonna come somehow
Out there in the dark, theres a beckoning candle
And while I can think, while I can talk
While I can stand, while I can walk
While I can dream, please let my dream
Come true, right now
Let it come true right now
Oh yeah

YES!!!!!!

And here is the link to the board.....thanks to the KCE for the link!

http://www.celinedionforum.com/index.ph ... ntry526775

So....yeah. Thought some people here might like to hear about it.

IMHO THIS STINKS-why couldnt they just use the film on a screen of Elvis and his vocals ?Like Elvis the Concert?

Oh of course the estate..

If i was in charge i would have compiled Elvis clip comprising of Black Leather stand up and White suit clip and used Elvis vocals aka ETC with Celine singing live to this with the band--ANOTHER MISSED HUGE OPPORTUNITY-did i say that this stinks?

IMHO THIS STINKS-why couldnt they just use the film on a screen of Elvis and his vocals ?Like Elvis the Concert?

Oh of course the estate..

If i was in charge i would have compiled Elvis clip comprising of Black Leather stand up and White suit clip and used Elvis vocals aka ETC with Celine singing live to this with the band--ANOTHER MISSED HUGE OPPORTUNITY-did i say that this stinks?

Well, I'm not sure, but from reading that it seems like the impersonator was there because they were having difficulties with the video. So I think it WILL be a screen with the real thing and Celine singing along like Elvis the Concert.

Or at least I freaking hope so. 'Cuz if not.... *gulp* I really can't bear the thought of it being an impersonator. Really. Can't.

JXL "A Little Less Conversation" When JXL did this at the height of the Elvis resurgence millions of people were exposed to this great track he had the best equipment to show of the multichannel mix to great effect,only thing is just like on TOTP an Elvis impersonator was there acting the fool with huge black sideburns that kept coming loose!

But the biggest insult was that fiasco surrounding Gareth Gates suspicious minds and the record company using Elvis to benefit another artist.

as long as it's not an impersonator (singing OR on stage) then it would be cool,but if I see an elvis impersonator lipsyncing or dancing to elvis' voice/music WITHOUT any real footage of elvis I am going to scream...if the dude from american idol really owns the roght to EPE then there should be no problem using elvis' footage...

I see a possible duet/remix c.d. coming out of this..possibly a single...maby this is a sign of what they REALLY have planned this year..as long as the duet with Lisa marie is on the c.d. as well...

Something strange about this....if they are really going to use Elvis voice then why have an impersonator singing?

Surely they would use Elvis' voice from the get go!

The only positives are that the song is one of Elvis' finest ballads, and the 35-plus million TV viewers will likely have never heard it before.

Some of these humans may discover the greatness that is Elvis Presley by watching him lay it all on the line with "If I Can Dream."

That is, of course, if C. Dion doesn't completely ruin it with her technically perfect, totally souless vocals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxoW-3OZ9m8

That is, of course, if C. Dion doesn't completely ruin it with her technically perfect, totally souless vocals.

lol..amen to that....

http://www.celinedionforum.com/index.ph ... opic=22605

Doc, you're spot on!
Celine Dion needs to spend a few years with Aretha Franklin to find some soul for her voice.
Although this might bring one of Elvis's greatest tracks some welcome publicity there is no way it will improve on perfection
Rick

That is, of course, if C. Dion doesn't completely ruin it with her technically perfect, totally soulless vocals.

lol..amen to that....

i'm in utter shock that i'm agreeing with djc. but yes, this is pretty much my opinion of celine as well.

several years ago there was a divas salute the king show, or segment of a show. celine dion completely butchered her piece--i think it might have been can't help falling in love. it was atrocious though. cher did the best performance in that special, imo. i also recall shakira butchering elvis.

there simply shouldn't be that many up and down lifeless chords in a song like can't help falling in love.

Here ya go ... Celine singing CHFIL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vo3x4KQG6w

People seem to either love Celine or hate her - she is very polarizing, a little like Elvis was during his career. I happen to like her, and I am looking forward to this duet. Hopefully the impersonator is someone for Celine and the audience to react to, and we will never see him on T.V.

I don't see how this can be bad, (if it is indeed Elvis' vocals that are being used), it will give "If I can Dream" (and Elvis) massive exposure to a worldwide audience!

Brian

That is, of course, if C. Dion doesn't completely ruin it with her technically perfect, totally soulless vocals.

lol..amen to that....

i'm in utter shock that i'm agreeing with djc. but yes, this is pretty much my opinion of celine as well.

several years ago there was a divas salute the king show, or segment of a show. celine dion completely butchered her piece--i think it might have been can't help falling in love. it was atrocious though. cher did the best performance in that special, imo. i also recall shakira butchering elvis.

there simply shouldn't be that many up and down lifeless chords in a song like can't help falling in love.

Those diva shows tended to be awful, especially the endings with each singer trying to outdo the others - result being every word being extended to about 13 syllables and appalling oversinging. As good as Aretha is - and she is a legend - she was one of the worst offenders.

if only they could get cher instead...somebody who can, in fact, sing an elvis song in a way that is much closer to elvis' style.

why not almost every diva BUT celine? besides cher, i personally like bette midler. however, a country singer would do an elvis song the most justice. country and blues musicians understand the style much better. celine singing this stuff is like asking placido domingo to sing a rocker (unlikely, but i think he could get better results than celine dion).

elvis could sing nearly operatic--but he wasn't about technical singing, but more about feel.

also, it appears everyone who tries to sing elvis nowadays is incapable of any kind of tenderness. the american idol kids are yet more proof of that. they almost have to stay away from his ballads because they aren't supposed to be show-off vocal trick pieces, but emotion pieces. also the fact that these kids generally pick uninspired song selections because they simply aren't that familiar with the full catalogue. maybe somebody will set up a career overview collection to sit these kids in front of so they might hear and try something new.

the big problem with picking well-known songs is that even the idiot audience is going to know how the original sounded. if they pick something a little more vague, it won't be so jarring for the audience to hear the song with a different voice. granted, going to youtube and reading on the american idol elvis night recordings, you see them adamantly trying to persuade that their idols sing better/are more attractive than elvis. it's quite bizarre to me, even though i suppose it's natural for people to be modern entertainment-centric. though you do get a trickle of american idol watchers that check out the originals of those songs.

No one should try to touch If I Can Dream. One can make the argument that Elvis' version of that track is one of his finest vocal performances and triumphs which certainly would make it one of music's greatest vocal moments.

No one should try to touch If I Can Dream. One can make the argument that Elvis' version of that track is one of his finest vocal performances and triumphs which certainly would make it one of music's greatest vocal moments.

If there's a legitimate cover of "If I Can Dream" I've never heard it. And yes, Wayne Newton's live versions in Las Vegas -- wtih wide belt and all -- do not count.

The only positives are that the song is one of Elvis' finest ballads, and the 35-plus million TV viewers will likely have never heard it before.

Some of these humans may discover the greatness that is Elvis Presley by watching him lay it all on the line with "If I Can Dream."

That is, of course, if C. Dion doesn't completely ruin it with her technically perfect, totally souless vocals.

Yeah, the big audience is why I like the idea, but....I just hope they don't ruin it with impersonators or some other nonsense.

I've never much cared for Celine and that perfection-without-feeling style is why. It's really kind of creepy. Like....robots who turn on humans.

I see a possible duet/remix c.d. coming out of this..possibly a single...maby this is a sign of what they REALLY have planned this year..as long as the duet with Lisa marie is on the c.d. as well...

Let's pray for a duet album, I would love to see (and hear) that.

No one should try to touch If I Can Dream. One can make the argument that Elvis' version of that track is one of his finest vocal performances and triumphs which certainly would make it one of music's greatest vocal moments.

If there's a legitimate cover of "If I Can Dream" I've never heard it. And yes, Wayne Newton's live versions in Las Vegas -- wtih wide belt and all -- do not count.

Would it help if he wore a thin belt? Seriously, if they show footage of EP singing IICD, I'm all for it, Celion Dion or not.

The only connection I know of between Elvis & Celine is....
Colonel Tom Parker.

Let's just leave it that way

Celine Dion?

I'm sure that the Titanic sank only of her singing...

A duet with Elvis? So now we shouldn't be afraid of releasing "Elvis In Concert - The CBS Special", because that would damage his legacy less than a duet with Celine Dion.

Joern

IMHO THIS STINKS-why couldnt they just use the film on a screen of Elvis and his vocals ?Like Elvis the Concert?

Oh of course the estate..

If i was in charge i would have compiled Elvis clip comprising of Black Leather stand up and White suit clip and used Elvis vocals aka ETC with Celine singing live to this with the band--ANOTHER MISSED HUGE OPPORTUNITY-did i say that this stinks?

Don't think the estate would be a hold up since the same company that owns American Idol owns the estate as well.