In this edition, FRANCE 24’s François Picard talks to Nick Rees-Roberts, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University about Celine Dion. For Roberts, Dion’s extraordinary return to Paris reveals something larger than the enduring popularity of a global pop star. Her appeal lies in an unusual ability to bridge categories that contemporary celebrity and pop culture often keep separate: generations, languages, cultural hierarchies and even the apparent opposition between authenticity and carefully constructed stardom.
Dion’s longevity matters. Audiences have watched her evolve from a young Québécois Eurovision winner into a global superstar whose songs have become part of mass cultural memory. Yet Roberts argues that her continued relevance cannot be explained by the music alone. Her public persona – funny, eccentric and “unfiltered” – creates an impression of authenticity even as her appearances are embedded within highly sophisticated systems of fashion, branding and celebrity performance. The paradox is central to her appeal: audiences can recognize the machinery of stardom while still experiencing the person behind it as genuine.
