Friday’s French music break - Céline Dion, “Encore un soir”

You know you’re in trouble when you have to admit that a song from a singer you normally can’t stand actually catches your fancy.

It happened several months ago when…er…(hang head in shame time) Justin Bieber’s “Love yourself” ear-wormed its way into this listener’s head.

A catchy, gentle number that, once Shazamed, revealed itself to be by the 22-year-old Canadian and ergo (apparently) totally inappropriate to anyone over the age of 15.

Still, it’s never a bad thing to admit to having questionable taste, and besides, it would have been churlish (in the ungentlemanly sense) and feeble to have pretended the song no longer appealed simply because it was from The Biebernator.

And…gulp…it has happened again.

No not another Bieber song, after all there’s only so far an adult man can accept to have become (albeit temporarily) a “Belieber” (where’s this vocabulary coming from) and this is Friday’s French music.

This time around it’s…wait for it…from his fellow Canadian and global super shrieker , Céline Dion.

Céline Dion (screenshot Celine Dion - Live in Montreal - “Encore Un Soir”)

OK, so she’s not French either, but “Encore un soir” (the title track of her soon-to-be released album) marks a return to her working together with the Grammy Award-winning French singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman.

Now, you might be expecting the usual wailing, belting Las Vegas high notes from the 48-year-old mother of three. But no. This has Goldman’s talent written all over it, even if it was reportedly Dion who approached him rather than the other way around (as had been the case in 1996).

Best perhaps not to read too much into the death of her late husband René Angélil in January 2016 and the impact it might or might not have had on her choice of tracks on her new album OR her discernible fashion “relooking” or “transformation” (and let’s be frank, that could only take an upwards direction)

“Encore un soir” is unadulterated middle-of-the-road adult listening…and not unpleasantly so either.

So, sit back. Forget all those pre(mis)conceptions you might have about Dion (or Goldman, come to that), stop being so incredibly snooty about your musical taste credibility…and enjoy!

After all, the worst that could  happen is that you might like it….and if you don’t, you can always hit “stop”

Bon week-end.