À l'Olympia (Celine Dion album) explained

À l'Olympia
Type:Live
Artist:Celine Dion
Cover:ALO01.jpeg
Recorded:28–29 September 1994
Venue:Olympia (Paris, France)
Genre:Pop
Length:68:13
Label:
Producer:Claude Lemay
Prev Title:The Colour of My Love
Prev Year:1993
Next Title:D'eux
Next Year:1995

À l'Olympia (English: "at the Olympia") is the second live album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 21 November 1994 by Sony Music. It features primarily French-language songs, mainly from Dion chante Plamondon (1991), but also includes English-language hits: "The Power of Love", "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", "Love Can Move Mountains" and "Calling You". À l'Olympia was certified Platinum by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, denoting sales of over one million copies in Europe.

Content

The album was recorded on 28 and 29 September 1994, during two sold-out concerts at the Paris Olympia. Among songs from singer's previous French album Dion chante Plamondon, Dion performed also "Calling You", (Academy Award-nominated song from Bagdad Café), "Quand on n'a que l'amour" (originally by Jacques Brel), and a medley of songs from the Starmania musical, including two songs unavailable on Dion previous releases: "Quand on arrive en ville" and "Naziland, ce soir on danse" (full English version of that song called "Tonight We Dance (Extravagance!)" was recorded by Dion and included on the Tycoon compilation in 1992).

Although À l'Olympia was unavailable in most important music markets (United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia), the B-sides of English singles released there in 1995 and 1996 included tracks from that album.

The video with this concert was never released.

"Quand on n'a que l'amour", "Elle" and "Medley Starmania" were included on Dion's 2005 French compilation On ne change pas.

Shows at the Olympia were a part of The Colour of My Love Tour.

Critical reception

AllMusic said that "the material sounds great live" and Dion's "voice as always a technical marvel".[1]

Commercial performance

The album has sold one million copies in Europe alone and was certified Platinum by the IFPI.[2] À l'Olympia has sold 200,000 copies in Canada[3] and was certified Platinum.[4] It was also certified Platinum in France. The album peaked at number three in Quebec, number ten in France and number 31 in Canada, as Quebec sales did not factor into the Canadian Albums chart at that time.[5] On the Belgian Wallonia chart, which is available only since April 1995, À l'Olympia reached number 19.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1994–1995)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[6] 96
Canadian Albums (The Record)[7] 31
European Albums (Music & Media)[8] 60
French Albums (SNEP)[9] 10
Quebec (ADISQ)[10] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (1995)! scope="col"
Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[11] 43
Belgian Francophone Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 17
French Albums (SNEP)[13] 35

Release history

Release history for À l'Olympia! Region! Date! Label! Format! Catalog
France, Switzerland[14] [15] 21 November 1994Columbia478161
Canada[16] 22 November 199480212

Notes and References

  1. À l'Olympia review
  2. Web site: IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2004 . International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. 1 March 2004.
  3. Youletide Cheer for Canadian Retailers. Billboard. Larry LeBlanc. Larry LeBlanc. 50. 21 January 1995. 13 April 2012.
  4. Web site: Gold & platinum certification searchable database. Canadian Recording Industry Association. 13 January 2009.
  5. Web site: Compilation des ventes d'albums par ordre alphabétique d'interprètes. BAnQ. French. 12 March 2019.
  6. Book: Sam Jaspers. Ultratop 1995-2005. Book & Media Publishing. 2006. 90-5720-232-8.
  7. Book: Nanda Lwin. Nanda Lwin. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. 1999. 1-896594-13-1.
  8. Web site: European Top 100 Albums. Music & Media. 9. 24 December 1994. 2 May 2019.
  9. Web site: Top National Sellers: France. Music & Media. 10. 24 December 1994. 2 May 2019.
  10. Web site: Palmarès des ventes d'albums au Québec. BAnQ. French. 12 March 2019. 27 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230127210358/http://www.banq.qc.ca/collections/collections_patrimoniales/musique/collection_numerique/bd_specialisee/palmares/.
  11. Web site: Rapports annueles 1995. Ultratop. French. 1 July 2014.
  12. Web site: Rapports annueles 1995 - albums francophones. Ultratop. French. 29 May 2016.
  13. Web site: Tops de l'année - Top Albums 1995. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. French. 11 December 2019.
  14. Web site: Celine Dion - À l'Olympia. Amazon France. 25 September 2018.
  15. Web site: Celine Dion - Releases - Sony Music Entertainment Switzerland GmbH. Sony Music. 30 December 2022. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100829072745/http://www.sonymusic.ch/Celine-Dion/Releases/P/7. 29 August 2010.
  16. Web site: Celine Dion: Music - À l'Olympia. celinedion.com. 25 September 2018.