À l'Olympia (Celine Dion album)

À l'Olympia
Live album by Celine Dion
Released	22 November 1994
Recorded	28–29 September 1994 at the Olympia in Paris, France
Genre	Pop
Length	68:16
Label	Columbia Epic
Producer	Claude Lemay
Celine Dion chronology
Les premières années (1994) À l'Olympia (1994) D'eux (1995)
Singles from À l'Olympia
"Calling You" Released: 19 December 1994

À l'Olympia (meaning At the Olympia) is a live album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 14 November 1994. It's her 2nd live album, 16th French album and 19th in total.

Content

“	J'attendais ce moment depuis longtemps, depuis 10 ans en fait... quand j'avais 16 ans j'étais venue chanter trois chansons en première partie sur cette scène; c'était mon rêve qui enfin est devenu réalité.	”
— Celine Dion, on performing at the Paris Olympia for the first time [1]

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."^[2]

Chart performance

The album has sold 1 million copies in Europe alone and was certified Platinum by the IFPI.^[3] À l'Olympia has sold 200,000 copies in Canada^[4] and was certified Platinum.^[5] It was also certified Platinum in France.^[6] The album peaked at number 10 in France and number 31 in Canada, as Quebec sales did not factor into the Canadian Albums chart at that time. On the Belgian Wallonia chart, which is available only since April 1995, À l'Olympia reached number 19.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Des mots qui sonnent"	Luc Plamondon Aldo Nova Marty Simon	4:15
2.	"Where Does My Heart Beat Now"	Robert White Johnson Taylor Rhodes	8:16
3.	"L'amour existe encore"	Plamondon Riccardo Cocciante	4:18
4.	"Je danse dans ma tête"	Plamondon Romano Musumarra	4:27
5.	"Calling You"	Bob Telson	6:41
6.	"Elle"	Eddy Marnay Paul Baillargeon	3:12
7.	"Medley Starmania" ("Quand on arrive en ville/Les uns contre les autres/Le monde est stone/Naziland, ce soir on danse")	Plamondon Michel Berger	6:33
8.	"Le blues du businessman"	Plamondon Berger	7:04
9.	"Le fils de Superman"	Plamondon Germain Gauthier	4:28
10.	"Love Can Move Mountains"	Diane Warren	5:25
11.	"Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)"	Plamondon Berger	3:19
12.	"The Power of Love"	Gunther Mende Candy DeRouge Jennifer Rush Mary Susan Applegate	6:08
13.	"Quand on n'a que l'amour"	Jacques Brel	4:07

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994–95) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[7] 96 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[8] 19 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 52 Canadian Albums (The Record)[10] 31 European Albums (Top 100)[11] 60 French Albums (SNEP)[12] 10

Year-end charts Chart (1995) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[13] 43 Belgian Francophone Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 17 French Albums (SNEP)[15] 35

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[16]	Platinum	200,000[4]
France (SNEP)[6]	Platinum	394,100[17]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[18]	Platinum	1,000,000^*
^*sales figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
France	14 November 1994	Columbia	CD	COL 4781612 + COL 478261 2 (édition 2007)
Canada	15 November 1994			80212

References

1. À l'Olympia, Celine Dion.
2. À l'Olympia review
3. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2004". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 March 2004.
4. Larry Leblanc (21 January 1995). "Youletide Cheer for Canadian Retailers". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
5. "Gold & platinum certification searchable database". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
6. "Certifications Albums Platine - année 1996" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
7. Sam Jaspers (2006). Ultratop 1995-2005. Book & Media Publishing. ISBN 90-5720-232-8.
8. "Céline Dion - À l'Olympia" (in French). Ultratop & Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2681." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
10. Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN 1-896594-13-1.
11. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 7 January 1995. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
12. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 24 December 1994. p. 54. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
13. "Rapports annueles 1995" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
14. "Rapports annueles 1995 - albums francophones" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
15. "Classement Albums - année 1995" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
16. "Canadian album certifications – Celine Dion – À l'Olympia". Music Canada.
17. "Les Meilleures Ventes de CD / Albums "Tout Temps"" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
18. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards - 2004". IFPI. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2014.