Celine Dion’s new documentary gives fans a peek into her life behind the scenes following her devastating diagnosis of stiff person syndrome as she discloses how it affects her famous voice.
The artist disclosed that she had a rare neurological condition that causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms, in December 2022.
In I Am: Celine Dion, which will be released to Prime Video on 25 June, the Canadian singer disclosed she first noticed symptoms of the condition 17 years ago, while having breakfast.
“Seventeen years ago I started to experience some voice spasming, this is the way it started,” she said in the film, directed by Oscar nominee Irene Taylor.
“I woke up one morning and I had my breakfast, and after having my breakfast, my voice started to go up.
“It freaked me out a little bit, because normally when you’re tired as a singer because you did a show the night before, your voice would go roughly half a key down or one note down.”
“I was scared, I didn’t know what to do. And today, [I’ve received] the diagnosis. SPS, which is Stiff Person Syndrome. She continued:
“It’s in the muscle, it’s in the tendons, it’s in the nerves. You can’t see anything, because it’s not seeable.”
Dion said it reached a point where she “couldn’t walk”, as she was losing her balance and in “a lot of pain”.
“I can’t use my voice yet,” she said, starting to weep. “Music… I miss it a lot. But also, the people. I miss them.”
She later demonstrated how SPS prevents her from singing: “When I try to breathe, my lungs are fine; it’s what is in front of my lungs that’s so rigid, because of Stiff Person Syndrome.”
As she tried to sing, her voice – the famous five-octave-spanning mezzo-soprano behind “My Heart Will Got On” – noticeably cracked and she stopped, growing emotional again.
“That’s what happens and it’s very difficult for me to show this to you,” she said, crying.
“I think I was very good… I think I had some amazing stuff.”
Dion has previously shared that living with the syndrome has caused her muscle spasms that have broken her ribs.
“Trying to overcome this autoimmune disorder has been one of the hardest experiences of my life, but I remain determined to one day get back onto the stage.”
