Sans attendre

On 7 June 2012, Dion's official website announced that during April and May, the singer began recording songs for her next French and English albums. The French album would contain all new material, and the English album would include studio versions of previously unreleased songs from Dion's Las Vegas show, Celine, as well as several new tracks. When asked about the difference between singing in French and English, Dion said: "It's like wearing a pair of jeans or an evening gown. You cannot change what's in your blood. French is my home, my roots. It's where I live first. French is a more interior energy, more poetic. But, when I sing in English, there are different emotions. As a singer I cannot choose, I need both". On 29 June 2012, celinedion.com previewed a 30-second excerpt of the first single written and co-produced by Jacques Veneruso, "Parler à mon père", from the French-language album scheduled for release on 5 November 2012. However, in selected European countries, it was released on 2 November 2012. The cover art for the single was revealed at the same time. During an interview with Le Parisien, Dion announced the title of the upcoming French album, Sans attendre, which means "without waiting". She later explained that for her the title means "don't leave until tomorrow what you can do today", and that "today" is the most important day. She also discussed "Parler à mon père", which is about her father, who died in 2003. He was her biggest supporter, and she thinks of him every day, believing that he is always with her and watching over her children. Another duet with French singer Johnny Hallyday was also announced. A preview of the music video for "Parler à mon père" was posted on celinedion.com on 5 September 2012, and the full video premiered the next day. It was filmed in Las Vegas on 16 July 2012 and in the Death Valley, and directed by Thierry Vargnes, who had previously worked with Dion on the music videos for "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une (je serais celle-là)" and "Immensité". Dion completed recording her French-language album in September 2012. == Content ==

On 1 October 2012, Dion's official website presented the album's cover art and announced in a press release that Sans attendre would be released in two versions: a standard edition with 14 tracks and a 24‑page booklet in a jewel case, and a deluxe edition with 16 songs, a 24‑page booklet, and a 12‑page desk calendar in a special digipak. The album cover was created by illustrator Aurore Hutton, niece of former French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Jean-Pierre Ferland, a Canadian singer-songwriter, appears twice on the album. He recorded his own song, "Une chance qu'on s'a", as a duet with Dion and wrote the lyrics for "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour". Ferland had previously performed two songs with Dion during the Céline sur les Plaines concert, which was released on DVD in 2008. According to Dion, "this album is about feelings and being close to the people who have known me a long time. I can speak to them freely without having to convince them of what I'm capable of. It's like a VIP invitation: I invite you into my home". In May 2013, the deluxe edition of Sans attendre was re-released in France, Belgium, and Switzerland, including a 56‑page notebook with drawings by Aurore Hutton, replacing the desk calendar. == Singles ==

The first single, "Parler à mon père", was released to digital stores on 2 July 2012 and reached number one for 10 weeks in Quebec, number seven in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (Romandy), number eight in France, number 11 in Belgium's Wallonia, and number 25 in Switzerland (including the non-French-speaking areas). The song peaked at number one in Quebec and reached number 27 in Wallonia, and number 77 in France. Although not released as a single, "Les petits pieds de Léa" reached number 80 on the Canadian Hot 100 due to digital sales following the album's release. The third single, "Qui peut vivre sans amour?", was announced by Dion's official website on 10 February 2013, and it was sent to radio stations in Francophone countries in March 2013. The music video premiered on 19 April 2013. On 8 April 2014, "Celle qui m'a tout appris" was announced as a single supporting Dion's live release Céline une seule fois / Live 2013. == Promotion ==

For the release of her new French-language album, Dion taped a television special, Céline Dion... Sans attendre, in Montreal on 15 October 2012, which was broadcast on 4 November 2012 on TVA. She performed selected songs from Sans attendre, including "Parler à mon père", "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour", "Une chance qu'on s'a" with Jean-Pierre Ferland, "Celle qui m'a tout appris", "Que toi au monde", "La mer et l'enfant", and "Le miracle". Other segments of the special showed the studio recording of "Les petits pieds de Léa", Dion performing "Mille après mille" with Fred Pellerin, and a medley of her hits with Star Académie contestants. Véronic DiCaire, a Canadian imitator, also appeared on the show. The special became the most-watched program of the fall season on Quebec television, drawing 2,386,000 viewers and a 57.9% market share. As part of the promotion in Quebec, Dion also performed "Je n'ai pas besoin d'amour" on Tout le monde en parle, which aired on 11 November 2012. On 22 November 2012, she received a Bambi Award in Germany and performed "River Deep, Mountain High" and "Ne me quitte pas" during the ceremony. A second television special, this time for France, titled Céline Dion, Le grand show, was broadcast on 24 November 2012 on France 2. Dion performed four songs from Sans attendre: "Parler à mon père", "L'amour peut prendre froid" with Johnny Hallyday, "Le miracle", and "Qui peut vivre sans amour?". The show also included performances by various artists who sang their own songs or tributes to Dion. She performed duets with Patrick Bruel on "Qui a le droit...", Florent Pagny on "J'irai où tu iras", and Michel Sardou on "Voler", and sang several of her hits. The special became the second most-watched program of the night, attracting 4,874,000 viewers and narrowly trailing Danse avec les stars, which drew 5,040,000 viewers. On 28 November 2012, during C à vous on France 5, Dion performed "La mer et l'enfant". On 2 December 2012, she appeared on Chabada on France 3 and sang three songs from Sans attendre: "Le miracle", "Ne me quitte pas" with Florent Pagny, and "Parler à mon père". She also performed duets with other artists invited to the show. The episode dedicated to Dion became a major success with 1.5 million viewers, setting a record for Chabada. Also on 2 December 2012, Dion sang "Parler à mon père" on Vivement Dimanche on France 2. On 17 December 2012, she appeared on France 3 on a show titled Céline en toute intimité. Dion was interviewed by the host and performed selected songs from Sans attendre, including "Si je n'ai rien de toi", "Le miracle", "Attendre", and "L'amour peut prendre froid" with Johnny Hallyday. The show also included segments from the Canadian television special. On 20 December 2012, Dion was the guest of honour in another television special titled We Love Céline on NRJ 12. She performed "Parler à mon père", "Qui peut vivre sans amour?", and "Le miracle". She also performed a duet with Maurane on "Quand on n'a que l'amour" and sang "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" a cappella with Chimène Badi. Many other artists paid tribute to her by performing her songs, including Stanislas, who sang "Moi quand je pleure". During Dion's promotional visit to France in November 2012, she also recorded a performance of "Ne me quitte pas" for Simplement pour un soir, which was broadcast on 12 January 2013 on France 2. The promotion for Sans attendre concluded on 20 January 2013, when a performance of "Le miracle" filmed in November 2012 was shown on Vivement Dimanche. Six months later, on 27 July 2013, Dion performed six songs from Sans attendre during her one-night-only concert in Quebec, titled Céline... une seule fois. Because of the album's success, she also embarked on the European Tour 2013 in November 2013, performing sold-out concerts in Belgium and France. During her visit to France in November and December 2013, Dion performed "Parler à mon père" and "Qui peut vivre sans amour?" on ''C'est votre vie, and "Parler à mon père" on Les chansons d'abord. Her concert Céline... une seule fois was broadcast in late December 2013 in Switzerland, France, and Belgium. She also performed "Parler à mon père" as a duet with Tal on Ce soir on chante, broadcast on 3 January 2014. The Céline... une seule fois concert, with bonus tracks recorded in Paris during the European Tour 2013, was released as Céline une seule fois / Live 2013'' on 16 May 2014. == Critical reception ==

Sans attendre received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. Bernard Perusse from The Gazette described the album as full of dramatic emotion, with songs addressing themes such as longing for a departed father, the cruelty of love, the healing power of tears, the waning days of an aging mother, the emotional solace sought by a single parent, the loss of a lover to war, the end of a long-standing relationship, the misery of a baby's death, and the turmoil caused by a serious argument. He praised the "lightly-orchestrated" "Moi quand je pleure" with its unusual chord structure, the "refreshingly subdued" "Parler à mon père" and "Le miracle", the "forceful attack" on Jacques Brel's "Ne me quitte pas", and the "serviceable pop" of "Les jours comme ça". However, he criticized "Qui peut vivre sans amour?" as a "quasi-arena-rock showcase" and called "Les petits pieds de Léa" an "unfortunate" composition inspired by lyricist Marianne L'Heureux's personal tragedy. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, calling it a moody collection. He wrote that the relatively restrained production gives Dion space to "grandstand on these tales of heartbreak, aging, and death". He noted that the songs focus on loss rather than love and found "genuine pathos" in them. Erlewine considered Sans attendre one of Dion's best albums in recent years. == Commercial reception ==

In Canada, Sans attendre entered the albums chart at number one with sales of 92,135 copies, including 88,206 units sold in Quebec alone. Sans attendre achieved the second-largest one-week sales total in 2012, trailing Taylor Swift's Red by fewer than 450 copies. The following week, it dropped to number three, and on 26 November 2012, Sans attendre was certified triple platinum in Canada for shipments of 240,000 units. In the fourth week, it rose to number two, and the next week it fell to number four. After five weeks, Sans attendre ranked number seventeen on Billboard's Canadian Albums Year-End Chart for 2012. In the sixth week, it fell to number seven, and the following week it climbed to number six. The album spent nine weeks at number one on the Quebec Albums Chart. As of July 2013, the album had shipped more than 300,000 copies in Canada. In France, the album debuted at number one with sales of 95,569 copies. It became the second-biggest debut of 2012, behind Le bal des Enfoirés by Les Enfoirés. In the second week, Sans attendre fell to number two with sales of 48,109 units, dethroned by Johnny Hallyday's ''L'attente'', which includes the duet "L'amour peut prendre froid" with Dion. On 24 November 2012, during a French television special, Dion received a triple platinum award for shipments of 300,000 copies in France. In the third week, the album sold 35,910 units and fell to number four. The following week, after the television special, it rose to number three with sales of 57,643 copies. In the fifth week, it remained at number three with sales of 65,220 units. The next week, it climbed to number two with sales of 77,835 copies. In the seventh week, just before Christmas, Sans attendre returned to number one with its highest weekly sales of 140,718 units, the second-best weekly total of 2012. In the final week of 2012, it fell to number two with sales of 47,605 copies. After eight weeks, it became the best-selling physical album of 2012 in France and the second best-selling album overall, with total sales of 568,609 units. On 31 December 2012, it was certified diamond for sales exceeding 500,000 copies. In the first four weeks of 2013, Sans attendre remained at number two with weekly sales of 20,397, 13,929, 10,323, and 9,854 copies, respectively. In the fifth week of 2013, it fell to number four with sales of 7,905 units. In the 14th week, it dropped to number five with sales of 7,068 copies. The following week, it fell to number eight with sales of 7,200 units, bringing total sales to 645,285 copies. As of November 2013, Sans attendre had shipped more than 800,000 copies in France, making it one of the best-selling albums of recent years. The album also reached number one in Belgium's Wallonia for five non-consecutive weeks, and number one in the French-speaking region of Switzerland (Romandy). It peaked at number two in Switzerland (including non-French-speaking areas) and Taiwan, number eight in Poland and South Korea, and was certified platinum in Belgium, and gold in Switzerland and Poland. After six weeks, it appeared on the 2012 year-end charts in Wallonia (number four) and Switzerland (number 39). As of November 2013, Sans attendre had sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. == Accolades ==

In January 2013, Dion was nominated for Female Artist of the Year at the Victoires de la Musique, but the award went to Lou Doillon. In February 2013, she received three nominations at the Juno Awards of 2013, including Album of the Year (Sans attendre), Adult Contemporary Album of the Year (Sans attendre), and the Fan Choice Award. In March 2013, Dion was also nominated in four categories at the World Music Awards: World's Best Female Artist, World's Best Live Act, World's Best Entertainer of the Year, and World's Best Album for Sans attendre. In September 2013, she received six nominations at the Félix Awards: Female Artist of the Year, Most Successful Quebecois Artist Outside Quebec, Most Popular Song of the Year ("Parler à mon père"), Adult Contemporary Album of the Year (Sans attendre), Best-Selling Album of the Year (Sans attendre), and Music Television Show of the Year (for the television special Céline Dion... Sans attendre). Sans attendre won two Félix Awards in October 2013: Adult Contemporary Album of the Year and Best-Selling Album of the Year. == Track listing ==

Adapted from AllMusic. • Celine Dion – lead vocals • John C. Arnold – violin • Stéphane Aubin – piano, keyboards, programming • Michel Aymé – guitars • Svetlin Belneev – violin • Denis Benarrosh – percussion • Thierry Blanchard – producer, arranger, piano, keyboards, programming, engineering • Marc Berthoumieux – accordion • Audrey Bocahut – harp • Jean-Sébastien Carré – violin • Yvan Cassar – producer, piano • Raphaël Chassin – drums, percussion • Eric Chevalier – programming • Choeurs du Studio Meyes de La Ciotat – background vocals • Bob Clearmountain – engineering • Laurent Coppola – drums • Irena Z. Chirkova – cello • Lisa D. Donlinger – violin • Mathieu Dulong – assistant engineer • Jean-François Durez – percussion • Philippe Dunnigan – violin solo • Jenny K. Elfving – violin • Delphine Elbé – background vocals • David Diffon – assistant engineer • Ensemble Philippe Dunnigan – strings and horns • Ryan Freeland – engineering • François Gauthier – engineering • David Gategno – producer, piano, keyboards, guitars, percussion, programming, engineering • Jerome G. Gordon – violin • Emmanuel Guerrero – piano • Lenka Hajkova – violin • André Hampartzoumian – electric guitars • Patrick Hampartzoumian – producer, arranger, percussion, background vocals, programming, engineering • Jean-Marc Haroutiounian – bass • Raymond Holzknecht – assistant engineer • Pierre Jaconelli – guitars • Laraine Renée Kaiser – violin • Freddy Koella – guitars • Dimitri Kourka – violin • François Lalonde – engineering • Marc Langis – bass • Claude Lemay – producer, arranger, piano, orchestration, conductor • Deann Letourneau – violin • Stéphane Levy – engineering • Christian Loigerot – engineering • Sean O'Dyer – assistant engineer • Paul Picard – percussion • Paris Pop Orchestra – orchestra • Kalia A. Potts – violin • Scott Price – producer, arranger, piano, keyboards • Agnès Puget – background vocals • Rebecca Ramsey – violin • Stanislas – producer, conductor, orchestrator • Stéphane Rullière – violin solo • Zizou Sadki – bass • Denis Savage – engineering • Julien Schultheis – producer, arranger, piano, keyboards, drums, programming • Raymond Bill Sicam – cello • Jeff Smallwood – guitars • Emilie Smill – background vocals • Dominique Spagnolo – piano • Lindsey Springer – cello • Cyril Tarquiny – guitars • Jean-Michel Tavernier – horn • Eric Tewalt – flute • Laurent Vernerey – bass • Jacques Veneruso – producer, arranger, guitars, ukulele, background vocals == Charts ==

Weekly charts Year-end charts All-time charts == Certifications and sales ==