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Céline Dion made her long-awaited return to the concert stage Saturday, kicking off a 16-date residency with tears and high notes.

Clad in a stunning black gown, she said through tears, “I had promised myself not to cry. But I’m so happy to see you all. I missed you. I’m going to sing, like you, without crying.”

Sidelined by the rare neurological disorder stiff-person disease, she had once thought she may never sing again. Instead, after years of therapy, she returned with a show that lasted well over two hours.

She did not skimp on the hits, belting “The Power of Love,” “Because You Loved Me,” “Pour que tu m’aimes encore,” “All By Myself,” “I’m Alive,” and — of course — “My Heart Will Go On.”

Dion opened up about her struggle to make the triumphant comeback, saying, “The road was rocky. The journey was longer than expected, with unplanned stops along the way. But I hung in there. A faint ray of light in the distance, deep in the mountains. I believed in it. And here it is. The sun — the sun is here. The sun, right in front of me.” 

The iconic singer, who managed multiple costume changes throughout the evening, went on, “I made a promise to be back onstage. So, here I am, singing for you and singing for me, singing live! Thank you so very much for your support, your patience and if I may say so, I am everything I am because you loved me.”

She enhanced the evening with video interludes, including one that showed her wandering a desert. Many fans felt the multimedia elements made the performance feel spiritual, deepening the impact of the night.

Until this moment, her last live performance had been the one-off Eiffel Tower appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. For that, she chose Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à L’Amour.”

At evening’s end, Variety reports she said, “There are hundreds of people you can’t see — behind the scenes, on the sides, everywhere. Thank you all, because we put this show together.”

She went on, “And to you all, I love you. Be careful. Take good care of yourselves. I’m so happy to be here. Thank you for accepting my invitation. I love you, my darlings.”