Céline Dion's diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome (SPS) — a rare neurological disorder characterized by hyperactive muscles and sensitivity to spasm-triggering stimuli like light, noise and touch — last December had to be one of the least cheery moments of the 2022 holiday season.
And the heartbreaks have continued to pile up: she went on to cancel all remaining 2023–2024 tour dates in May, and last week, Dion's sister Claudette revealed that the singer's other sister, Linda, had moved into her house to provide care, as Céline's condition has failed to improve.
But Shania Twain still has faith, offering encouragement to her fellow CanCon icon in a new interview with Billboard.
"I'm such a fan of Céline's voice," Twain said. "She's a one-of-a-kind, extraordinary vocalist and entertainer."
She continued, "I hope to be able to connect with her at some point. I think it's gotta be so difficult, and I know — only speaking from my experience — how horrifying it is to think that something is preventing you from singing, or interfering with that joy in your life. So I just pray that she is able to overcome it and she will be up there [on stage] singing for us all again."
Twain has faced her own health challenges over the years, opening up about how Lyme disease sidelined her career — and forever changed her voice — in last year's Netflix documentary, Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl.
"My symptoms were quite scary, because, before I was diagnosed, I was on stage feeling dizzy, I was losing my balance. I was afraid I was going to fall off the stage, and the stage is quite high," she revealed. "So I was staying far from the edge, I was adjusting what I was doing. I was having these very, very, millisecond blackouts — but regularly, like, every minute, or every 30 seconds."
It goes without saying that Twain's comeback season with Queen of Me has been wonderfully larger than life. We can only hope the same for Dion, who has been experiencing "severe and persistent muscle spasms" since at least 2021, when she cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to her SPS symptoms.
And the heartbreaks have continued to pile up: she went on to cancel all remaining 2023–2024 tour dates in May, and last week, Dion's sister Claudette revealed that the singer's other sister, Linda, had moved into her house to provide care, as Céline's condition has failed to improve.
But Shania Twain still has faith, offering encouragement to her fellow CanCon icon in a new interview with Billboard.
"I'm such a fan of Céline's voice," Twain said. "She's a one-of-a-kind, extraordinary vocalist and entertainer."
She continued, "I hope to be able to connect with her at some point. I think it's gotta be so difficult, and I know — only speaking from my experience — how horrifying it is to think that something is preventing you from singing, or interfering with that joy in your life. So I just pray that she is able to overcome it and she will be up there [on stage] singing for us all again."
Twain has faced her own health challenges over the years, opening up about how Lyme disease sidelined her career — and forever changed her voice — in last year's Netflix documentary, Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl.
"My symptoms were quite scary, because, before I was diagnosed, I was on stage feeling dizzy, I was losing my balance. I was afraid I was going to fall off the stage, and the stage is quite high," she revealed. "So I was staying far from the edge, I was adjusting what I was doing. I was having these very, very, millisecond blackouts — but regularly, like, every minute, or every 30 seconds."
It goes without saying that Twain's comeback season with Queen of Me has been wonderfully larger than life. We can only hope the same for Dion, who has been experiencing "severe and persistent muscle spasms" since at least 2021, when she cancelled her Las Vegas residency due to her SPS symptoms.
