The Canadian icon has released her new single, “Dansons,” just a couple of weeks after she announced her return to the stage this fall, with a string of residency shows in Paris.
Written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, the lush, cinematic track finds the vocalist singing in French — a return to the “repertoire that shaped the early years of her extraordinary career,” according to the press release.
The pair are longtime collaborators, working on her 1995 album D’eux, her highest charting French-language album in her home country — it hit No. 3 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, remaining at the top for three weeks. Most recently, they teamed up on Dion’s 2016 single “Encore un Soir.”
advertisement
Goldman describes the song’s origins, noting it was conceived in 2020 when people were dancing in lockdown. “Six years later, no more virus but no need to change a word, the world isn't any better, and we're still dancing above the abyss,” he says.
Dion sings over gentle strings on “Dansons,” sending a message about the importance of continuing to dance even in the face of adversity: "Dansons pour être et restеr droits/ Parce qu’on se le doit, pour tous les immobiles. Tous les sans-voix, ni loi, parce que c’est inutile/ Parce que toi et moi, nos visages, nos bras/ Malgré tout puisqu’on ne peut danser que debout.“
The track marks Dion’s first release in two years, following her cover of Edith Piaf’s “Hymne à l'amour” for the Paris Olympics in 2024 — the release that triggered a global spike in Dion’s decades-spanning discography. Further, it’s the singer’s first original song since 2019, the year she released Courage, her 15th album to hit No. 1 in Canada.
“I want to let you know that I’m doing great, managing my health, feeling good,” Dion said in a video at the time of her residency announcement, which will be her first concerts since being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome. “I’m singing again, even doing a little dancing.” Her upcoming residency at La Défense Arena in Paris kicks off Sept. 12 and runs through Oct. 17.
advertisement
Coinciding with the release, Dion shared the music video to accompany the ballad, featuring scenes of a ballerina and couples dancing around Paris.
