Céline Dion - Taking Chances

After exposing you all to the filth that is Wendy Ho, I thought I should raise the bar by featuring someone cutting edge and alternative. But I decided to go with Céline Dion instead. Sorry. The thing is - I was contemplating what to choose for my Friday flashback and couldn't think of a better alternative than "Taking Chances". Which is strange because Céline and I have a strained relationship. Years of listening to my mum belt out "My Heart Will Go On" while doing the ironing have left deep psychological scars that are yet to heal. Furthermore, the diva's post-90s output leaves a lot to be desired. That is with one glorious exception. "Taking Chances" is the best song the Canadian legend has ever recorded. And I'm convinced it would have been a huge #1 hit - if it was recorded by anyone else. Instead, it only peaked at #60 in Australia and just scraped into the UK top 40. What a disgrace! Not only does Céline take to the pop/rock genre like a surgeon's knife to Heidi Montag's face, the lyrics ring true and the big, bold chorus is a thing of great beauty. I love rocking out to "Taking Chances" while I'm driving (yes, I really am that gay!) and the song has some great remixes. It should be noted that Céline's jam is actually a cover. Platinum Weird (ie. Kara Dioguardi and Dave Stewart) do a great job on the original but the song needed a big set of pipes. And the presence of an aging gay icon with a really, really bad wig. Speaking of which, Céline really ups the glamour stakes in the amazing video clip. Unfortunately, I can't embed that extravaganza on the blog - so you'll have to make do with this fabulous montage of live performances. My favourite bit is Céline's bizarre dance at 1:25 minutes. Stunning!