CELINE DION : Canadian Singer Branches Out--to Danceable Pop and a U.S. Audience

When Celine Dion says that show business is in her blood, she’s not kidding. The 22-year-old singer is the youngest of a brood of 14 from Quebec, Canada--all singers and musicians.

“I couldn’t really be a doctor or lawyer,” said Dion, who first sang in front of an audience at age 5. “Not in my family. I’d feel like a traitor.”

Though some of her brothers and sisters are well-known in Quebec, Dion is the only one who’s scored in America. Her single, “Where Does My Heart Beat Now,” a big, brassy, sentimental ballad from her Epic Records album “Unison,” was recently in the Top 10.

Though Americans are just discovering her, Dion began recording at 12, making nine albums in French. Her full-bodied, far-ranging voice, cultivated by operatic training, is best suited to ballads, which became the cornerstone of her Canadian career.

A few years ago, Dion decided to branch out. So she learned English and recorded her first English album, “Unison,” which features danceable pop tunes in addition to the ballad staples.

“I grew up in front of the people of Quebec, who are like my family, but eventually you leave home,” Dion said.

During a recent interview at her West Hollywood hotel, Dion came across as wholesome and squeaky clean. But that’s only one side of her.

“This can be a tough, nasty business,” she said. “You do what you have to do to get what you want. I can be tough and very aggressive too. See this face? Very innocent, huh? But don’t let it mislead you.”

Her ambition, she said, at times borders on obsession.

“I want to be star--a star around the world--so badly. I’ve been dreaming about it forever--it’s almost like it’s real, like it’s already happened. But you have to dream and be so confident--so confident that nothing can stop you. Or else you wind up far behind--not getting what you want, being a nobody. I could never be a nobody.”