Off The Record
A Lovely Duet Of “The Prayer” Features Celine Dion And Andrea Bocelli
In a poignant live performance in Central Park, New York, Celine Dion and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli sang their hit duet “The Prayer” together once more.
As you would expect from a collaboration between the Italian superstar and the Queen of Power Ballads, there was an incredible amount of vocal firepower onstage, and both artists executed their roles brilliantly.
Elizabeth Taylor passed away soon after the concert, and Bocelli dedicated the song to the legendary Hollywood star.
Many music fans were drawn to the onstage chemistry between the two singers, and the video—which has received 199 million views—became the second most popular post on Bocelli’s YouTube account.
The main songwriter, David Foster, introduced “The Prayer” on behalf of Bocelli, who modestly said his English wasn’t up to task.
The Canadian composer said, “Andrea and Elizabeth Taylor had a great love affair together, although not literally,” getting a laugh from the crowd. He continued, “Elizabeth had such great love for Andrea, and he wanted to dedicate this song in her memory this evening.”
Dion has played the song live with Josh Groban in Los Angeles, which you can watch here, in addition to numerous performances with Bocelli.
This is not the first time Dion has done the song with a well-known performer. The song “The Prayer” returned to the US and Canadian charts when the duo re-released it as a duet in 2008.
Groban’s association with the song dates back to its initial release and is linked to David Foster.
When Bocelli fell sick in 1998, the composer proposed that Groban, then just 17 years old, fill in for him during Dion’s preparations for “The Prayer” at the Grammy Awards.
While it’s difficult to match Bocelli—whom Foster has often called “the most beautiful voice in the world”—the younger American singer does a fantastic job.
Being a longtime follower of Bocelli, Elizabeth Taylor obviously has a deep affinity for the song.
Over the years, Taylor has garnered attention for herself by making infrequent public appearances to watch Bocelli perform live.
Despite facing illness and being confined to a wheelchair at the age of 77, she managed to catch up with him at the Hollywood Bowl.
Taylor’s connection with “The Prayer” goes back to the original release of the song in 1999.
The star made a point of calling famous gossip columnist Liz Smith to tell her about “The Prayer”, “This is such a powerful, wonderful song. It deserves an Oscar nomination!”
“The Prayer” was nominated for both the Academy and Grammy Awards, although it did not win Best Original Song at the Oscars. However, it did win that category at the Golden Globes.
The Dion and Bocelli duet did not make the Billboard Top 100, but it was a huge critical hit and peaked at the US Classical chart. But the Dion and Groban rendition did manage to make it, reaching as high as #70 on the Top 100.
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