# Dion chante Plamondon

Dion chante Plamondon (English: "Dion sings Plamondon") is the ninth French-language studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released on 4 November 1991 by Sony Music and features songs with words written by French-Canadian lyricist, Luc Plamondon. In Europe, the album was renamed Des mots qui sonnent (English: "some words that resonate"). It was promoted in Quebec by four promotional singles: "Des mots qui sonnent", "L'amour existe encore", "Je danse dans ma tête" and "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime". In France, three commercial singles were released: "Je danse dans ma tête", "Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)" and "L'amour existe encore". Dion chante Plamondon won the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year and Félix Award for Best Selling Album of the Year. It topped the chart in Quebec and reached number four in France.

## Content and release

Dion interprets the words of Luc Plamondon, pop lyricist of French-speaking Canada. The album includes four new songs ("Des mots qui sonnent", "Je danse dans ma tête", "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime" and "L'amour existe encore") and eight covers (mostly form the musical Starmania: "Le monde est stone", "Le blues du businessman", "Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)" and "Les uns contre les autres"). "Le monde est stone" and "Ziggy" were performed originally by Fabienne Thibeault, and "Le blues du businessman" by Claude Dubois. Thibeault and Dubois sang also "Les uns contre les autres". Other covers include: Martine St-Clair's "Le fils de Superman", Diane Dufresne's "Oxygène" and "J'ai besoin d'un chum", and Marie Carmen's "Piaf chanterait du rock".
On 4 November 1991, the album was released in Canada. On 4 May 1992, it was issued in France, Belgium and Switzerland. On 25 January 1993, it was released in Australia. In 1994, Dion chante Plamondon was released in the rest of the world, becoming Dion's first French album available worldwide. It was released with four different cover pictures.

## Critical reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C |
Lary Leblanc from Billboard listed Dion chante Plamondon as one of the best albums of the 1992 saying: "Dion's french-language recordings outrank her english pop output". According to AllMusic, "on this relatively early album, Dion sounds as self-assured and mature as on her latter-day recordings as a world-class superstar. Her voice exudes a passion beyond her young years, especially on the album's rocking opener, "Des mots qui sonnent"." They also said that "this album spans a wide musical spectrum, including the dramatic "Le fils de Superman", the funk-tinged "Je danse dans ma tête", the bluesy "Les uns contre les autres", and the mega-power ballad "Le blues du businessman".

## 1991-92 in Canada

In Quebec, Canada four promotional singles were released. In November 1991, "Des mots qui sonnent" was sent to the pop stations (airplay peak at number 10) and "L'amour existe encore" to the adult contemporary format (airplay peak at number 16). March 1992 saw the issue of "Je danse dans ma tête" (number three in airplay). "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime" was chosen as the next single in August 1992 and became a hit reaching number one on the airplay chart in Quebec. The album was very successful in Quebec, topping the chart for seven weeks. It reached number 57 on the Canadian Albums Chart as Quebec sales did not factor into this chart at that time, but was certified 2× Platinum in Canada.

## 1992-94 in France

In France, the album was renamed Des mots qui sonnent and was promoted by "Je danse dans ma tête" commercial single, released in March 1992. However, at that time none of them charted. Everything changed in 1993 when Dion's single "Un garçon pas comme les autres (Ziggy)" became a hit, reaching number two and being certified Gold. English version of that song appeared on the Tycoon compilation. Thanks to its success, Des mots qui sonnent charted for the very first time in September 1993. In January 1994, Sony Music released the third and final commercial single in France, "L'amour existe encore", which peaked at number 31. The album reached number four and spent a whole year on the chart. It was certified 2× Platinum in France. The album has sold over one million copies in France alone.

## 1994 worldwide

There was no promotion when the album was released worldwide in 1994. Only Dion's English single "Think Twice", released at that time contained as B-sides two songs from Dion chante Plamondon: "L'amour existe encore" and "Le monde est stone". Dion chante Plamondon has sold over two million copies worldwide. Although a French-language record, it managed to sell 275,000 copies in the United States as of June 2014. On the Belgian Wallonia chart, which is available only since April 1995, the album peaked at number 17. It was also certified Gold in Belgium in November 1995.

## Accolades

Dion chante Plamondon won Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year in 1993. It also won Félix Award for Best Selling Album of the Year in 1992 and was nominated for Pop/Rock Album of the Year. "Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime" was nominated for the Félix Award for Most Popular Song of the Year in 1993 and "L'amour existe encore" was nominated for the Video of the Year in 1994. Dion was also nominated for the Félix Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and won in this category in 1994. Additionally, "Je danse dans ma tête" won MuchMusic Video Award for Best Adult Contemporary Video in 1992 and Dion was nominated for the Victoires de la Musique in category Francophone Artist of the Year in 1994. Dion chante Plamondon television special was also nominated for two Gémeaux Awards in 1992.

## Track listing

All tracks produced by Jannick Top and Serge Perathoner, except "Je danse dans ma tête" produced by Romano Musumarra.

## Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.
* Marina Albert – background vocals, choir/chorus
* Laurent Gatignol – recording engineer
* René Angélil – art direction
* Michel Berger – composer
* Riccardo Cocciante – composer
* Céline Dion – primary artist, vocals
* Germain Gauthier – composer
* François Cousineau – composer
* Manu Guiot – mixing
* Denys Lable – guitar
* Vito Luprano – art direction, executive producer
* Romano Musumarra – arranger, composer, producer
* Aldo Nova – composer
* Serge Perathoner – arranger, keyboards, clavier, producer
* Luc Plamondon – composer
* Claude Salmiéri – cymbals, drums
* Eric Seva – saxophone
* Erown – composer
* Marty Simon – composer
* Jannick Top – arranger, electric bass, producer, realization
* Christine Wilson – artwork, illustrations

## Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Dion chante Plamondon :
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Belgium (BEA) | Gold | 25,000$^*$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 2× Platinum | 200,000$^^$ |
| France (SNEP) | 2× Platinum | 1,000,000 |
| United States | — | 275,000 |
| Summaries |||
| Worldwide | — | 2,000,000 |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

Release history for Dion chante Plamondon :
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalog | Edition |
| Canada | 4 November 1991 | Columbia | CDLPcassette | 80168 | Dion chante Plamondon with 12 songs |
| FranceBelgiumSwitzerland | 4 May 1992 | Columbia | CDcassette | 471344 | Des mots qui sonnent with 12 songs |
| Australia | 25 January 1993 | Epic | CDcassette | 477215 | Dion chante Plamondon with 10 songs |
| United Kingdom | 16 May 1994 | Epic | CD | 4713442 | Dion chante Plamondon with 10 songs |
| United States | 31 May 1994 | Epic | CDcassette | 64363 | Dion chante Plamondon with 10 songs |
| Japan | 21 November 1994 | SMEJ | CD | ESCA-6101 | Dion chante Plamondon with 10 songs |