Unison is the ninth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion and her first English-language album. Released on 2 April 1990 by Columbia Records and Epic Records, it features a mix of dance songs and ballads influenced by 1980s soft rock. The album was produced by David Foster, Christopher Neil, Andy Goldmark and Tom Keane. Upon its release, Unison received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented Dion's voice and technique, as well as the album's content.
On a commercial level, Unison reached number one in Quebec, number eight in Norway, and number 15 in Canada and Australia. It was certified seven-times Platinum in Canada, Platinum in the United States, Gold in the United Kingdom and France, and has sold over four million copies worldwide. Up to five singles were released from Unison, depending on the country. "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" became a top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, reaching number four. The next US single, "(If There Was) Any Other Way," peaked there at number 35. In 1991, Unison won the Juno Award for Album of the Year, and Dion won the Juno Award for Female Vocalist of the Year.
Background
In the 1980s, Dion released eleven French-language albums in Canada and three in France. One compilation album was issued in Europe. In Canada, Incognito (1987) was certified two-times Platinum, Tellement j'ai d'amour... (1982) Platinum, and Les chemins de ma maison (1983) and Mélanie (1984) Gold. Dion topped the Quebec chart with hits like "D'amour ou d'amitié", "Mon ami m'a quittée", "Incognito", "Lolita (trop jeune pour aimer)", "Comme un cœur froid" and "D'abord, c'est quoi l'amour". "D'amour ou d'amitié" and "Une colombe" were certified Gold in Canada. During this decade, Dion won fifteen Félix Awards, including Newcomer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Melanie), Pop Album of the Year (Tellement j'ai d'amour...), Best Selling Album of the Year (Les chemins de ma maison, Melanie), Most Popular Song of the Year ("Une colombe", "Incognito"), Best Selling Single of the Year ("Une colombe"), Best Stage Performance of the Year (Incognito tournée), and Artist of the Year Achieving the Most Success Outside Quebec. In France, Dion became the first Canadian artist to receive a Gold record for her top ten single "D'amour ou d'amitié". Further success in Europe came when she represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988 with the song, "Ne partez pas sans moi", which later won the contest.
CBS Records had originally offered $25,000 to make the album, which would allow Dion to record new vocals over the original music tracks from Incognito. Three events would raise the ante. First, Dion performed a duet with Dan Hill on "Can't We Try" at the CBS Canada 1987 convention. The performance impressed the company's president Bernie DiMatteo enough for him to raise the budget to $100,000 so that some new songs could be commissioned. Next, at the Juno Awards of 1987 she sang "Have a Heart". After that performance the budget rose to $300,000. When David Foster later saw it on videotape, he told DiMatteo that $300,000 was not enough, so they were given an unlimited budget. The record ended up costing $600,000. Unison was recorded in London, New York, and Los Angeles.
Before releasing Unison in 1990, "Can't Live With You, Can't Live Without You", a duet with Billy Newton-Davis was issued as a single in Canada in 1989 from his album, Spellbound. Dion also sang a duet with Warren Wiebe on "Listen to Me", taken from the American dramatic film of the same name. The third duet recorded in 1989 was again with Dan Hill on "Wishful Thinking" from his album, Real Love. However, these duets were not included on Unison.
The album, with ten tracks, was released on 2 April 1990 in Canada and on 11 September 1990 in the United States.[1][2] In other parts of the world, Unison was issued on 21 February 1991 in Japan, on 4 March 1991 in Australia, and on 16 September 1991 in the United Kingdom.[3][4]
Singles
In Canada, four commercial singles were released: "(If There Was) Any Other Way" in March 1990, "Unison" in July 1990, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" in September 1990, and "The Last to Know" in March 1991. The fifth promotional single, "Have a Heart" was issued in July 1991. All singles reached top forty in Canada, with "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" peaking at number six. They were also successful on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart. Four of them reached top ten, and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" topped the Adult Contemporary chart for two weeks.
In the United States, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" was released as the lead single in September 1990. It was followed by "(If There Was) Any Other Way" in March 1991 and "The Last to Know" in June 1991. "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" became Dion's first US top ten hit. The song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100. "(If There Was) Any Other Way" peaked at number thirty-five there. All three songs also charted on the US Adult Contemporary chart where the most successful "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" peaked at number two. In early 1991, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" was released as the first single from Unison outside North America. It was successful in Norway, reaching number four. "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" peaked inside the top forty in Ireland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, and New Zealand. It also charted in Australia and the United Kingdom.
In Canada, Dion performed "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" during the Juno Awards of 1991. She also sang "(If There Was) Any Other Way", "Unison", and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" on various Canadian television shows. Dion promoted Unison with her sold-out Unison Tour in Canada as well. Performances on television shows in other countries included "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" in the Netherlands in 1990, in France on Le Monde Est À Vous on 7 April 1991; and "(If There Was) Any Other Way" and "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" in Norway in 1991.
The album was largely influenced by the 1980s soft rock sound that was a fit for the adult contemporary radio format. Unison hit all the right notes with most critics: Jim Farber of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Dion's vocals were "tastefully unadorned" and that she never attempted to "bring off styles that are beyond her".[8]Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic declared it as "a fine, sophisticated American debut".[5] Jan De Knock of the Chicago Tribune said that "though Dion's big voice invites comparisons to the power-pop stylings of Taylor Dayne and Laura Branigan...she also has a deft touch with an R&B groove".[7]
Commercial performance
In Canada, Unison reached number fifteen and was certified seven-times Platinum.[10] It also topped the chart in Quebec for nine weeks.[11]
In the United States, it peaked at number seventy-four and has sold over 1.2 million copies achieving Platinum certification.[12][13]Billboard ranked Dion as the 11th Top Pop Singles Female Artists of 1991 in the United States, as well as the 8th Top Adult Contemporary Artist of 1991.[14]Unison reached number eight in Norway, number fifty-five in the United Kingdom, and also charted in Belgium. It was certified Gold in the United Kingdom and France.[15][16]
In Australia, it charted as a combo with Celine Dion in 1992 and peaked at number fifteen and was certified Gold.[17][18]Unison has sold over four million copies worldwide.[19]
The Unison Tour also received the Platinum Ticket Award for selling over 100,000 tickets in Quebec alone.[23] In 1992, Dion was nominated for the Gemini Award for Best Performance in a Variety Program or Series for her performance of "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" at the Juno Awards of 1991.[24] "Where Does My Heart Beat Now" also won the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song in the United States.[25] Additionally the Céline Dion – Unison and Céline Dion: 10 ans déjà television specials were nominated for various Gémeaux Awards in 1990 and 1992, respectively. Céline Dion – Unison won the Gémeaux Award for Best Variety Special.[26][27]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
