Melbourne april 2nd

Posted April 2, 200817 yr

CELINE Dion fans had waited 10 years for the superstar to return to Australian stages. So, an extra 24-hour wait after Dion postponed her Rod Laver Arena show with serious voice issues was a minor inconvenience.

Dion hit the stage last night minus the surgical mask that's been her constant companion in her quest to avoid germs while holed up in her Australian hotel rooms.

"If you have to get sick, let it be in Australia," Dion said.

That million-dollar voice (her true believers paid between $300 and $400 for the best seats last night) of hers appeared match fit as she hit her trademark glass-shattering high note in All By Myself.

Her fans had their patience rewarded with a long set that mixed her anthems (It's All Coming Back To Me Now, Because You Loved Me and, of course, the finale, My Heart Will Go On) with new songs, including Eyes on Me, penned by Delta Goodrem.

A rumoured powerhouse duet with support act Anthony Callea on The Prayer, a song they've both recorded, sadly didn't eventuate, though Dion hailed him a great talent.

Dion, who turned 40 at the weekend, has no pretensions about being cool, pulls daggy faces and busts out cheesy air guitar and fist pumps.

While the Melbourne show lacked the spectacle of her Vegas residency, she belted out everything from covers of Heart's Alone and Ike and Tina Turner's River Deep Mountain High to a Queen tribute in which Dion channelled her inner rock star