At age twelve Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce N'Était Qu'un Rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Her brother Michel sent the recording to music manager René Angélil, whose name he discovered on the back of a Ginette Reno album. Angélil was brought to tears by Dion's voice and decided to make her a star.
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At age twelve Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce N'Était Qu'un Rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Her brother Michel sent the recording to music manager René Angélil, whose name he discovered on the back of a Ginette Reno album. Angélil was brought to tears by Dion's voice and decided to make her a star.
By 1983 in addition to becoming the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'Amour Ou d'Amitié" ("Of Love or of Friendship"), Dion had also won several Félix awards, including "Best Female performer" and "Discovery of the year." Further success in Europe, Asia, and Australia came when Dion represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi" ("Don't Go Without Me") and won the contest in Dublin, Ireland.
The latter became her first single to chart on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four. The album established Dion as a rising singer in the United States, and across Continental Europe and Asia. In 1991, Dion was also a soloist in "Voices That Care", a tribute to American troops fighting in Operation Desert Storm; the single reached number 11 in the U.S.
A year after she learned English, Dion made an attempt at breaking into the anglophone market with Unison (1990). She incorporated the help of many established musicians, including Canadian producer David Foster and Vito Luprano. The album was largely influenced by 1980s soft rock that was fit for the adult contemporary radio format.
