INTRODUCTION
Sukarno (1901-1970), dominant figure of Indonesia’s nationalist movement against the Dutch and the country’s first president (1945-1968). He was toppled following an attempted coup and held under house arrest until his death.



BACKGROUND AND PERSONAL LIFE
Sukarno was born in the city of Surabaya in eastern Java. At the time, Java and the rest of Indonesia were under Dutch colonial control. Although brought up in the traditional Javanese cultural world, Sukarno was educated in modern Dutch colonial schools. In 1921 he entered the Bandung Institute of Technology to study architecture, graduating in 1926. Sukarno had been increasingly involved in nationalist politics since his teens, when he had boarded in the house of H. O. S. Tjokroaminoto, a leading nationalist politician. It was in Bandung that he decided his future lay in politics, not architecture.

By 1926 Sukarno had been married twice, first to Sitti Utari, daughter of Tjokroaminoto, and then, after divorcing her, to Inggit Garnasih. He subsequently married at least four more times, having as many as four wives simultaneously. Though permitted under Islamic law, polygamy was not a common practice in Indonesia, and in the 1950s and 1960s attracted considerable criticism, particularly from women’s organizations.

EARLY CAREER
In 1927 Sukarno cofounded the Indonesian Nationalist Party (Partai Nasional Indonesia, or PNI) and became its first leader. The goal of the party was to achieve independence for Indonesia through popular struggle against the Dutch. A skilled public speaker, Sukarno quickly drew a mass following for the PNI. In 1929 the Dutch jailed him for being a threat to public order, and the PNI collapsed in his absence. Released in 1931, Sukarno resumed his political activity, but he was arrested again in 1933 and exiled, first to the island of Flores and then to Sumatra. By the time of his exile, he was Indonesia’s leading nationalist politician.

When Japan invaded and occupied Indonesia in 1942, during World War II, Sukarno returned to Jakarta and worked with the Japanese regime. He argued later that his collaboration with the Japanese enabled him to advance the cause of Indonesian independence and protect the Indonesian people from the worst excesses of the occupati

the article from HERE

Indonesia’s President Suharto, who steered the vast Southeast Asian archipelago from chaos in the late 1960s to stability and growing economic confidence, has in the past few months faced a rare challenge to his long rule. The turmoil pitted the security forces of Suharto’s tough New Order against a rising tide of disaffected youth and democratic activists, spurred by dissatisfaction over the slow pace of political change and widening economic inequality.

Suharto claims he alone can hold together this fractious island nation whose people have little in common save their Dutch colonial past. Indonesia is indeed diverse: its people speak 300 languages and dialects; its land spans more than 13,000 islands strewn along the Equator, covering a distance of roughly 3,000 miles; its people practice many religions, with Islam the dominant faith. (Ninety percent of the population is Muslim). In his 1989 autobiography Pak Harto, Suharto portrays himself as the only figure who can deliver prosperity and stave off the twin specters of Communist subversion and Islamic extremism. Without him, he claims, Indonesia could run amok again.

Known as the "Javanese King" to some Indonesians, Suharto was returned unopposed as president for a sixth five-year term in March 1993 by the People’s Consultative Assembly, of which a majority are not elected. But his health has become a key issue in recent years. Rumors that he is ill regularly surface, sending financial markets into a frenzy. Suharto said after his nomination in 1993 he did not want to be president for life. In May, he said he would serve out his current term that ends in 1988 but sidestepped a question about whether he would seek re-election.

But resentment against his rule smoldered this year after the government successfully backed moves to oust the leader of the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Sukarnoputri, daughter of Indonesia’s founder Sukarno. Riots erupted in Jakarta in July after police evicted Megawati supporters from the PDI headquarters in the city, but the government has since firmly clamped down on dissent. Although, analysts say the riots were the culmination of public anger against socioeconomic inequality even though political turmoil was the probable source. Opponents argue that Suharto’s success in bringing economic wealth has increased the gap between the rich and poor, contributing to much tension underlying the facade of stability. Suharto’s six children, accused of obtaining wealth through their father’s influence, have been the focal point of anger. Close army associates of Suharto are also among the wealthiest people in the country, and critics say that nepotism and cronyism have characterized his rule.

The Colonial Past

The president was the second son among 11 children whose father was a minor official in the village of Kemusu. His parents divorced and Suharto was scuttled among relatives. In late 1942, he signed up for the Indonesian Army which the Japanese created during their occupation. To the young soldier, who failed in his attempt to be a bank clerk during Dutch colonial rule, Tokyo’s propaganda announcing Japan was coming to free Indonesia from its colonial masters offered a way out.

Japanese occupation was indeed Suharto’s rite of passage. the Japanese trained him as a soldier, awakened his nationalism, and instilled a world view: The Japanese vision of Dai Nippon (Greater Japan) was translated by Suharto and his revolutionary generation into Indonesia Raya (Great Indonesia). Discipline, order, ruthlessness, and progress were the attributes Suharto admired in the Japanese and embraced for himself. But the liberators soon became brutal occupiers. By 1945, Suharto was among the troops who rebelled against their Japanese master, and when the war ended and the Dutch returned to reclaim their colony, he fought with Indonesian guerillas against the Dutch. After independence, Suharto stayed in the army, rising steadily in the ranks.

In 1963, as Indonesia edged toward economic and political disaster under Sukarno, Suharto took over command of the strategic reserve forces based in Jakarta. By this time, the military was riddles with factions as Aukarno’s uneasy coalition of the armed forces, the Communist Party, and Islamic parties began to crumble. Sukarno clung to power by aligning himself with the powerful Communist Party, provoking a tense standoff between the Communists and the army.

Tension exploded into violence on October 1, 1965, when a small group of soldiers arrived at the Jakarta homes of seven senior generals. Three generals were killed immediately, one escaped, and the rest were kidnapped. After the botched coup, Suharto, then a senior general, led a counter-coup and then a military takeover. The chaos of the coup attempt was followed by a six-month anti-Communist terror. According to some accounts of that period, at least 500,000 people died. Many were jailed and Indonesia’s Communist Party (PKI) was outlawed.

Shrewd Maneuvering

Over the last 25 years, Suharto has indeed refined repression to a point where few people need disappear and torture need only be applied selectively. Bodies no longer fill rivers as they did in 1965 and 1966, though for a period between 1983 and 1985, hundreds of bodies were discovered in the countryside, and the President explained that those killed were criminals and "the corpses were left lying around as a form of shock therapy." There are far fewer political prisoners now. Human rights groups estimate there are approximately 300 political prisoners today, mostly from separatist outbursts in Irian Jaya, continuing resistance in East Timor and sporadic revivals of Islamic extremism in Sumatra. Pancasila, Suharto’s state ideology, has been effective in silencing Islam as a political force. Once the Communists were eliminated - often with Muslim groups enlisted by the army to carry out the killings - the New Order determined that Islamic fundamentalism or calls for an Islamic state were a threat. Of late, however, there have been signs that Suharto is seeking to curry favor with Islamic groups.

Suharto, the master politician, has always made economic development a holy mission. Under the influence of his advisers, including economist Widjoyo Nitisastro, Suharto subscribes to the belief that economic growth begets distribution of wealth - eventually. The paramount goal is growth. When the price of oil, the mainstay of Indonesia’s export earnings, collapsed in the mid-1980s, Widjoyo had convinced Suharto that the economy had to be revamped. The prescription: mimic Asia’s little dragons, such as South Korea and Taiwan, by stressing manufacturing and export-driven growth.

As a result, the economy has taken off. Foreign investment is soaring. The reforms have spawned a fancier range of pet projects - petrochemical plants, telecommunications contracts, toll roads - to dispense as governmental favors.

Suharto brought a large degree of unity to the multi-ethnic nation through shrewd political maneuvering and suppression of internal threats to stability. He has steered Indonesia on a balanced course of economic development, making it self-sufficient in rice and enforcing programs for birth control and poverty eradication. Economic policy has been entrusted largely to U.S. trained technocrats, who have introduced wide-ranging reforms, including opening up the financial sector and forging an industrial base. Run away inflation of the 1960s has been kept to less than 10 percent a year, and OPEC-member Indonesia has never missed repayments on a foreign debt now approaching $100 billion.

But Suharto’s government has violated human rights against domestic political opponents and in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony annexed by Jakarta in 1976 a year after it invaded the territory. He used the army to tame the country’s turbulent political development and sideline opponents. Islam, the country’s dominant religion, has also been kept in check, and Muslim extremists have been dealt with harshly. By the early 1990s, however, Suharto began to make overtures to the Muslim population, such as a highly publicized pilgrimage to Mecca. Such events as the downfall of the Philippines’ Marcos and the prosecution of South Korea’s former president Chun Doo Hwan are likely to remind Suharto that the public will not tolerate repression, even in the face of economic growth. as 1998 approaches, Suharto faces enormous pressure to address the pace of political reform.

the artikel from HERE

The Museum's chief concern is to provide documents and information that shed light on Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party. Because of the numerous contradicting, disjoint, biased, confused, and deficient interpretations that exist, few scholars are able to gather the facts and to understand and explain them coherently. Whether this failure is from a lack of information, scholarship ability, or honesty is unimportant. What is important is that historical information be made freely available and gathered into exhibits that allow researchers to derive indepedent conclusions from the relatively well preserved writings of this time period.
Introduction
The Hitler Historical Museum is a non-biased, non-profit museum devoted to the study and preservation of the world history related to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist Party. True to its role as an educational museum, these exhibits allow for visitors to understand and examine historical documents and information for themselves. The museum, while acknowledging the tragedy that over 50 million people died during World War 2, retains its non-biased status by refraining from making political judgments of any sort. Neither does it make the standard, uninformative, and cliched historical judgement that the victor of the war was "good" and that the loser of the war was "bad." Instead, all materials and resources are provided as a documentation of the time period and as scholastic resources with notes for clarification. No biased judgments, slanderous labels or childish name calling exist here as they do in most of the writings on this topic.



Ideological Statement
The teaching of history should convey only facts and be free from political motives, personal opinions, biases, propaganda, and other common tactics of distortion. Every claim that is made about history should also be accompanied by documentation proving its basis. Only responsible scholarship and teaching should be permitted. Those who intend to support particular political interests and agendas should have their biased historical interpretations criticized for lacking proof.

Contributors
If you are in possession of any artifacts, documents, images, or other material that would be worthwhile to our efforts, we invite you to contact us to arrange for its inclusion in our online exhibit.

from http://www.hitler.org/

SID, punk rock pioneers of Bali, were born and bred in Kuta Rock City. The band is three chord attitude-heavy young men, by name : Bobby Kool (lead vocal, guitar, a dog lover and a graphic designer) , Eka Rock (low ridin' family man, beer drinker, laid back bass and backing vocal and a warm smilin' Rock 'N Roll bandman, IT warior) , Jrx (low ridin' beer drinking Rock 'N Roll prince charming, drummer and a hairwax junkie, Bar owner)

The name 'Superman is Dead' started its' evolution from Stone Temple Pilot's "Superman Silvergun". The name moved on to "Superman is Dead" cause they like the idea that there's no such thing as a perfect person out there.
SID actually stumbled together in '95, drawn by their common love of Green Day and NOFX. Their influences soon extended to the punk 'n roll genre a la Supersuckers, Living End and Social Distortion, and here they stay. They say what they wanna say, how they wanna say it. In your face, to say it precisely.

SID public image, self described, is "Punk Rock a Bali" (think raw energy of NOFX vs Social Distortion supersonically fueled with beer-soaked Balinese Rockabilly attitude).
History ? SID produced their first three albums independently (the boys worked years of crappy night jobs), with fabulous, small scale indie labels 1997 "Case 15", 1999 "Superman is Dead", 2002 "Bad Bad Bad"(mini album, 6 tracks).

In March 2003, SID finally signed with Sony-BMG Indonesia after extended negotiations regarding their right to sing the majority of their tracks in English and have full artistic rights over their 'image'!! With that decision they single handedly became the first band from Bali to be invited to sign with a major recording label in Indonesia, the first band in their nation (to my knowledge) to be recording majority of songs in English and the first punk band in Indonesia to get the national exposure and promotion that working with a major label in a third world country provides. And so the history of Indonesian Punk Rock begins!

And as for the question that everyone wants to know, the infamous bomb in Bali happened about 75 M from their home, hangout center, punk rock boutique, bar and rehearsal studio that is also Jrx' house, in the heart of Kuta.
After panel beating back the rolling doors of the studio and shifting a little debris, rehearsals continued as usual. Yeah, they saw a lot, it sucked big time, but its' not gonna stop 'em!

And where are they now? At the end of 2002, one of the more respectable music mags here cited SID as "The Next Big Thing" for 2003. With the release of their fourth album "Kuta Rock City" followed by major air play nationally and in some countries overseas, coupled with the instant popularity of their newest film clip.

SID suddenly find themselves touring continuously throughout Indonesia. Last week they were in four major Indonesian cities, on three islands, in 7 days! Sometimes playing for free at underground scene clubs, sometimes at street skate parties or alternative band festivals, at lots of universities and even occasionally at "classy" venues who would have probably denied them entrance years ago!
Which means more beers for all.

In 2003 SID even got a mention in Time Asia.
They also won a few music awards “MTV Awards for The Best New Artist 2003”, “AMI Awards for The Best New Artist 2003” and nominated again in “AMI Awards 2006 for The Best Rock Album”.

October 2007, they did an amazing Australian tour, 8 cities, 16 gigs, 33 days with their strong D.I.Y work ethic.
SID had share stages with international bands such as International Noise Conspiracy, NOFX, MXPX and Hoobastank.
They remain proud, boys from the streets of Kuta with a love of punk rock, beers and a good time. Ready for whatever comes next, excited about the next gig.

LANGKAH FENOMENAL SID
• August 2002, Openning Act Hoobastank, Hard Rock Hotel, Kuta, Bali
• Superman Is Dead “Hot Freaky People 2003” MTV Trax Magazine January 2003
• June 2003 Superman Is Dead “MTV Exclusive Artist of the Month”
• Double Platinum Sony Music for Kuta Rock City Album
• 2003, MTV Award “Most Favorite New Artist”
• 2003, AMI Award “The Best New Artist”
• 2004, SCTV Music Awards “The Most Famous Album Nominee, Pop Rock Category” for Kuta Rock City Album
• 2006, AMI Awards “The Best Rock Album Nominee” for Black Market Love Album
• 2006, “Superman Is Dead The Best Local Band” The Beat Awards.
• 20 the best Indonesian Album 2006 for The Black Market Love Album. Rolling Stones Magazine Januari 2007
• April 2007, SID Opening Act for American Punk Rock Band NOFX at Hard Rock Café, Kuta, Bali.
• Soundrenaline Sound of Change 2007 Jimbaran Bali, “Message of Change” Artist Nominee.
• 17 June 2007, Guest Star Artist “Final Gudang Garam Rock Competition” Jakarta
• October 2007, Superman Is Dead did an amazing Australian tour, 8 cities, 16 gigs, 33 days.
• 150 the Best Indonesian Album for Kuta Rock City Album. Rolling Stones Magazine, Special Collectors’ Edition Desember 2007.
• 50 Hype Things in Indonesian Music Industrial 2008 for Superman Is Dead.
• Trax Music Attitude Magazine Edition Januari 2008.
• 2008, Openning Act MXPX Jakarta.
• “SID as a New Icons of Bali”. Yak Magazine Maret, April, May 2008.

VIDEOGRAPHY

2002 “White Town” Album “Bad Bad Bad” Director by Outsider Film
2003 “Kuta Rock City” Album ”Kuta Rock City” Director by Rizal Mantovani
2003 “Punk Hari Ini” Album “Kuta Rock City” Director by Ridwan
2004 “Muka Tebal” Album ”The Hangover Decade” Director by Outsider Film
2004 “Rock ‘N Roll Band” Album “The Hangover Decade” Director by Outsider Film
2004 “Disposable Lies” Album “The Hangover Decade” Director by Umum Production
2006 “Bukan Pahlawan” Album “Black Market Love ”Director by Eric Est Movie
2006 “Black Market Love” Album “Black Market Love” Director by Bob Calabrito
2007 “Menginjak Neraka” Album “Black Market Love” Director by Eric Est. Movie
2007 “Lady Rose” Album “Black Market Love ”Director by Eric Est. Movie
2007 “Goodbye Whiskey” Album “Black Market Love” Director by Outsider Film
2008, Superman Is Dead Rock-A-Bali Australian Tour 2007, Produksi outSIDer Inc, Format DVD, For Promotional Stuff Not for Sale

Some Videos have been uploaded at Youtube.com Please click the URL to check'em out :
http://www.supermanisdead.net/nl.php?id=88

DISCOGRAPHY

INDIE ALBUM
Case 15, 1995 , Produksi Independent Intertainment, Format Cassette
Superman Is Dead,1998, Produksi Rizt Clothing, Format CD Cassette
Bad Bad Bad, 2002, Produksi Rizt Cloth. Suicide Glam, Format CD (mini album)
Bad Bad Bad, 2002, Produksi Spills Record, Format Cassette

INDIE COMPILATION
100% Attitude, 1999, Produksi Lunatic Records, Format Cassette
No Place To Get Fun, 2002, Format Cassette
New Generation Calling, 2003, Produksi Spills Record, Format Cassette
Video Kami “A Rock Society” 2006, Video Clip “Menginjak Neraka”, Produksi A Mild Live Production, Trend Setter Magz The Blado Ent. Format VCD (Not For Sale)


MAJOR COMPILATION
Fantastic Bands, April 2005, Produksi Sony Music, Format CD Cassette
Class Rock “Today’s Sensation”, Produksi Sony Music October 2004, Format CD Cassette
A Mild Live Soundrenaline 2004, Produksi Sony Music A Mild Live, November 2004, Format CD Cassette
Planet Rock, Produksi Sony Music, August 2005, Format CDCassette

MAJOR ALBUM
Kuta Rock City, 2003, Produksi Sony Music Indonesia, Format CD Cassette
The Hangover Decade, 2004, Produksi Sony Music Indonesia, Format CD Cassette
Black Market Love, 2006, Produksi Sony BMG Indonesia, Format CD Cassette

ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK
D’ BIJIS, Produksi Sonny Music Class Movie, January 2007, Format CD Cassette
Please visit our detail discography page : http://supermanisdead.net/discography.php

Besides her musical career, she is also an entrepreneur and has released her own line of fragrences (Xpose in 2004 and Simply Christina in 2007). Simply Christina became the #1 fragrance in the UK and Germany. A third fragrance is scheduled to be released in September 2008.




Christina Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York to parents James (Jim) and Shelly Aguilera. At an early age, her parents moved to Wexford, Pennsylvania.


She grew up knowing she wanted to be a performer and began entering school and local talent shows. The talent shows brought her to perform on national television on the TV show Star Search.


In 1992, she co-starred on the The Mickey Mouse Show with Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, and other child stars.


In 1998, she broke into the music business when she recorded a duet with Japanese pop star Keizo Nakanishi. The song was an instant international hit. This notoriety provided her with an opportunity to sing on the soundtrack for the movie Mulan. The song, "Reflection" from the movie soundtrack became a hit and won a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song for a Motion Picture. She was also nominated for a ALMA Award for Outstanding Performance of a Song for a Feature Film.


In 1999, she released her first self titled debut album, Christina Aguilera which went straight up the charts.


In 2000 she was awarded a YoungStar Starlight Award and an ALMA Special Achievement Award for New Entertainer of the Year.


In 2001 she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Song in Moulin Rouge! and a ALMA Award for Outstanding Song in a Motion Picture Soundtrack.


She was awarded the GLAAD Media Special Recognition Award in 2003.


Stripped Live in the UK was released in November 2004.


Christina married long time boyfriend and record executive Jordan Bratman in November 2005.


She released her third album in August 2006 entitled Back to Basics, which debuted at #1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. It was certified platinum in 2007.




Christina gave birth to a son (Max Liron Bratman) on January 12, 2008.

Celine Dion performed the hit single of the film Titanic, the second best-selling CD of the 1990s, and her albums Falling into You and Let's Talk About Love are both in the third position, having sold more than 30 million copies each.

Career beginnings

She was born to a Roman Catholic family in the small town of Charlemagne, Quebec, with a singing voice that her mother encouraged. By the age of five, she was performing for anyone who would listen.



In 1980, her mother brought her to agent/manager René Angélil, who so believed in her voice that he mortgaged his home to help finance her career. In 1981, they released her first record in her native French language, "La Voix du bon Dieu" ("The Voice of God"), which made her an instant star in Quebec. The following year she competed and won the gold medal at the Tokyo World Song Festival. Her career continued to blossom, and in 1987, she produced the album Incognito, which became a huge success. Approached by Swiss song writers Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti, she was chosen to represent Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, singing "Ne partez pas sans moi". By winning the contest in Dublin, Ireland on April 30, 1988, she received a large boost to her career in Europe. Her first English-language album, Unison (1990), expanded her international recognition with the breakthrough single, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now".



Many of the hit singles that followed over the next ten years ("If You Asked Me To", "Water from the Moon", and "Nothing Broken but My Heart") were written by Diane Warren, a composer best known for power ballads. However, Céline Dion finally showcased her talents as a songwriter when she co-wrote "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" for the 1998 Christmas album, These Are Special Times, and "Treat Her Like a Lady" on her Let's Talk About Love album, 1997. Also part of the Christmas album was It's All Coming Back To Me, a hit which highlighted the talents of sleigh bell percussionist Larry Edmundson.



In late 1993, she indicated to the public for the first time that she was in love with her manager, René Angélil. In the dedication section of her third English-language album, The Colour of My Love, Dion named Angélil "the colour of [her] love". Eventually, they were engaged, and she married him in 1994. The wedding was broadcast on television across Canada and was very highly rated. The couple also has a son, René-Charles Angélil (born January 2001).


Movie soundtracks

Dion's work has featured heavily in the soundtracks of a number of hit films. In North America, and working in the United States, her song for Disney's Beauty and the Beast (written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman), "Because You Loved Me" (from 1995s Up Close and Personal, another Diane Warren composition), and a cover of Nat King Cole's "When I Fall in Love" (from 1993's Sleepless in Seattle), added to her growing stardom. By 1997, her records and her rendition of James Horner and Will Jennings's song "My Heart Will Go On", written for the motion picture Titanic (but making its debut on her album Let's Talk About Love), made her the top-grossing star of the music world, with more than 50 million records sold. One year later, she performed "The Prayer," a duet with Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli, for the 1998 animated film Quest for Camelot. Her last movie song before her short two-year hiatus to have a child came in 1999 with "Then You Look at Me" (from Bicentennial Man, also written by Horner and Jennings). The song "I'm Alive" from her A New Day Has Come album was featured in the second Stuart Little motion picture. In 2004, Dion recorded the title track for the Anglo-French-Canadian movie Nouvelle-France, titled "Ma Nouvelle-France", written by Luc Plamondon and Patrick Doyle and produced by Christopher Neil.


Tribute recordings

Dion is also no stranger to participating in tribute albums, such as a 1995 collection of Carole King songs called Tapestry Revisited, In My Life (a collection of Beatles songs in tribute to producer George Martin), and a 1997 double-CD set commemorating Diana, Princess of Wales. In 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics, she performed the theme song, "The Power of the Dream" accompanied by composer David Foster and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.


Cover songs

Dion has covered several popular songs in her time, including Jennifer Rush's hit "The Power of Love", Roberta Flack's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", Roy Orbison's "I Drove All Night" and Eric Carmen's "All by Myself", John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy", Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World", Ray Charles' "If I Could". Dion also covered one of Anggun's song "Tu nages" in her latest French album. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" was released by Pandora's Box in 1989.



Some of Dion's own songs have been covered: "My Heart Will Go On" by Claire Sweeney and Neil Diamond, among others, "These Are Special Times" by Christina Aguilera, and "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day" by Clay Aiken.


Hiatus

In 2000, Dion began a two-year hiatus from the music industry. In that time, she gave birth to her child, and prepared plans for her biggest show to date, A New Day... Live in Las Vegas.


Return

In 2002 after her two-year hiatus, she returned to the music world with a new album A New Day Has Come. The album debuted at number one across 17 countries all over the world, and it sold over 600,000 copies in the United States in its first week, being the highest selling album of the year in the first week. She had a contract to perform in Las Vegas, Nevada.



In March 2003, Dion was everywhere: on 25 March her A New Day show opened in Las Vegas, and her album One Heart was released. The album has been certificated as 10th-best selling album of the year, according to IFPI.



She also released her own perfume line, which was well received and was advertised on commercial television. It was one of the top-ten selling perfumes of 2003.



In 2003, moviegoers once again heard Céline Dion's voice in the song "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" on the soundtrack to Mona Lisa Smile.



In October 2003, her French album 1 fille & 4 types was released. The album is yet again a collaboration between Dion and Jean-Jacques Goldman (joined by three of his friends, Gildas Arzel, Eric Benzi and Jacques Veneruso), who had previously worked with her on S'il suffisait d'aimer and D'eux (also known as The French Album, which sold nine million copies worldwide, making it the most sold French-language album of all time). Critics have called it Dion's best and most natural album. Dion herself has referred to it as "the album of pleasure". The first single from this album, "Tout l'or des hommes", established the record for becoming the highest charting Francophone single on the National (English) CHR Audience chart in the BDS era. "Tout l'or des hommes" reached number five on the English CHR Audience Chart.



In July 2004, "You and I", the promo song for the new Air Canada advertising campaign, actually hit No. 1 in the Canadian mainstream adult contemporary category, according to Nielsen BDS. Difficult though this may be to credit, the song, included as a "bonus track" on her A New Day... Live in Las Vegas album, cracked the Top 100 most requested singles on Canadian radio stations for 23 weeks.



In October 2004, Dion released her first concept album, Miracle, produced by David Foster, as part of a multimedia franchise conceived by both Dion and photographer Anne Geddes. The theme of the album is centred around babies. The project was available in three different versions: the CD with a 20-page booklet featuring photos by world-renowned baby photographer Anne Geddes; the Limited Edition CD/DVD Box Set includes a 60-page version of the Miracle book, the Miracle CD and a "making of the CD" DVD; the 180-page book with the Miracle CD and the "making of the book" DVD.



According to the Canadian Recording Industry Association, Dion was the second highest selling Canadian artist in 2004. Her album A New Day Has Come went six times platinum (600,000 units).



In January 2005, Miracle was certified Platinum by RIAA in USA.


A New Day...Live in Las Vegas

On March 25, 2003, Dion began a three-year engagement to play five nights a week at the Colosseum at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show is put together by Franco Dragone.



Dion first conceived the idea for the show after seeing O by Dragone early into her break from recording. The show is described as a combination of dance, music and visual effects. It includes Dion performing her songs against an array of dancers and special effects. Even though the show did not get the best reviews from some critics it has been very well received by audiences, selling out every night since opening in March 2003.



In September 2004 the contract was extended into 2007.



As of the week ending 1 May 2005, Dion has sold out 290 out of 347 Las Vegas shows.


Band

Élise Duguay - backing singer

Julie LeBlanc - backing singer (ex)

Mary-Lou Gauthier - backing singer

Terry Bradford - backing singer (ex)

Barnev Valsaint - backing singer

Claude "Mégo" Lemay - piano, music director

André Coutu - guitar

Paul Picard - percussion

Yves Frulla - keyboard

Marc Langis - bass guitar


Vocal Profile

Celine Dion has often been praised for her lyricism and her ability to effectively communicate the text of her songs expressively. In 2003, she ranked #9 in MTV's The 22 Greatest Voices in Music. Mariah Carey placed #1 while Whitney Houston (#3), Christina Aguilera (#5), Alanis Morissette (#6), and Bjork (#8) all placed ahead of her. However, in Cove Magazine's list of The 100 Oustanding Pop Vocalists, Dion finished #4 ahead of Houston (#6) and Morissette (#17) with a score of +49.52/50. Only Aguilera (#1), Carey (#2), and Michael Jackson (#3) finished ahead of her.



Voice type: Lyric Soprano

Highest note: C6 (live Fly)

Lowest note: F3

Vocal range: 2.5 octaves

Longest note: 20 seconds

Highest note in chest voice: G5 (Sorry for love)


Career achievements



Has an estimated wealth of $320 million to $400 million.


In the US, Dion, Britney Spears, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Shania Twain, and the Dixie Chicks are the only female artists with multiple Diamond (shipped over 10 million copies) albums


On UK singles top Céline has: 2 No. 1s, 13 "Top 10" and 23 "Top 40" singles. On UK albums top: 5 No. 1, 10 "Top 10" and 14 "Top 40" albums.


On US The Billboard Hot 100 singles top Céline has: 5 No. 1s, 10 "Top 10" and 24 "Top 100" singles. On US The Billboard 200 albums top Céline has: 4 No. 1s and 9 "Top 10" albums.







On September 15, 2004, Dion received a Diamond Award at the World Music Awards show .;


"The Greatest Reward", featured on A New Day Has Come, is an adaptation of "L'envie d'aimer", a song from the French stage musical Les dix commandements (The Ten Commandments). "L'envie d'aimer" was originally interpreted by Daniel Lévi who portrays Moses in the musical. The song is co-written by Pascal Obispo, a popular French singer and composer, who composed the musical score to Les dix commandements.


Shortly after her Unison album was released, Dion acted in a television mini-series called Des fleurs sur la neige (Flowers on the Snow). She portrayed a young woman named Elisa who lived a very difficult, abused life. Dion loved the challenge, and hopes to act in a movie one day.


Dion's last two French-language albums, 1 fille & 4 types and S'il suffisait d'aimer took only five to six days to record while her album A New Day Has Come took about a month to record.


Is distantly related to Madonna.


Is rumoured to have over 1000 pairs of shoes. Dion denies this but has said that her shoe collection is in the hundreds.


Recorded songs together with famed producer Phil Spector (The Beatles, Ike and Tina Turner). They were never released because of disagreements between Spector and Dion's labels.


Has said that she regrets dropping out of high school. She does not believe that school is for everyone. Then why does she regret it?


Her son's baptism on 25 July 2001, was broadcast live throughout Canada.


Is raising her son to be multilingual. She plans to send him to a school where he will learn English, French, and Spanish.


She is three months younger than her step-son, Patrick Angélil.
She has her own magazine, Céline Dion Magazine.
At first she did not want to record her biggest hit "My Heart Will Go On". Her husband/manager and the song writer James Horner had to convince her.

In 1998 she was honoured by two governments in two days: on 30 April, her home province made her an officer of the National Order of Quebec, and on 1 May she became an officer of the Order of Canada.


She loves to play golf, even in the Quebec winter.


She received a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in Toronto on 25 June 2003, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2004.