Taking Chances is the twenty-third studio album and tenth English-language album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. It was released by Columbia Records on 7 November 2007. It marked Dion's return to recording after nearly five years of performing in Las Vegas and was recorded mainly over three weeks in the city. The album combines pop and rock influences with original material and covers such as "Alone" and "Right Next to the Right One", featuring collaborations with a wide range of prominent songwriters and producers, including John Shanks, Linda Perry, David Hodges, Ben Moody, and Dave Stewart.
The album received mixed reviews, with critics praising Dion's grittier sound and willingness to explore new musical styles, while others found the reinvention unconvincing and overly polished. Commercially, Taking Chances was highly successful, debuting at number one in Canada, South Africa, and Switzerland, and number three in the United States, while also reaching the top 10 in numerous other countries. It was certified platinum or multi-platinum in several markets and sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide in 2007 alone, making it one of the year's best-selling albums by a female artist.
The album's lead single, "Taking Chances", was released in September 2007 and reached the top 10 in several European countries and Canada. Different markets later received different singles, including "Eyes on Me" in the UK, "A World to Believe In" in Japan, and "Alone" in North America and the UK. Dion heavily promoted the album through international television performances and appearances before launching the year-long Taking Chances World Tour, which visited five continents and grossed over $279 million, becoming one of the highest-grossing tours of all time.
Background On 24 August 2007, Dion's official website announced that she would release her new English‑language album, Taking Chances, on 12 November 2007 in Europe and 13 November 2007 in North America. The album was also scheduled for release in Japan on 7 November 2007, and in Australia and New Zealand on 10 November 2007. Dion said about Taking Chances: "I think it represents a positive evolution in my career. I'm feeling strong, maybe a little gutsier than in the past, and just as passionate about music and life as I ever was". On 2 September 2007, the album's cover became available to TeamCeline members. Six days later, Columbia Records made small changes to the Taking Chances cover.
The first single from the album, "Taking Chances", was sent to radio stations on 10 September 2007, and a video showing Dion recording the song in the studio was posted on Amazon.com. On 12 September 2007, Columbia Records stated in a press release that "Taking Chances" was written by Kara DioGuardi and Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, produced by Grammy Award–winner John Shanks, and that the album would be supported by the Taking Chances World Tour in 2008 and 2009. The music video for the first single was filmed on 17 September 2007 in several locations in the Las Vegas area and directed by Paul Boyd. The video became available to TeamCeline members on 16 October 2007, and later premiered on television.
Content The album was recorded mainly over a three‑week period in July 2007 at Palm Studios in Las Vegas. Dion worked with a group of well-known songwriters and producers, including Linda Perry, Eurythmics' Dave Stewart, former Evanescence member Ben Moody, Ne-Yo, John Shanks, Kara DioGuardi, Kristian Lundin, Anders Bagge, Peer Åström, Aldo Nova, Tricky Stewart, and Christopher Neil. One of Dion's favorite songs on the album is "That's Just the Woman in Me", written by Kimberley Rew, a former member of Katrina and the Waves. The song had been offered to Dion 15 years earlier, but she felt it suited her artistic direction only when she began working on the new album. Dion said: "I think this album represents a positive evolution in my career. As time goes by, and we have more experiences in life, it's easier to get in touch with our innermost feelings... to know more about what we really want, how we really feel". Other covers on the album include Heart's "Alone", Platinum Weird's "Taking Chances", Linda Perry's "New Dawn", and Tim Christensen's "Right Next to the Right One".
Singles The first single from the album, "Taking Chances", premiered on 10 September 2007 and was sent to radio stations around the world on the same day. The song was written by Kara DioGuardi and Dave Stewart, and produced by John Shanks. The digital single was released on 17 September 2007, and the CD single was issued in selected countries in late October and early November 2007. The music video, directed by Paul Boyd, was filmed in mid-September 2007 in Las Vegas and premiered on 17 October 2007. "Taking Chances" became a successful single in Europe, peaking inside the top 10 in Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, and France, and reaching the top 40 in Austria, Norway, Germany, Belgium's Wallonia, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. In North America, it peaked at number nine on the Canadian Hot 100 and number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100. "Taking Chances" also reached number one on the US Hot Dance Club Songs and the Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart. It has sold over 20,000 digital downloads in Canada, receiving gold certification, and 500,000 digital copies in the United States.
In the United Kingdom, "Eyes on Me" was chosen as the second single. The song was written by Kristian Lundin, Savan Kotecha, and Delta Goodrem, and produced by Lundin. The digital single was released on 4 January 2008, and the CD single was issued on 7 January 2008. The song peaked at number 113 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for "Eyes on Me", using footage from the Taking Chances World Tour, was released on 5 May 2008. In Japan, "A World to Believe In", written by Tino Izzo and Rosanna Ciciola and produced by John Shanks, was selected as the second track to promote the album. It was re-recorded as an English–Japanese duet with Yuna Ito, titled "あなたがいる限り: A World to Believe In". The song premiered on radio on 1 December 2007, and the music video debuted two days later. The video was filmed in Las Vegas in October 2007 during the recording of the duet. The CD single was issued on 16 January 2008 and peaked at number eight on the Japanese Oricon chart.
The music video for the second North American single, "Alone", was taken from the That's Just the Woman in Me television special and released on 15 March 2008. The promotional single was sent to radio stations in Canada and the United States on 12 March 2008. This cover of Heart's hit song was produced by Ben Moody. "Alone" was also chosen as the third and final single in the United Kingdom and was digitally released on 5 May 2008. The song peaked at number 57 on the Canadian Hot 100, number 85 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 24 on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. "My Love", written and produced by Linda Perry, was included on Dion's next album, My Love: Essential Collection, and released as a single from it in September 2008.
Promotion
Dion visited the United Kingdom in late October 2007 and began promoting the album by performing "Taking Chances" on The X Factor on 27 October 2007. She later performed "Alone" and "Taking Chances" on Saturday Night Divas, broadcast on 3 November 2007. Dion also recorded An Audience with Celine Dion, broadcast on 22 December 2007, where she performed "Taking Chances", "Eyes on Me", "Alone", and several of her earlier hits, including "My Heart Will Go On", "Think Twice", a medley of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now", "Because You Loved Me", and "To Love You More", "I Drove All Night", "River Deep, Mountain High", and "The Prayer" in a duet with Andrea Bocelli.
Next, Dion visited France and performed "Taking Chances" and two of her French-language hits with contestants on Star Academy on 2 November 2007. She also recorded performances of "Taking Chances" for two other French television programs, Hit Machine and Vivement Dimanche, broadcast on 1 December 2007 and 9 December 2007 respectively. On 4 November 2007, Dion travelled to Monaco where she received the Legend Award at the World Music Awards and performed "Taking Chances". The performance was broadcast on 22 November 2007. On 7 November 2007, Dion visited Italy and performed "Taking Chances" and "I Knew I Loved You" on Domenica In, broadcast four days later. On 10 November 2007, she travelled to Germany and performed "Taking Chances" on Wetten, dass..?.
The promotional campaign in the United States began on 12 November 2007 with an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show dedicated to Dion. She recorded the episode before her visit to the United Kingdom and performed "Taking Chances", "Alone", and several of her earlier hits, including "My Heart Will Go On", "Because You Loved Me", "A New Day Has Come", and "I Drove All Night". On 14 November 2007, Dion performed three songs on Today, including "Taking Chances", "Alone", and "I Drove All Night". On the same day, The Ellen DeGeneres Show aired an episode with Dion that included performances of "Taking Chances" and "Because You Loved Me". Dion also performed "Taking Chances" at the American Music Awards on 18 November 2007 and on All My Children on 21 November 2007. On 23 November 2007, she performed "Taking Chances", "Alone", and "Because You Loved Me" on The Early Show, and "Taking Chances" and "Alone" on The View. On 27 November 2007, Dion performed "Taking Chances" and "My Heart Will Go On" on the finale of Dancing with the Stars. The following day, she performed "Taking Chances", "Alone", and "The Christmas Song" at the Annual NYC Tree Lighting Ceremony. On 21 December 2007, two performances recorded during one of the final A New Day... concerts were broadcast on Larry King Live: "Taking Chances" and "The Christmas Song".
In late January 2008, Dion returned to France. On 25 January 2008, she appeared on the Star Academy finale and performed "Alone" and two of her French-language hits with the contestants. The following day, Dion performed "Taking Chances" at the NRJ Music Awards, where she received the NRJ Award of Honor. Before her second visit to France, Dion recorded the television special That's Just the Woman in Me for the United States and Canada, broadcast on 15 February 2008. She performed "Taking Chances", "Alone", an "Eyes on Me" remix with will.i.am, "That's Just the Woman in Me", and also "Something" with Joe Walsh on guitar, "The Power of Love", "River Deep, Mountain High", and "The Prayer" in a duet with Josh Groban. "The Prayer" was released as a digital download on 12 February 2008. On 14 February 2008, Dion began her Taking Chances World Tour, which visited Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America, and concluded on 26 February 2009. It grossed over US$279 million, making it at the time the third highest-grossing tour by a female artist, behind Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour and MDNA Tour. The tour was documented in the film Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, released on DVD and Blu-ray in April 2010. The concert itself was issued on DVD and CD as Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert and Tournée mondiale Taking Chances: Le spectacle.
Critical response