Celine Dionne or Celine Dion?

Hong Kong's "quality" English-language newspaper demonstrated below-par English reporting skills with its popular story Little Hong Kong girl with the huge voice wows ‘America’s Got Talent’ (South China Morning Post).

Celine Tam on America's Got Talent

This is no criticism of the incredible nine-year-old Celine Tam, who captivated the hearts of the US audience with her prodigious take of the Canadian diva's "My Heart Will Go On". We are told by reporter Raymond Yeung that Miss Tam was asked questions by AGT's panel of judges. Yeung writes:

She explained her parents were huge fans of Celine Dion and paid tribute by naming her and her little sister Celine and Dionne.

There are no more references of Celine's four-year-old sister in the news article, so the question remains ... how is her name spelled? Is it Dion or Dionne? Raymond Yeung, you have some explaining/clarification to do.

Four-year-old Dionne (or Dion?) with proud parents

Dion is both a boy's and a girl's name, but more regularly used for boys. It is of Greek origin and means "follower of Dionysius". For example, former English footballer Dion Dublin.

Dionne is a variant of Dion, and singer Dionne Warwick springs to mind. Are Celine's parents huge fans of Dionne Warwick too? Or are they going to claim that all their children (two, so far) will each be given one of the names: Céline Marie Claudette Dion? Sorry, Dionne!


About Novel Names


REFERENCE

Little Hong Kong girl with the huge voice wows ‘America’s Got Talent’

Celine Tam’s performance of My Heart Will Go On was just the latest example of her prodigious talent

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 17 June, 2017, 7:18pm

UPDATED : Monday, 19 June, 2017, 10:40am

Comments: 37 

Raymond Yeung

Deciding on a career may be the last thing a nine-year-old needs to worry about, but Celine Tam Tsz-kwan’s path to success already seems laid out.

After making a name on mainland China and in Hong Kong with her powerful singing voice, Tsz-kwan showed there were no boundaries to her ambitions by stunning the audience and judges in the latest edition of America’s Got Talent.

A preview of her performing Canadian diva Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On has attracted 2.5 million views since it was uploaded to YouTube on Saturday, while the same Facebook clip drew 14 million views globally.

Her parents watched from backstage as Tsz-kwan told judges how she had realised her dream by appearing on the reality TV show.

Asked by Mel B how she discovered her talent, she answered: “When I was in the car, my dad’s driving and then suddenly I just sang My Heart Will Go On. And then he was like ‘wow’.”

She explained her parents were huge fans of Celine Dion and paid tribute by naming her and her little sister Celine and Dionne.

After the introduction, Tsz-kwan impressed the audience with her powerful rendition of Dion’s classic hit, drawing a standing ovation as she hit the highest notes.

Despite her performance winning overwhelming approval, viewers will have to wait to find out if she has progressed to the next round.

Tsz-kwan rose to fame in 2014 after entering Hunan Broadcasting System’s show Let’s Sing Kids, where she performed Secret Garden’s You Raise Me Up.

One year later she was invited by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to perform at the National Day reception, attended by the city’s elite.

Though there was no question about her talent, she might not have achieved the accomplishments without her father, Steve, a vocal coach who started training her at three. She began winning trophies from the age of age four, including numerous championships on the mainland.

 

But success on such a scale requires dedication – something Tsz-kwan has in abundance. Ahead of the National Day she put in 30 hours of rehearsal – 10 hours for each song she performed.

Such are her prospects that she signed a contract with entertainment label GME China in 2015.