''Courage'' is the twelfth English-language and twenty-seventh studio album by Canadian singer
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
, released by
Columbia Records on 15 November 2019. It is her first English album in six years after ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
'' (2013). Dion worked on ''Courage'' with various writers and producers, including
Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
,
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
,
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...
,
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
,
StarGate,
Jimmy Napes
James Napier (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Jimmy Napes, is an English songwriter and record producer. He has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, 3 Grammy Awards, and 2 Ivor Novello Award ...
,
Lauv
Ari Staprans Leff (born August 8, 1994), known professionally as Lauv (), is an American singer and musician, best known for his breakout hit "I Like Me Better"; included on his compilation album ''I Met You When I Was 18 (The Playlist)'', whi ...
,
LP,
Jörgen Elofsson
Kjell Åke Jörgen Elofsson (born 14 January 1962) is a Swedish songwriter.
He was one of the writers of the songwriter-team at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm (along with Denniz PoP, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson, Rami Yacoub, ...
,
Stephan Moccio,
Eg White, Liz Rodrigues of
The New Royales
The New Royales are a four-person music group consisting of members DJ Khalil, Chin Injeti, Liz Rodrigues, and Erik Alcock. Since forming in 2007, they have worked together as producers and songwriters for artists such as Eminem, Pitbull, Pink ...
, and many more.
In June 2019, Dion ended her Las Vegas residency,
Celine, and released "
Flying on My Own" as a gift to her fans. In September 2019, she embarked on the
Courage World Tour
The Courage World Tour is the fourteenth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her English-language studio album '' Courage'' (2019). It was her first world tour in over a decade, since her Taking Chances World Tour. The to ...
and premiered three more new songs: "
Imperfections", "
Lying Down" and "
Courage". The album, which includes sixteen songs and four additional tracks on the deluxe edition, received generally favorable reviews from music critics. It debuted atop the US
''Billboard'' 200, becoming Dion's first number-one album there in 17 years. It also debuted at number one in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland. ''Courage'' charted inside the top ten in many other countries, including number two in the United Kingdom, France and Australia, number four in Germany, Austria and Croatia, and number five in Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal.
Background and development
In November 2013, Dion released her previous English-language studio album, ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
''. The next month, her husband
René Angélil
René Angélil (; January 16, 1942 – January 14, 2016) was a Canadian musical producer, talent manager and singer. He was the manager and husband of singer Celine Dion.
Early life
Angélil was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father of ...
was diagnosed with throat cancer and underwent surgery. In June 2014, Angélil stepped down as Dion's manager to focus on his health and in August 2014 Dion postponed her show business activities, because of the worsening of her husband's health. Angélil died on 14 January 2016. On 22 May 2016, in her first public performance outside
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
The Colosseum at Caesars Palace is a theater located on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theater is the main entertainment venue for Caesars Palace. Deemed the ''Home of the Greatest Entertainers in the World'', the theater has hosted ...
, Dion performed "
The Show Must Go On
"The show must go on" is a phrase in show business, meaning that regardless of what happens, whatever show has been planned still has to be staged for the waiting patrons. There is no evidence to suggest that it is the abbreviation of a longer phra ...
" during the
2016 ''Billboard'' Music Awards, where she received the
''Billboard'' Icon Award. In August 2016, she released her French-language album, ''
Encore un soir'' to critical and commercial success.
The next month, she premiered "
Recovering", a song written by
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
in honor of Dion's late husband.
The song was marketed as the first track off of her upcoming English record which, at the time, was projected for release in 2017. She performed it during the
Stand Up to Cancer
Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts. Central to the program is a telethon tha ...
Live Event on 9 September 2016.
In March 2017, Dion's "
How Does a Moment Last Forever
"How Does a Moment Last Forever" is a song written by lyricist Tim Rice and composer Alan Menken for the Disney live action film ''Beauty and the Beast'' (2017), a remake of the animated musical of the same name. This Broadway-inspired ballad is ...
" was released on the ''
Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack''. Dion also embarked on two summer tours in Canada and Europe in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
and
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
. In 2018, she released "
Ashes" from the American superhero film ''
Deadpool 2
''Deadpool 2'' is a 2018 American superhero comedy film based on the Marvel Comics character Deadpool. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to ''Deadpool'' (2016) and the eleventh installment overall in the ''X-Men'' film series. ...
'' and
toured Asia, Australia and New Zealand. In September 2018, Dion announced the end of her Las Vegas residency ''
Celine'', with the final date set for 8 June 2019.
On 3 April 2019, she announced her 2019/2020
Courage World Tour
The Courage World Tour is the fourteenth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her English-language studio album '' Courage'' (2019). It was her first world tour in over a decade, since her Taking Chances World Tour. The to ...
, beginning in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, Canada on 18 September 2019.
Dion also announced a new English-language album of the same name, to be released in November 2019.
Explaining the name of the album, she said: "I think I went through a lot. And life had given me the tools… to find my inner strength, to find courage, and to keep going. The people that I love so much embraced the moments that were difficult. They gave me so much strength. And then a song came that was called "
Courage", and it didn't take long for all of us to say, 'I think the album should be called Courage'".
Dion announced the tour in a video titled "Ciao for now Las Vegas", in which she leaves Las Vegas in a car full of
drag queen
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...
s.
Impersonator Steven Wayne stood in for Dion, alongside
Bryan Watkins, Crystal Woods and
Hot Chocolate
Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...
as
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
,
Diana Ross and
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...
. The promo also teased the new song, "
Flying on My Own".
On 5 April 2019, on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', Dion promoted her upcoming tour, sang few lines from the song "Courage" and performed "Ashes". On 7 and 8 June 2019, Dion performed "Flying on My Own" during her Las Vegas residency show and the live performance was released to various streaming platforms on 8 June 2019.
Writing and recording
In April 2019, Dion revealed she had received 48 song contenders for the upcoming album and had to choose 12 of them.
The new album, ''Courage'', would explore new musical directions while also keeping the familiar style that Dion's fans are used to. After releasing
Pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
-written "
Recovering" in September 2016, Dion recorded new music in October 2016 with
Diane Warren, who wrote many of her hits, including "
Because You Loved Me
"Because You Loved Me" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her fourth English-language studio album, ''Falling into You'' (1996). It was released on 19 February 1996 as the first single in North America and as the second single in the ...
".
In April 2017, Dion mentioned that
Sia
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
had written three songs for her. In April 2019, it was announced that the new album will include an appearance by Sia and that one of the songs written by her is titled "Baby".
In December 2017, Dion revealed she has recorded new music with
Stephan Moccio and
Maty Noyes
Madeline Ashley "Maty" Noyes (born August 25, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter. Noyes rose to prominence in 2015 after a guest appearance on The Weeknd's ''Beauty Behind the Madness'' album, and contributing lead vocals to Kygo's 2015 track ...
. Moccio wrote Dion's 2002 successful single "
A New Day Has Come
''A New Day Has Come'' is the seventh English-language and eighteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 22 March 2002. It was her first new studio album since 1998's Christmas album ''These Are ...
", and also co-wrote hits for other artists, including "
Earned It
"Earned It", alternatively titled "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)", is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. The song was released as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2015 film ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' and was included on the Weeknd' ...
" by
The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...
and "
Wrecking Ball
A wrecking ball is a heavy steel ball, usually hung from a crane, that is used for demolishing large buildings. It was most commonly in use during the 1950s and 1960s. Several wrecking companies claim to have invented the wrecking ball. An e ...
" by
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...
. Also in December 2017, Dion recorded the song "
Flying on My Own" at the
Studio at the Palms
Palms Casino Resort is a hotel and casino located near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. It includes 703 rooms and a casino. It was originally owned by th ...
in Las Vegas. The song was written by
Jörgen Elofsson
Kjell Åke Jörgen Elofsson (born 14 January 1962) is a Swedish songwriter.
He was one of the writers of the songwriter-team at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm (along with Denniz PoP, Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Andreas Carlsson, Rami Yacoub, ...
, Anton Mårtenson and Liz Rodrigues. In October 2018,
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...
mentioned that Dion recorded a song he co-wrote with Sia. While announcing the
Courage World Tour
The Courage World Tour is the fourteenth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her English-language studio album '' Courage'' (2019). It was her first world tour in over a decade, since her Taking Chances World Tour. The to ...
in April 2019, Dion revealed that she recorded a song called "
Courage", which became the title track for the album, set for release in November 2019.
The promotional video for the tour features a fragment of the new song, "Flying on My Own".
On 20 May 2019, a fragment of another new song, "
Lying Down", written by David Guetta and Sia was featured in Dion's episode of ''
Carpool Karaoke
Carpool Karaoke is a recurring segment on ''The Late Late Show with James Corden'', in which host James Corden invites famous musical guests to sing along to their songs with him whilst traveling in a car driven by Corden on a planned route usual ...
'' with
James Corden. "Flying on My Own" (Live from Las Vegas) was released as a digital download on 9 June 2019, the day after Dion ended her 16-year Las Vegas residency. The studio version was released on 28 June 2019. On 18 September 2019, Dion released three new songs, including "Lying Down", "Courage" and "
Imperfections", shared the cover art for the album and announced the release date for 15 November 2019.
Critical reception
''Courage'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 68 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Mike Wass from ''
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
'' rated ''Courage'' 4.5 out of 5 stars, describing it as Dion's most eclectic album, which is truly remarkable at this stage in her career.
He felt that while the production of songs is inventive, the subject matter couldn't be more traditional, as Dion examines matters of the heart.
Neil Z. Yeung of
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
rated the album 4 out of 5 stars calling ''Courage'' a transformative, cathartic release for the powerhouse vocalist that carries listeners through her process of healing and moving on.
According to him, the album is buffered by a heavy dose of mid-tempo bloodletting that serves as therapeutic processing for Dion and as vulnerable confessionals to her fans.
Nick Smith from ''
MusicOMH'' also rated ''Courage'' 4 out of 5 stars.
He pointed out that the themes of the album are coherent: inner strength, courage and self-reflection, and that ''Courage'' marks an impressive return.
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' writer Brittany Spanos praised both the album's contemporary, upbeat dance-pop tracks, as well as the ballads, stating "across the LP, the dance-pop moments thrive best when there's a touch of campiness, which is where Dion's excellent performance skills shine", and "as with anything Dion does, the throaty ballads where she flexes her multi-octave mezzo-soprano are the true gems".
In a summary, she compared ''Courage'' to
Cher's 1998 album ''
Believe'', writing "consider ''Courage'' to be Dion's version of Cher's ''Believe'': an album that arrived at exactly the right time and proved to a new generation that she's worth revisiting and recognizing as a diva very capable of keeping up with the times".
According to Alexis Petridis from ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', the best songs on ''Courage'' are ballads, which stick close to the music that made Dion famous, like the
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
.
Alexandra Pollard from ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...
'' wrote that the most affecting moments on the record seem to face the loss of a loved one, like in songs "For the Lover That I Lost" co-written by
Sam Smith
Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single " Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...
and "Courage".
Michael Cragg of ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' wrote that ''Courage'', recorded in the aftermath of Dion's husband's death in 2016, is suffused with lyrics about loss and rebirth.
Jason Lipshutz from ''
Billboard'' wrote that Dion's 2013's ''
Loved Me Back to Life
''Loved Me Back to Life'' is the eleventh English-language and twenty-fifth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 1 November 2013. It was preceded by the lead single and title track, " Loved Me Back ...
'' was a winning effort, but ''Courage'' is even more vital, with a "propulsive" opener in "
Flying on My Own", a "devastating" title track, and many "worthwhile reflections in between".
According to him, Dion's focus on ''Courage'' on loss, recovery and personal empowerment makes it one of the most mature and impressive pop releases of 2019.
''Courage'' was chosen as one of the best albums of 2019 by ''Billboard'' staff. In his review for ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', writer A.D. Amorosi gave the album a mixed review, stating "the most glorious, and authentic, moments on ''Courage'' then, address bereavement, fear and finality in that pearl-clutching, gasping-for-air singing style that is Dion's, and Dion's alone".
He criticized some songs on the album, such as "Flying on My Own", "Lovers Never Die", "The Chase", and others arguing that they make Dion sound "robotic and dull".
He summed up his review writing "one could argue that ''Courage'' is the sound of Celine Dion unbound and unwound, ready to experiment beyond her usual theatrical soundscapes, and play in the fields with her tween chart contemporaries. That's fine. Get it out of your system now. At least half of the album is fantastic. But don't let her make a habit out of this".
''
The Cavalier Daily
''The Cavalier Daily'' is an independent, student-run daily news organization at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1890, under the name ''College Topics'', ''The Cavalier Daily'' is Virginia's oldest collegiate daily and the oldest daily new ...
'' wrote a positive review saying that ''Courage'' is Dion's best work to date and named "Falling in Love Again" and "How Did You Get Here" as the best tracks on the album.
Year-end rankings and accolades
Numerous publications listed ''Courage'' as one of the Best Pop Albums of 2019.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
listed ''Courage'' as one of their 'Favorite Pop Albums' of 2019, calling it a "cathartic comeback". ''
Billboard'' ranked ''Courage'' as the 50th best album of 2019, further saying: "Celine both digs deep, and lets us see her lighter side -- and that's the power of Dion". ''
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
'' ranked ''Courage'' at No. 20 in their list of 'The Best Pop Albums of 2019' calling it her "best album since the 90s". ''
Slate'' also listed ''Courage'' among the Best Albums of 2019.
''Billboard'' also ranked four songs from the album in their list of Top 10 Fan-favourite songs of 2019, with "
Imperfections" (No. 1) topping the list while "
Courage" (No. 4), "
Flying on My Own" (No. 6) and "
Lying Down" (No. 9) also placed simultaneously on the list.
Accolades
The album received two
Juno Award nominations at the
Juno Awards of 2021
The Juno Awards of 2021, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented on 6 June 2021, observing the 50th anniversary of these awards. The main ceremonies were televised on CBC.
The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place in Ma ...
, for
Album of the Year and
Adult Contemporary Album of the Year. Thanks to ''Courage'', Dion was also nominated for
Juno Award for Artist of the Year The Juno Award for Artist of the Year is an annual award presented by the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) to the best individual musician in Canada. The five nominees in the category are decided through a combination of sale ...
. The album won a
Webby Award
The Webby Awards are awards for excellence on the Internet presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a judging body composed of over two thousand industry experts and technology innovators. Categories includ ...
in the category Experimental & Innovation Social.
Singles
In June 2019, Dion released "
Flying on My Own" as a gift to the fans. It reached number one in Quebec and top ten on the digital charts in Canada and France, and on the US
Dance Club Songs chart. On 18 September 2019, Dion released three more songs, including "
Imperfections", "
Lying Down" and "
Courage".
The music video for "Imperfections" premiered on 26 September 2019 and the song was sent to radio on 30 September 2019. On 19 October 2019, "Lying Down" was added under the A-list on
BBC Radio 2 airplay playlist in the United Kingdom and became record of the week.
The music video for "Courage" premiered on 13 November 2019. "Soul" was sent to Italian radio on 24 January 2020 as the album's fourth promotional single and became available worldwide on various streaming platforms, before it was only available in Japan, as the albums japanese bonus track. "Change My Mind" was released as the album's third promotional single in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2020. It was added to the BBC Radio 2 B-List on the same day.
Commercial performance
''Courage'' was a commercial success and broke several chart records all around the world. It became the best-selling album of 2019 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the seventh best-selling album by a female artist of 2020 in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, in terms of pure sales. According to
IFPI
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...
, ''Courage'' has sold 600,000 units worldwide, becoming the 20th best-selling album of 2019.
Canada
''Courage'' debuted atop the
Canadian Albums Chart with 55,000
album-equivalent unit
The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditio ...
s, including 53,000 pure album sales, becoming Dion's 15th number-one album in the
Nielsen SoundScan era and 16th overall in Canada.
It achieved the highest one-week consumption total since
Drake
Drake may refer to:
Animals
* A male duck
People and fictional characters
* Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name
* Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* ...
's ''
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...
'' picked up 70,000 units in July 2018 and the highest one-week pure album sales since
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
's ''
Reputation
The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance.
Reputation is a ubiquitous ...
'' sold 80,000 copies in November 2017.
It also achieved 2019's biggest single-week consumption total.
''Courage'' also debuted at number one in Quebec with 28,000 pure album sales.
In the second week, the album dropped to number two in Canada, picking up the second-highest sales total for the week with 8,300 units. In the third week, ''Courage'' fell one position to number three but earned the highest album sales total for the week with 6,300 units sold. In Quebec, it stayed at number one for six non-consecutive weeks. ''Courage'' has sold 93,000 copies in 2019 in Canada.
On the Canadian
Nielsen SoundScan 2019 Year-end charts, it was the top-selling album (physical and digital sales).
It was certified Platinum in Canada in January 2021.
United States
''Courage'' also debuted at number one on the US
''Billboard'' 200 dated 30 November 2019, earning Dion her first US number-one album in 17 years, having last topped the chart with ''
A New Day Has Come
''A New Day Has Come'' is the seventh English-language and eighteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music Entertainment on 22 March 2002. It was her first new studio album since 1998's Christmas album ''These Are ...
'' (2002).
It is her fifth US number-one album, and earned 113,000 album-equivalent units, including 109,000 pure album sales.
It also became her 13th top ten album on the ''Billboard'' 200.
Thanks to ''Courage'', Dion has collected number-one albums in each of the last three decades, being the fourth woman to achieve the feat after
Janet Jackson,
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
and
Britney Spears.
The next week, due to lack of streaming, ''Courage'' plummeted to number 111, setting a ''Billboard'' 200 record for the biggest second week drop for an album that debuted at number one and second biggest drop after
Bon Jovi (1-169 for ''
This House Is Not for Sale''). On ''Billboards Top Current Albums, ''Courage'' fell from number one to position 13 in its second week and on the Top Album Sales chart it dropped from the top to number 21.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number two, selling 18,946 copies.
''Courage'' is Dion's highest-charting album since ''A New Day Has Come'' became her fifth number one in the UK in 2002.
In the second week, it fell to number 13, selling 8,804 copies. On 27 December 2019, it was certified Silver in the UK.
France
In France, ''Courage'' debuted at number two on the Overall Sales and Streaming Chart and number one on the Sales Chart with 24,000 pure album sales.
In the second week, it fell to number seven on the Overall Chart and number five on the Sales Chart with 10,800 physical and digital copies sold. On 6 December 2019, ''Courage'' was certified Gold by
SNEP.
In 2019, the album has sold 77,000 copies there. In December 2022, it was certified Platinum for selling over 100,000 copies.
Other markets
''Courage'' also debuted at number one in Belgium Wallonia
and Switzerland
(also in Romandy),
number two in Australia
and Scotland,
number three in Belgium Flanders,
number four in Germany,
Austria
and Croatia,
number five in Ireland,
New Zealand,
Portugal
and on the Finnish Physical Albums Chart (number 13 on the Overall Chart),
number six in Poland,
number ten in the Netherlands,
Italy
and South Africa,
and outside the top ten in few other countries. In Japan, ''Courage'' debuted at number eight on the Western Oricon Albums Chart and number 49 on the
Oricon Albums Chart.
On the
''Billboard'' Japan charts, it entered the Top Albums Sales chart at number 41 and the Hot Albums chart at number 61.
Track listing
Notes
*
signifies an additional producer
*
signifies an orchestral session co-producer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
Release history
See also
*
List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 2019
*
List of number-one albums of 2019 (Belgium)
The Belgian Albums Chart, divided into the two main regions Flanders and Wallonia, ranks the best-performing albums in Belgium, as compiled by Ultratop
Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Bel ...
*
List of number-one albums of 2019 (Canada)
These are the Canadian number-one albums of 2019. The chart is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published in ''Billboard'' magazine as Top Canadian Albums.
Number-one albums
See also
* List of Canadian Hot 100 number-one singles of 2019
* L ...
*
List of number-one hits of 2019 (Switzerland)
References
{{Authority control
2019 albums
Celine Dion albums
Columbia Records albums