S2 EP4: Let's Talk About Celine Dion (Part 2)

Emilija Kokić, Riva, Rock Me, WINNER Yugoslavia 1989 (27:23), Jackie Cox (47:08) This is the second episode in our two part series about Celine Dion! We pick up right after Celine's Eurovision victory, tracing her rise to global pop stardom, her experience of critical backlash, her health struggles and her recent comeback. As we do so, we discuss the parallels between Celine's ebb and flow of cultural relevance, and that of the contest that launched her. Then we speak to Emilija Kokić, who won Eurovision the year after Celine for Yugoslavia, as the front woman of Riva, with the song Rock Me. We discuss that incredible moment in the late '80s when it felt like the world was opening up, and the difficult aftermath as Emilija launched her solo career against the back drop of war, genocide and the break-up of Yugoslavia. Finally, we sit down with Jackie Cox (RuPaul's Drag Race Season 12), and explore Canadian acts at Eurovision, in a game of Tops and Bottoms that we're calling the "Not Like Us" edition. We cover everything from the code switching Canadians are often forced to do on the international stage, to the threat the country now faces from Donald Trump. TOPS AND BOTTOMS: NOT LIKE US EDITION Sherisse Laurence, L’amour de ma vie (Luxembourg, 1986): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTyzJSnLv3Q Celine Dion, Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi (Switzerland 1988): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXLWfXmlXPc Annie Cotton, Moi, tout simplement, (Switzerland, 1993): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QG-kvD7GHo Natasha St-Pier, Je N'ai Que Mon Âme, (France, 2001): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCfqvkCEyy4 Rykka, The Last of Our Kind, (Switzerland, 2016): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96ENe3EYBE0 La Zarra, Evidement, (France, 2023): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWfbEFH9NvQ