African teen's Celine Dion cover will make your heart go on
An African teenager is giving Celine Dion a run for her Canadian money.
When blogger Barack Nyare Mba's friend sent him a video of 17-year-old Samuel's stunning French rendition of Celine Dion's "The Power Of Love," Mba knew the world deserved to hear it. And he was right — the clip has been viewed nearly 1 million times on Facebook.
Samuel lives in Libreville, Gabon. His staircase cover of the Dion classic was performed a cappella, mostly in French and partly in English.
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According to Mashable France, music producers are in contact with the young singer. While Samuel is excited about his dreams of making music his job coming true, he feels scared now that it is a real, tangible possibility.
"Where I live in Libreville, people recognize me on the street and want to say hello," he told France 24 in French. "I absolutely do not know how to handle it."
Hopefully, Samuel learns to cope with fame. We want more of his Celine Dion covers.
UPDATE July 27, 2016, 9:45 a.m. EST: Celine Dion herself caught wind of Samuel's video, and she shared it on Facebook with a touching message.
"Samuel, your talent is as big as your voice. I'm touched my songs have travelled all the way to you and hope we have the chance to meet one day," she wrote on Facebook in both French and English.
"May all your dreams come true. Keep singing like you do. When music comes from the heart, it knows no borders! Céline xxx."
Samuel told France 24 in French, "My dream? Meet Celine Dion at least once in my life." Samuel, you're one step closer.
Bonus: Meet Nana Miriam.
Topics Music
Sophie was a Viral Content Intern for the Watercooler channel. More writing and other stuff by Sophie can be found at www.sophiehirsh.com.
