All the Way... A Decade of Song

After 10 years of constant recording, touring, and global promotion, Dion announced that she would take an extended break from the music industry. "I'm looking forward to having no schedule, no pressure, to not caring about whether it's raining or not, just visiting with family and friends, cooking at home, trying to seriously have a child. I want no pressure for a while," she said in 1999.^[3] Before beginning her two‑year hiatus on 1 January 2000, Dion and her team assembled All the Way... A Decade of Song as a retrospective celebration of her achievements throughout the 1990s—a decade in which she sold over 100 million albums worldwide.^[4]

During this period, Dion evolved from a rising Canadian vocalist into one of the world's most successful and recognizable pop artists. Between 1990 and 1999, she released six English‑language studio albums—from Unison (1990) to All the Way... A Decade of Song—as well as six newly recorded French‑language albums. Her output earned her numerous accolades, including five Grammy Awards, and established her as one of the defining voices of the decade.^[3][4]

The creation of All the Way... A Decade of Song was a meticulous process. The team faced the challenge of balancing Dion's most iconic hits with a meaningful selection of new material that would offer listeners something fresh. "We had hourly conversations, back and forth, about what the combination should be," recalled John Doelp, the album's co‑executive producer. "We wanted to make sure we had some new sounds and that we were able to go to new places."^[3] Co‑executive producer Vito Luprano added that the project grew organically: "The first idea was to record three new songs, then Dion said, 'Let's go for five,' her lucky number. But we had so many great songs coming in that we ended up recording nine. Out of that, we decided to go with seven."^[3]

The resulting album blended Dion's most celebrated hits with new recordings crafted by some of the era's most influential producers, serving both as a capstone to her record‑breaking decade and as a final major release before her temporary retreat from the spotlight.

"That's the Way It Is" was released as the first single from the album in November 1999. It reached number six on the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a top-10 hit worldwide.^[8] In February 2000, "Live (for the One I Love)" was released as the second single in selected European countries, and in March 2000, "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" was issued as the next single in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 19.^[9] The second North American single, "I Want You to Need Me", was released in April 2000 and reached number one on the Canadian Singles Chart.^[10]

On 7 October 1999, Celine Dion taped her second CBS television special at Radio City Music Hall in New York.^[5] She performed "Love Can Move Mountains", "To Love You More" (with Taro Hakase on violin), "That's the Way It Is" (with 'N Sync), "All the Way" (a virtual duet with Frank Sinatra), "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", and a medley of "Here We Are", " Because You Loved Me", and "Conga" in a duet with Gloria Estefan. The television special aired on 22 November 1999 and was the second-most-watched program in its time slot, with an 8.3 rating and a 14 share.^[11] Dion also performed "That's the Way It Is" on various television and award shows in late 1999, before taking a two-year break from the music industry.^[5] On 31 December 1999, she gave her final concert at Montreal's Molson Centre, with guest Bryan Adams and several French-Canadian singers.^[3][12]

More information Review scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[13]
Calgary Sun	[14]
Q	[15]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[16]
Toronto Sun	[17]

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All the Way... A Decade of Song received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Although Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic awarded the album four out of five stars, he criticized the inclusion of seven new songs and only nine hits. He noted what he considered "glaring omissions", such as Dion's first American hit, "Where Does My Heart Beat Now", and her duet with Barbra Streisand, "Tell Him".^[13][18] Phil Sutcliffe of Q described the album as a "strange hybrid" that was "neither comprehensively greatest nor best".^[15] Dave Veitch of the Calgary Sun wrote that "fans may be disappointed" by the absence of certain hits.^[14]

Erlewine praised "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" and "My Heart Will Go On" as "among the best adult contemporary songs of the decade", but felt that aside from "That's the Way It Is" and "If Walls Could Talk", the new material lacked memorability.^[13] Michael Paoletta of Billboard gave the album a positive review. Discussing the seven new tracks, he wrote that All the Way... A Decade of Song was Dion's "most focused album yet", created with a team of collaborators who understood the singer's strengths.^[19]

Chuck Taylor of Billboard praised "That's the Way It Is", noting that Dion "at last ups the tempo with the irresistible first single". He commended her collaboration with Max Martin, Kristian Lundin and Andreas Carlsson, describing the track as "replete with a festive mandolin and a midtempo beat" and calling it "one of the most compelling radio releases yet" from "one of the core voices of the decade".^[20] Taylor also reviewed "I Want You to Need Me", writing that the pairing of Dion and Diane Warren was "as fine a fit as a trusty pair of Thom McAn's". He praised Warren's "heart-drenched words and dramatic melody writing" and Dion's "potent vocals", concluding that "divadom has never sounded so mighty".^[21]

All the Way... A Decade of Song topped charts around the world and was certified multi-platinum in numerous countries. During its first two years, the album had sold over 17 million copies globally.^[22] To date, it has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, making it the 15th best-selling album by a woman.^[23]

In the United States, All the Way... A Decade of Song debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with sales of 303,000 copies, the second-largest opening of Dion's career after Let's Talk About Love (1997), which sold 334,000 units in its first week.^[24] The album rose by 30% in its second week (394,000 copies) and became her third number-one album. In its fifth week, it returned to the top, selling 537,000 units, becoming the first number-one album of the 2000s.^[25] It achieved its highest weekly sales in week six, selling 640,000 copies while placing at number two.^[26] On Billboard's list of the best-selling albums of 1999 in the US, All the Way... A Decade of Song ranked number 13 with sales of 2.9 million units.^[27] As of November 2019, it has sold 8,200,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan,^[28][29] plus an additional 1,100,000 units through BMG Music Club.^[30] It was certified seven times platinum by the RIAA.^[31] It is the fourth best-selling greatest hits album in the US in the Nielsen SoundScan era and the best-selling greatest hits album by a female artist.^[1] According to Billboard, it was the 26th best-selling album of the 2000s in the US.^[32] In Canada and Quebec, the album debuted at number one.^[33][34] It shipped one million copies and was certified diamond by the CRIA.^[35]

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one with sales of 74,681 copies.^[36] It became one of five Dion albums to surpass one million copies sold in the UK. As of October 2008, it has sold 1,318,223 units^[36] and was certified four times platinum by the BPI.^[37] In Germany, the album entered at number one and spent six non-consecutive weeks at the top.^[38] It was certified seven times gold by the BVMI for shipments of 1,050,000 copies.^[39][40] Overall, it sold over five million copies in Europe and was certified five times platinum by the IFPI.^[41] In Japan, the album peaked at number one^[42] and was certified double million by the RIAJ for shipments of two million copies.^[43] In Australia, the album topped the chart for two weeks and was certified five times platinum by the ARIA.^[44]

All the Way... A Decade of Song received the 2000 Japan Gold Disc Award for International Pop Album of the Year.^[45] "All the Way", Dion's duet with Frank Sinatra, was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 43rd Grammy Awards.^[46]

Adapted from AllMusic.^[47]