Celine Dion Reveals How Stiff Person Syndrome Has Changed Her Singing Voice
A year and a half after going public with her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, Celine Dion is opening up about how the neurological condition has impacted her world-renowned singing voice.
In a Friday teaser clip for an upcoming NBC interview, Dion told “Today” host Hoda Kotb that it’s felt “like somebody’s strangling you” when she’s recently attempted to sing.
“It’s like somebody’s pushing your larynx, pharynx, this way,” the five-time Grammy winner explained as she used her hand to push inward on her throat. After transitioning into a restrained, high-pitched tone, she added, “It’s like you’re talking like that, and you cannot go high or lower.”
Stiff person syndrome, or SPS, is defined by the National Institutes of Health as “a rare, progressive neurological disorder” that can lead to muscle spasms. The condition can be so debilitating that some patients are eventually unable to walk or move independently. Though symptoms can be kept under control with treatment, there is no cure.
Watch the teaser for Dion’s NBC interview below.
In her chat with Kotb, Dion acknowledged that she had “broken ribs at one point” as the result of a muscle spasm.
“Sometimes, when it’s very severe, it can break some ribs,” she said.
Dion first announced her SPS diagnosis in December 2022, noting at the time that the condition had significantly impacted her daily life and ability to perform.
The French Canadian singer was mostly absent from the spotlight and from social media for most of 2023. In February, however, she made a triumphant return to the public eye when she appeared at the 2024 Grammy Awards to present Taylor Swift with the award for Album of the Year.
During a Vogue France interview published online in April, Dion seemed determined to resume her music career, though she did not specify a time frame in which that may be possible.
“The way I see it, I have two choices,” she said. “Either I train like an athlete and work super hard, or I switch off and it’s over, I stay at home, listen to my songs, stand in front of my mirror and sing to myself. I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be.”
Dion’s full interview with Kotb is set to air Tuesday. She is also expected to share details about her health journey in the forthcoming documentary “I Am: Celine Dion,” which hits Amazon Prime Video on June 25.
