Céline Dion is well and truly the ‘Priestess of Pop’, and we’ve long worshipped at her altar. 

The bestselling Canadian recording artist, and the bestselling French-language artist of all time, has released 137 singles, 27 studio albums, 25 box sets, 19 compilation albums and seven live albums – and each demonstrates her extraordinary vocal prowess and impressive range of four octaves.

She has a truckload of trophies, including five Grammy Awards, 12 World Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards, six American Music Awards, 20 Juno Awards, and 50 Felix Awards. Her powerful voice is forever synonymous with Titanic thanks to the instantly iconic My Heart Will Go On – which, you guessed it, won the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 1998 Academy Awards. And she won the 1988 Eurovision contest for Switzerland with her song Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi.

Dion is, essentially, a musical legend. So you can imagine how surprised everyone was when her name failed to grace Rolling Stone’s contentious Top 200 Greatest Singers Of All Time list.

“Before you start scrolling and commenting, keep in mind this is the Greatest Singers list, not the Greatest Voice list,” reads a (some might say snarky) tweet from the publication, perhaps preempting the outrage that would pour in over its… well, let’s call it an oversight rather than a snub, shall we?

“Talent is impressive; genius is transcendent.”

Right. Because, to paraphrase one outraged Dion fan’s response to the tweet, most people sing with their arms or something.

Of course, I could spend hours explaining why the bilingual singer deserves to be listed alongside such musical greats as Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Adele and Beyoncé. I could devote an entire book to her musical successes over the years. And I could (get ready for my best Moira Rose impression) so effortlessly conjure up the perfect words to bedazzle the spirits of both Dion and her fans. 

Here’s the thing, though: Dion has never once needed the validation of Rolling Stone – nor any of the elitist music critics who dismiss her out of hand due to her penchant for romantic ballads, for that matter.

Indeed, a clip from an interview the singer gave to ABC News over 20 years ago has since gone viral largely because Dion’s words remain as bitingly brilliant and relevant as ever.

“Many times they send people to criticise my show – people who like bands and heavy rock – and they send them, poor guys, to see a romantic show with someone who’s going to sing a ballad,” Dion says in the clip.

“Well, of course they’re not going to like it!”

The singer continues: “I’m one of the artists who sells the most records, and we have sold-out shows. So if they say to me [that I’m not good], it makes me mad, in a way, and angry that they think that all of those people who buy my records and come to my show are all stupid, and all wrong.”

“Interview all of them,” she adds, before quipping: “I can be wrong like this for the rest of my life, and I’ll really like it.”

It’s an important reminder that, while it’s normal to seek validation from others – be it your parents, partner, colleagues, friends, social media or maybe even a global magazine (just Dion for that last one, eh?) – solely relying on external validation is a surefire route to unhappiness.

Instead, we need to make like Dion and learn how to validate ourselves by acknowledging our strengths, successes, progress and effort. By treating ourselves with compassion. And by blowing our own damn trumpets, thank you very much. 

So, no, Dion didn’t make the Top 200 List – but she has her groaning trophy case, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an army of loyal fans, easy access to Asprey & Garrard’s real sapphire-and-diamond Heart of the Ocean necklace and a not-so-modest net worth of $800 million. Do you really think she bloody cares?

Plus, when you consider the fact that the likes of Cher, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Nat King Cole and Annie Lennox were also notably absent from the list, one can’t help but think that Dion is in very good company indeed.

Images: Getty