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:: Destiny Lights a Path
'Notre-Dame de Paris' was a sensational hit in France and the offers began to pour in for numerous record projects and film proposals, but Garou was determined to wait for a recording deal that fit perfectly with his vision. Even without a record contract, one thing was clear: Garou had become an overnight sensation in France. "The people of France have given me so much love. I'll be indebted to them for a long time…"1998. Garou appeared on the album 'Ensemble contre le sida' singing a duet, "L'amour existe encore" (composed by Plamondon and Cocciante for Céline Dion), with Hélène Segara. He also appeared on two 'Enfoirés' albums, as well as one titled, '2000 et un enfants' for which the Jacques Brel classic "Un enfant" was served up à la swing, thanks to Garou's band The Untouchables.
"I never asked for all this to happen to me. I never set my sights on popularity," says Garou. Yet, as fate would have it, in 1999, another important personality entered his life and set in motion his latest great adventure. The person: René Angelil, the husband and manager of the world's pre-eminent singer, Céline Dion. "My first meeting with René Angelil lasted all of 20 seconds. He came up to me and shook my hand and there was this magical current. My parents are my best friends and closest confidants. I remember rushing to tell them about it. Later, when René and I met again, he told me that it wasn't my voice or my performance on stage that impressed him most – it was our handshake." Garou had no idea how much that handshake would change the course of his life.
Montreal, December 1999. Céline Dion invited Garou, along with Bryan Adams and a number of artists from 'Notre-Dame de Paris,' to join her as special guests at her New Year's Eve mega-concert to ring in the new millennium. The show was also slated to be Céline's last performance before taking a well-deserved two-year hiatus. After rehearsal one night, Céline and René asked Garou to dinner. "Céline was telling me how fortunate she was to work with the best team in the world and that so many artists were hoping to work with this coveted group during her absence. I was just about to swallow a bite when she looked at me and said, 'We think you should work with them…' I was flabbergasted. To have the number one singer in the world ask you to work with her team is unthinkable. To be offered so generously, so politely… was just too much! In my wildest dreams I never thought this would happen to me."
