The Canadian vocal powerhouse posted an emotional video to her X page on Tuesday with a special message for Clarkson, who performed a cover of Dion’s famed “Titanic” movie theme song “My Heart Will Go On” during a recent episode of her self-titled daytime talk show.
Dion said in the clip that she recently watched Clarkson’s performance – which aired last month during the “Kellyoke” portion of her show – and spoke about how moved she was.
“I just saw you singing ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ and I’m crying again,” Dion said, with tears in her eyes. “You were absolutely incredible, fantastic. I loved it so much.”
In July, Dion made a highly anticipated return to performing live after dealing with some health setbacks, resulting in a hiatus.
In grand fashion, she capped off the opening ceremony at the Summer Olympic Games in Paris with a spectacularly moving performance of Edith Piaf’s “L’Hymne à l’amour” from the Eiffel Tower.
Clarkson at the time served as one of NBC’s Olympic commentators alongside Peyton Manning and Mike Tirico, and was seen on the broadcast getting choked up while reacting to Dion’s performance.
“I actually can’t talk right now,” Clarkson said, her voice squeaking. “If you know anything just about Celine right now, this is her purpose… That she got through that, that was incredible. And in my field, she is the gold winner for vocal athletes.”
Dion said in her video on Tuesday that after the Olympics, she’d watched Clarkson’s reaction to her performance.
“It was so sweet to hear your voice,” Dion said. “Your voice was breaking and it touched me so tremendously.”