Kelly Clarkson’s Moving ‘My Heart Will Go On’ Cover Has Céline Dion in Tears. Here’s Why This Tribute Hit So Hard

In July, Clarkson was moved by Dion’s performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Céline Dion was moved by Kelly Clarkson’s cover of her hit song.

On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Dion shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) where she expressed high praise of Clarkson’s cover of “My Heart Will Go On” on her talk show last week.

“When I came back from the Olympics, I got to watch and listen to your reaction to my performance on the Eiffel Tower. It was so sweet to hear you, your voice. Your voice was breaking and it touched me so tremendously,” Dion, 56, said.

Growing emotional, Dion continued, “You were crying and then you made me start crying. What’s up with all this friggin crying?! And now I just saw you sing ‘My Heart Will Go On’ and I’m crying again.”

“You were absolutely incredible. Fantastic. I loved it so much,” she added of the performance. “I hope we can see each other in person soon. Very soon. And I hope I’m not gonna start crying. I love you so much. Thanks. Bye.”

Clarkson, 42, performed the emotional song on Sept. 27 with her band. After the performance, she teased that she chose that song for a reason — and she would reveal it soon.

“She really is an incredible talent. Her stunning performance at the Olympics was one of the highlights for me this summer. It was so good,” the “Breakaway” singer said.

She added, “Usually I would never cover that song, because there’s some songs you just don’t wanna go near as a vocalist, but there’s a reason I actually did that today. You’ll find out later.”

During the Olympics in July, Clarkson was a member of the broadcast team covering the Opening Ceremony in Paris.

At the time, Dion sang Edith Piaf’s classic “Hymne A L’Amour” at the base of the Eiffel Tower with the Olympic Rings illuminated above her head.

“I actually can’t talk,” Clarkson said, overcome with emotion.

“That was really beautiful,” Clarkson later added. “People don’t know her story. What she’s been going through physically… it’s just incredible what she’s overcome and have that moment.”

She could be heard sniffling before adding, “She’s a vocal athlete. She’s incredible.”

The Opening Ceremony performance marked Dion’s first since revealing her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis back in December 2022.

The disease affected her ability to sing. She revealed in a PEOPLE cover story in June, “My vocal cords used to lead my way, and now I can’t even just talk with them. I barely could walk, and I was missing very much living.”

Most recently, On Oct. 6, Dion was seen in a new NFL video promoting Sunday Night‘s football game of the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In the final shot of the promo video, the Canadian singer was drenched with buckets of what appeared to Gatorade — reenacting a tradition carried out by winning NFL teams over the years.