Céline Dion makes surprise appearance at 2024 Grammys amid battle with stiff-person syndrome

Céline Dion made a rare appearance amid her ongoing battle with stiff-person syndrome as a surprise presenter at the 2024 Grammy Awards.

The five-time Grammy winner presented the award for Album of the Year to Taylor Swift at Sunday’s ceremony in a major surprise — the same award she herself won 27 years prior. After being teased throughout the night, Dion's appearance was finally revealed three and a half hours after the show began when host Trevor Noah welcomed her onstage to announce the final award of the night.

"Thank you all," Dion said with a laugh. "I love you right back. When I say that I'm happy to be here, I really mean it from my heart. Those who have been blessed enough to be here at the Grammy Awards must never take for granted the tremendous love and joy that music brings to our lives and to people all around the world."

The 55-year-old singer previously announced her diagnosis of SPS, a rare and incurable neurological disorder that causes intense muscle stiffness and body spasms, in December 2022 with an emotional video. She shared that the condition "affects something like one in a million people."

"While we're still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what's been causing all of the spasms that I've been having," she said at the time. "Unfortunately, the spasm affects every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to."

The following year, she postponed performances citing medical issues and in May, announced that she was officially canceling her 2024 Courage World Tour dates due to her continued health concerns. "I'm so sorry to disappoint all of you once again," Dion said at the time. "I'm working really hard to build back my strength, but touring can be very difficult even when you're 100 percent. It's not fair to you to keep postponing the shows, and even though it breaks my heart, it's best that we cancel everything now until I'm really ready to be back on stage again."

According to Yale Medicine, SPS is an autoimmune and neurological disorder that leads to rigidity and spasms in the torso and limbs. Dion previously admitted to experiencing "severe and persistent muscle spasms," and has since been largely out of the public eye. In a recent interview with French-Canadian publication 7 Jours, her sister Claudette revealed that Dion "doesn't have control over her muscles."

Dion made her first public appearance in more than three years in November 2023 when she visited the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to watch a hockey game between her hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, and recent Stanley Cup winners the Vegas Golden Knights. After the event, Dion and her three sons visited the Canadiens' locker room to meet them and pose for photos.

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