Celine Dion made a surprise visit to a drag bar in New York City on Thursday night to celebrate the release of her new album, "Courage."
The 51-year-old singer joined the festivities as a karaoke competition of her greatest hits was rounding down at Lips, a restaurant that features nightly drag shows in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The evening was put together to celebrate "Courage," her first English album in six years.
"This album has been a long process," she said to the packed audience. "I'm sorry it took a while, but thank you so much for all your support through the years and for being here tonight."
She added that she hoped her late husband, René Angélil, who passed away in 2016, likes the new album.
While gesturing to the sky, she emotionally said, "I hope René will like the album, and I hope you like it as well, of course. I put my heart into it. I love you all very much."
Next, Dion ended up treating the audience to a special karaoke performance of her new song "Flying On My Own."
"I can't think of a better venue to celebrate Celine's new album," audience member Stuart Richardson told TODAY. "Who better to watch the glamour, camp and divaness of Celine Dion than a bevy of drag queens."
One of those drag queens was Stephanie Stone.
"As we know in life sometimes there are disappointments," Stone, one of the performers from show, told TODAY. "Celine is not one of them. She delivers. So funny, kind and everything you hope for."
"When I announced her and gave her the mic, she looked at me and smiled," host of the evening Ginger Snap told TODAY. "After she was done, I had my mic but she handed me hers, and said, 'Wow, how lucky, you have two mics now.' When she left the stage and then decided she was wanted come back and sing a song, I just about died. To be so close and watch her singing, it gave me goosebumps."
Stone also shared that once she realized she and Dion were wearing a similar look, she worried for her job.
"I brought a bob wig over the summer. I thought, 'It’s very Celine...let's bring out the big guns,'" Stone shared. "So I wore it. We are backstage of Lips, Celine is walking towards me. It’s dark and all I see is her silhouette and I realized we have the same hair. For a minute, I got a little scared, not knowing if I was about to receive a diva beatdown and get fired. But both her and her stylist Pepe Munoz hugged me and high-fived me."
"Celine is cool like that... and I got to keep my job."