Celine Dion Honors Late Husband Rene Angelil With Mid-Show Tribute

Celine Dion‘s husband, Rene Angelil, passed away on Jan. 14, 2016, and the singer took a moment to pay tribute to her husband with a touching performance during her Las Vegas residency show at Caesars Palace on Jan. 16, what would have been Angelil’s 77th birthday.

During the concert, Dion performed a cover of singer John Farnham’s “You’re the Voice,” dedicating the song to her late husband and encouraging the audience to sing along with her.

“This is the greatest gift that I can offer him for his birthday, because what he loved the most in the world is the fans, the music and to see me perform for you,” she told the crowd, via PEOPLE.

She also reminded them that the day was Angelil’s birthday, rehearsing the song’s chorus with the crowd before asking, “Are you ready to sing that for René?”

Once she had finished, Dion looked up and blew a kiss, saying, “Happy birthday, my love” before telling the crowd, “I couldn’t have offered him a better gift.”

On the anniversary of Angelil’s death, Dion posted a tribute to her late husband on social media, sharing a photo of her late husband along with a message.

“My dearest René….always with me…..always will be,” she wrote. “In loving memory… xx …”

Angelil passed away after battling throat cancer. He and Dion had been married for 21 years and share three children, sons Rene-Charles, Eddy and Nelson.

In 2016, the singer told CBS‘s Mo Rocca in 2016 that while it was hard for her and her family to watch Angelil’s health deteriorate, she is glad he is no longer suffering.

“Before he left, it was very, very difficult for all of us,” she said. “For me especially, and my children, to see the man of my life die a little bit more every day. And when he left, it was kind of a relief for me that the man that I love, the only man that I kissed, the only man that I loved. Yeah. I never kissed another man in my life. So the man of my life was my partner, and we were one. So when he stopped suffering, I said to myself, he’s okay. And he deserves not to suffer.”

When asked is she thinks she will fall in love again in the future, Dion responded, “not now.”

“I love. I love. I love him,” she said. “I’m still in love with him. And I have the love of my children. I have the love of my fans. I love the people that I work with. So my life is not empty of love. But there’s a song from Sia, ‘I go to sleep and imagine that you’re there with me.’ And I go to bed with him. And I come on stage with him. And so I’m still married to him.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Gabe Ginsberg