Dion records two songs for album

Celine Dion has recorded two songs of her first studio album in four-and-a-half years and hopes to release it in May.

Her husband/manager Rene Angelil, in weekend interviews with Vegas Confidential, said she is scheduled to resume her recording Jan. 31 in Florida and will likely put the finishing touches on the album at the Palms Recording Studios.

One of the songs will be a cover of Janis Ian 's "At 17," which Dion sings in her show at Caesars Palace .

She started recording in November.

Angelil said it will be the 52nd album for the recording artist, who has sold more than 200 million albums. She has recorded 27 in French and 24 in English. A French album will be out at the end of the year, he said. Her "Taking Chances" album debuted in November 2007.

Babyface produced "At 17" for Dion. Angelil declined to discuss specifics about the other recording. The album title has not been determined, he said.

Angelil has told other media outlets that the album will feature her take on Jacques Brel classic "Ne me quitte pas" ("If You Go Away") and her version of Journey's "Open Arms," which she sings in the opener of her Las Vegas show.

It's shaping up as an eventful year for the duo. A multiyear extension is rumored to be in the works with Caesars Palace and Angelil has a movie coming out.

He plays the godfather of a crime syndicate in the upcoming French movie "Omerta," which is being released in July.

"It's kind of like 'The Sopranos,' " he said. "It was a big TV series on French TV and now they are making a movie ."

During a backstage interview with Celine on Saturday, I brought up the subject of his crime boss role.

She couldn't resist teasing him.

She said the French show producers told him, " 'Don't change anything. We don't want you to act. Just be yourself.' So what does that mean?"

CLOSE CALL

Joyce Mack, in her 80s, a local philanthropic legend, survived a wild ride in a new Mercedes last week.

Mack, whose husband Jerry Mack co-founded what is now UNLV, found herself upside down and suspended from her seat belt, after losing control of her car near her home on Augusta Drive, a cul-de-sac in the Las Vegas Country Club estates known for its celebrity residents. Thank heavens for OnStar, she said, referring to the emergency crash response system in her car.

"I was hanging upside down and I heard a voice, 'Mrs. Mack, are you all right?' "

Her doctor checked her out and found no broken bones, she said. "I'm fine. Just black and blue." It happened Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. in front of Colleen Maloof's residence.

"I got very sleepy," she said.

THE SCENE AND HEARD

In what was probably a Miss America first, the newly crowned Laura Kaeppeler had her father, an ex-con, pose for post-pageant photos in the media room Saturday at Planet Hollywood Resort. It was her way of saying she's not hiding from his past. When she graduated from high school, her father, Jeff Kaeppeler, started an 18-month sentence in federal prison for mail fraud. Her pageant platform issue was Circles of Support, a support group aimed at helping children of incarcerated parents. "Every parent deserves to have a relationship with their child and every child deserves that relationship," she said. "My dad and I have never been closer." ...

Celebrity impressionist Rich Little got married Saturday to former "Rock of Love" reality show cast member Catherine Brown at the Bellagio. Best man Steve Rossi of the former Allen and Rossi comedy act said the wedding came a day after they worked out a prenuptial agreement that included her getting half of a penthouse he recently purchased at Queensridge in Summerlin. They met last year. Rossi's wife, Karma, and Brown's friend, Andrea Robinson, were co-matrons of honor. Little is 73 and Brown is in her 40s.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Vegas bookmakers giving better odds that Richard Simmons will become a father." -- From David Letterman's "Top Ten Signs You Don't Have A Realistic Chance of Being President"

Norm Clarke can be reached at 702-383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com. Follow Norm on Twitter @Norm_Clarke.