LOS ANGELES - Celine Dion says she's still sad and angry about the death of Michael Jackson.
The diva is set to take the stage along with Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Carrie Underwood and Smokey Robinson for a 3-D tribute to Jackson at the 52nd Grammy Awards on Sunday.
It will be the first look at the environmentally conscious "Earth Day" mini-movie Jackson created for his "This Is It" tour before his death last June.
After rehearsals on Saturday, Dion was asked how it felt to sing "Earth Day" while images of the King of Pop scrolled by on massive screens overhead.
"Very emotional," said Dion, clad in a grey embroidered T-shirt and jeans, with a white leather jacket and thigh-high grey suede boots.
"Very honoured and emotional at the same time. It's kind of an awkward feeling. Sadness, and mad at the same time that he was top shape.
"You see a lot through the newspapers and it's unfortunate sometimes that people have this (distorted) image, but Michael was on top of his gig and on top of his talent, and seeing the movie and seeing him, how top-shape he was, it's very difficult to accept."
Special glasses are available only in the United States at Target stores, so Canadian viewers might not get the full effect of the visuals, which feature a small girl dancing through a lush jungle and falling asleep to images of polar bears, elephants and zebras charging around onscreen.
The song, however, will still pack a punch. As Dion swayed and danced onstage alongside the others, the group harmonized with pre-recorded vocals from Jackson.
For Dion, Jackson was an "amazing source of inspiration." So much so, that she said he was part of the reason she decided to learn English.
"I wanted the same life - show business," she explained.
"I wanted to sing onstage like him. ... I wanted to be onstage someday with Michael Jackson, especially (to) sing onstage with him maybe one day."
Dion said she didn't want to meet the King of Pop and be unable to tell him how honoured she was because of a language barrier.
"It was because of him in a way that I went to school to learn English," she said.
The Grammy performance is difficult for her, the singer added.
"It is, because I'm not only a fan, but I knew him personally a little bit, I met with him, and it's difficult to know that he was doing perfectly well and that he's no longer with us," she said.
"It's just heartbreaking."
So she took one more opportunity to explain what made Jackson such a special performer.
"Michael was not only a great musician, he was a great dancer, he was a great visionary, he had every instrument inside of his body, he knew exactly what he wanted to hear, what he wanted to do, he was feeling everything," she said.
"I hear 'HOO,"' she says, imitating Jackson's signature high-pitched flourish. "I hear this, it's not even a song, but for me it means everything. ...
"He was very, very special. I'm a big fan of Michael Jackson, period. That's all I can say."
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