Celine Dion compares singing with stiff person syndrome to somebody ‘strangling you’

Celine Dion is detailing for the first time just how difficult it is for her to sing with stiff person syndrome.

“It’s like somebody is strangling you,” the Grammy winner, 56, told Hoda Kotb on “Today“ Friday. “It’s like somebody is pushing your larynx/pharynx this way.”

Dion then demonstrated how the neurological disorder makes her sound like she has a high-pitched voice when she tries to sing, adding, “And you cannot go high or lower.”

“It gets into a spasm,” the “My Heart Will Go On” singer further explained.

Celion Dion detailed in a new interview the pain she feels when trying to sing with stiff person syndrome. NBC

“It’s like somebody is strangling you,” she explained. NBC News

Dion said the disorder not only affects her throat, but also different parts of her body such as her abdominal region, spine, feet and hands.

When cooking, which is a hobby she said she thoroughly enjoys, the “Power of Love” singer shared her fingers would end up “cramping” and she would be unable to “unlock” them.

“I had broken ribs at one point because sometimes when it’s very severe, it can break [the bone],” she said.

Dion also told Hoda Kotb about how her joints cramp up, causing her to one time break her ribs. NBC News

Kotb’s interview with Dion is set to air in full on June 11 on NBC. NBC News

Dion’s interview is set to air in full on June 11 on NBC, but in the meantime, Kotb, 59, gave some further insight into the “It’s All Coming Back to Me” singer’s struggles.

“It’s chronic and it’s progressive,” the journalist said of stiff person syndrome. “There are medicines that you can take to try to manage it, but she’s, like, on the fight of her life right now and it was on full display.”

In a separate preview from the upcoming full interview, Kotb said Dion “almost died” from the illness.

The “All By Myself” singer has been candid herself about her health battle, sharing amid tears in a sneak peek for her upcoming Prime Video documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” that “it’s been a struggle.”

“I miss it so much,” she said of being on stage in the trailer as tears welled up in her eyes. “The people, I miss them.”

Dion first shared her diagnosis with her followers in December 2022. Prime Video

She has since admitted that her health battle has been a “struggle.” Prime Video

Dion took an indefinite break from touring nearly three years as she figured out what was wrong.

In October 2021, she canceled her Las Vegas residency and she then called off her North American tour three months later.

By December 2022, doctors nailed down her stiff person syndrome diagnosis, which she shared with the world in a heartfelt video via social media.

“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” Dion said at the time.

Dion was forced to cancel several tour dates because of her illness. Getty Images

“I miss it so much. The people, I miss them,” she recently said. Getty Images

“Recently I have been diagnosed with a very rare neurological syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people … It’s been a struggle.”

Even then, the “That’s The Way It Is” singer talked about her love of music, saying, “It’s what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I love to do the most.”

However, Dion was forced to cancel yet another set of shows for her European tour in May 2023.

Dion appeared to show she’s making improvements earlier this year by attending the 2024 Grammys. AFP via Getty Images

The music icon has said she is “determined” to perform again. AFP via Getty Images

After keeping a low profile, the “I’m Alive” singer made a triumphant return to the 2024 Grammys in February, telling the audience, “When I say that I’m happy to be here, I really mean it from my heart.”

She has since been seen out in public on more occasions, including at a Boston Bruins hockey game and backstage at Mick Jagger’s concert in Las Vegas.

The “A New Day Has Come” singer has said she is “determined” to perform for her fans again.