Mario Pelchat remembers not being particularly nervous in the weeks leading up to Madonna's opening performance at the Olympic Stadium on October 23, 1993.
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“When we are younger, we are more carefree, more rebellious,” he explains in an interview with the Journal 30 years after that memorable evening.
Everything changed when he took the stage at the age of 29 in front of 54,000 people.
He realized the magnitude of what he was experiencing.
“I was a shadow of myself,” he says. I was so nervous, dazed. I couldn't feel my limbs, my hands were sweaty, I was a complete zombie.
“I still did what I had to do and… I don't remember how it happened. I just remember this sea of people in front of me. I was watching the musicians, I stumbled.”
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An admirer like no other
Although his memory varies, Mario Pelchat clearly remembers an audience member who offered him her unwavering support.
“At some point during the performance I see a girl in the front row who looks so happy and excited that I'm there, screaming and cheering me on.”
Curious, he approached to see who it was.
“I thought it was an admirer who followed me regularly, but it was…Céline.”
At that time, Mario Pelchat and Céline Dion had just recorded the duet Plushaut que moi, which appeared on Mario Pelchat's album of the same name.
“She was very proud of me,” the singer remembers happily.
Madonna backstage and Céline in the front row, there are, shall we say, worse stories to tell.
Madonna agreed
However, Mario Pelchat did not have the opportunity to speak to Madonna. The star had waved as he passed him in his limousine, and that was it.
By the way, how did he manage to get this tempting mandate?
“I had just signed with Donald K. Donald for a show tour starting a few weeks later at the Spectrum. When they performed Madonna at the Olympic Stadium, they were close enough to their team to offer them an opening act.
So they sent Mario Pelchat's songs to Madonna.
“She listened to my material and gave her consent. I was extremely flattered because several of us applied for this position. So it was me who got this wonderful opportunity.”