Celine Dion to Receive Icon Award at 2016 Billboard Music Awards and Give First TV Performance Since Husband's Death

The Grammy winner will be honored with a supreme title at annual show

By Samantha Schnurr May 04, 2016 1:00 PMTags

Five months after her husband's tragic death, Celine Dion is slated to perform on live television once again. 

The 10-time Billboard Music Award winner will be honored with the ceremony's supreme Billboard Icon Award, previously gifted to only four other musical legends—Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, the late Prince and Jennifer Lopez

In addition to accepting the accolade, the 48-year-old mother of three will take the stage at the T-Mobile Arena on May 22 to perform an all too fitting rendition of Queen's "The Show Must Go On."

"I think at this moment in her life, the song has many meanings and it's an amazing choice," executive producer Mark Bracco said in a statement released Wednesday. 

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Emotional Celine Dion Honors Late Husband René Angélil During Las Vegas Return: ''I Know He Hears Me''
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

Much like the songstress' famous ballad, many new days have come since the passing of her husband René Angélil, whom she married over two decades ago. 

However, Dion had known him even longer, meeting the music producer for the first time when she was only 12 years old. Four years after they wed in 1999, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and battled the illness on and off until his untimely death in January. 

While it has been a deeply painful time for Dion and her three sons, she has carried on with her Las Vegas residency as a tribute to his endless support of her music. 

"I understood that my career was in a way his masterpiece, his song, his symphony," a message read during a show a month after he passed. "The idea of leaving it unfinished would have hurt him terribly. I realized that if he ever left us, I would have to continue without him, for him."

"We will always be one," a video message during the show continued. "You know, I might not hear his voice yet, but I talk to him, I think of him all the time. I feel and I know he hears me."

Ludacris and Ciara will host the annual awards show on Sunday, May 22 at 8 p.m.

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THS Spotlight: Celine Dion