Celine Dion back making music, releasing five new songs

Pop diva Celine Dion announced the release of new music on Thursday -- her first since revealing last year that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder that was affecting her singing.

The new album "Love Again" is the soundtrack for a film of the same name, and contains five new songs as well as past hits.

It is the 55-year-old Canadian Dion's first since her 2019 album "Courage."

"I had a lot of fun doing this movie. And to have the privilege of appearing with the beautiful and talented actors Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sam Heughan in my very first feature film is a gift that I will cherish forever," Dion said in a statement.

"I think it's a wonderful feel-good story, and I hope that people will like it, and like the new songs too," Dion said.

The romantic comedy by director Jim Strouse is scheduled for release in theatres on May 5.

In December, Celine Dion posted a tearful video on Instagram to say she had recently been diagnosed with Stiff-Person Syndrome and would not be ready to start a European tour in February as she had planned.

She said the disorder was causing muscle spasms and was "not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I'm used to."

The "Courage World Tour" began in 2019, and Dion had completed 52 shows before the Covid-19 pandemic put the remainder on hold.

She later cancelled the North American section of the tour due to her health problems.

Her spring dates in Europe, which were due to begin in the Czech Republic, were postponed to 2024, while eight of her summer shows were cancelled entirely.

This was to have been the Grammy-winning winner's first global concert tour in a decade and the first without her husband-manager Rene Angelil, who died from cancer in 2016.