Rene Angelil inspired Celine Dion's upcoming return to Vegas

LAS VEGAS, May 19 (UPI) -- Rene Angelil inspired wife Celine Dion's upcoming return to the stage.

Dion, 47, revealed as much to reporters backstage at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday. The Canadian singer put her Las Vegas residency on hold to care for Angelil, 73, in August 2014, but recently announced she will resume performances in August.

"If there's going to be one person in the theater that night it's going to be him," she declared. "The reason we did not come back before was because I wasn't emotionally ready to come back. My husband and my family needed me, they still do."

Dion married Angelil, her longtime manager, in 1994, and the couple have three sons together: 14-year-old Rene-Charles and 4-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson. Angelil was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999, and had a cancerous tumor removed in 2013.

"Knowing that he has a lot of weight on his shoulders, his focus is still on show business," she said. "It's very touching for me because he wants me to have a good time. It's not selfish, it's like, 'I'm with you and I want you back. I want you strong. I want to see you perform again.'"

Dion kicked off her residency in 2011, and is signed with The Colosseum at Caesars Palace through 2019. The singer revealed she must feed Angelil through a tube in March, and admitted she is afraid of losing her husband and former manager.