Bette Midler To Reign In Vegas, Baby

Move over Celine Dion, there’s a new diva in town.

Bette Midler will replace the emaciated “My Heart Will Go On” singer as the headliner at Caesers Palace in Las Vegas, according to Yahoo! Music. Dion has been a superstar at the 4,100-seat venue for the past five years, and her show “A New Day” has yielded more than $500 million during that time.

Those are some intimidating shoes to fill, but Midler is up to the challenge. The details of her show are still being finalized, but "I think it'll be my usual outrageous, flamboyant, over-the-top show," she said.

"I have tremendous background singers and I always have a great band … If I get lucky, I'll have semi-nudes. I love showgirls and I love feathers and sequins, so I'm hoping there'll be plenty of that."

She’s committed to a two-year contract to work 100 shows a year, performing five nights a week for 20 weeks beginning Feb. 20. This is substantially less demanding than Dion’s schedule, which delivered 160 shows a year. But still, it’s no walk in the park.

If anyone can deliver a tacky, outrageous show with style and poise, it’s Midler. Kudos to Vegas for raising the stakes.