Everyone loves a good Celine Dion ballad but not when it comes at 2 a.m. for months on end. Car drivers playing Celine Dion songs have been haunting residents of a New Zealand city with loud, late-night “siren battles.”
The residents of Porirua have had several sleepless nights over the past few months as the Canadian singer’s melodies have been blared at high volume early in the morning. “It’s a headache,” Porirua Mayor Anita Baker said.
The city, which has around 60,000 residents, is the home of the most recent siren battle. These song-offs have been taking part in places around New Zealand for at least seven years. According to the Porirua, they “love Celine Dion.”
“They like anyone with a high pitch and great tone in their voice,” Baker said.
It’s been reported that contestants use large siren-type speakers on cars and even bicycles to drown each other out with their powerful systems. But people in Porirua are getting sick of hearing the power ballads, including “My Heart Will Go On” and “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.”
“It’s really loud music. They only play a quarter of the song, so it’s like having a turntable and it comes screeching out,” Baker said. Apparently, the contests start as early as 7 p.m. and go until as late as 2 a.m. on any given night.
Competing cars park with their engines running, blasting out music before moving to avoid police. “It’s happening down in our city centre, which is like a basin, so the noise just goes out like a drum to all the suburbs,” Baker said.
To get these contests to stop, 300 disgruntled residents have so far signed a petition demanding Porirua City Council put a stop to it. “There is a petition coming my way, but I have already had lots of emails and complaints through,” Baker said.
The late-night music sessions started in November 2022 during the Rugby League World Cup when local fans celebrated Samoa’s run to the final. Hoping to put a stop to the noise, Baker is looking to meet with police to find a resolution. “We don’t want people leaving the city because of the noise. That’s unacceptable,” she said.
Source: https://www.barrons.com/news/car-drivers-torture-nz-city-with-celine-dion-songs-221762d6