AceShowbiz - Celine Dion was honored to be part of the Michael Jackson tribute at the Grammy Awards - because she dreamed of performing with the King of Pop as a child. The Canadian singer admits her love for the "Thriller" hitmaker drove her to perfect her English, just in case she got to chance to team up with her idol - and performing with his voice at the Grammys was an overwhelming experience.

Dion joined Usher, Carrie Underwood, Jennifer Hudson and Smokey Robinson for an emotional, show-stopping tribute to the late star - the quintet performed Jackson's "Earth Song" as the video to the song was shown in 3-D on a massive screen behind them.

And the "I Drove All Night" singer admits it was a "difficult" performance for her because she wanted Jackson to be there. She says, "I was mad that he (Jackson) was no longer with us and I wanted so much to make sure that his message... was going to be heard. All of us, we didn't really want to perform; we just wanted to carry his message. I was very honored that I was part of it. I will always love Michael Jackson very much."

And Dion admits the King of Pop's concert rehearsal film "This Is It" enraged her - because it made her realize she'll never get the chance to see the actual show. Jackson died a month before his comeback concerts in London were due to start.

She adds, "I thought at one point that Michael was sick and I said, 'Y'know, it's not fair to go through this, being sick like that,' but when I saw the movie I was very mad because he was in top shape and I was very mad that he was no longer with us."