Dion worked on Courage with various writers and producers, including Sia, David Guetta, Greg Kurstin, Sam Smith, StarGate, Jimmy Napes, Lauv, LP, Jörgen Elofsson, Stephan Moccio, Eg White, Liz Rodrigues of The New Royales, and others.

The album, which includes 16 songs and four additional tracks on the deluxe edition, received generally favorable reviews from music critics.

[8] In March 2017, Dion's "How Does a Moment Last Forever" was released on the Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

[14][15] In September 2018, Dion announced the end of her Las Vegas residency Celine, with the final date set for 8 June 2019.

[20][19] Impersonator Steven Wayne stood in for Dion, alongside Bryan Watkins, Crystal Woods and Hot Chocolate as Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross and Tina Turner.

[19] On 5 April 2019, on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Dion promoted her upcoming tour, sang few lines from the song "Courage" and performed "Ashes".

[29] After releasing Pink-written "Recovering" in September 2016, Dion recorded new music in October 2016 with Diane Warren, who wrote many of her hits, including "Because You Loved Me".

[34] Moccio wrote Dion's 2002 successful single "A New Day Has Come", and also co-wrote hits for other artists, including "Earned It" by The Weeknd and "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.

[20][19] On 20 May 2019, a fragment of another new song, "Lying Down", written by David Guetta and Sia was featured in Dion's episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden.

[41] Mike Wass from Idolator rated Courage 4.5 out of 5 stars, describing it as Dion's most eclectic album, which is truly remarkable at this stage in her career.

[45] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic rated the album 4 out of 5 stars calling Courage a transformative, cathartic release for the powerhouse vocalist that carries listeners through her process of healing and moving on.

[43] According to him, the album is buffered by a heavy dose of mid-tempo bloodletting that serves as therapeutic processing for Dion and as vulnerable confessionals to her fans.

[48] Rolling Stone writer Brittany Spanos praised both the album's contemporary, upbeat dance-pop tracks, as well as the ballads, stating "across the LP, the dance-pop moments thrive best when there's a touch of campiness, which is where Dion's excellent performance skills shine", and "as with anything Dion does, the throaty ballads where she flexes her multi-octave mezzo-soprano are the true gems".

[50] According to Alexis Petridis from The Guardian, the best songs on Courage are ballads, which stick close to the music that made Dion famous, like the title track.

[44] Alexandra Pollard from The Independent wrote that the most affecting moments on the record seem to face the loss of a loved one, like in songs "For the Lover That I Lost" co-written by Sam Smith and "Courage".

[46] Michael Cragg of The Observer wrote that Courage, recorded in the aftermath of Dion's husband's death in 2016, is suffused with lyrics about loss and rebirth.

[49] Jason Lipshutz from Billboard wrote that Dion's 2013's Loved Me Back to Life was a winning effort, but Courage is even more vital, with a "propulsive" opener in "Flying on My Own", a "devastating" title track, and many "worthwhile reflections in between".

[53] According to him, Dion's focus on Courage on loss, recovery and personal empowerment makes it one of the most mature and impressive pop releases of 2019.

[55] He criticized some songs on the album, such as "Flying on My Own", "Lovers Never Die", "The Chase", and others arguing that they make Dion sound "robotic and dull".

[55] He summed up his review writing "one could argue that Courage is the sound of Celine Dion unbound and unwound, ready to experiment beyond her usual theatrical soundscapes, and play in the fields with her tween chart contemporaries.

[55] The Cavalier Daily wrote a positive review saying that Courage is Dion's best work to date and named "Falling in Love Again" and "How Did You Get Here" as the best tracks on the album.

[57] Billboard ranked Courage as the 50th best album of 2019, further saying: "Celine both digs deep, and lets us see her lighter side -- and that's the power of Dion".

[72][73] On 19 October 2019, "Lying Down" was added under the A-list on BBC Radio 2 airplay playlist in the United Kingdom and became record of the week.

[88] Courage also debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 dated 30 November 2019, earning Dion her first US number-one album in 17 years, having last topped the chart with A New Day Has Come (2002).

[89] Thanks to Courage, Dion has collected number-one albums in each of the last three decades, being the fourth woman to achieve the feat after Janet Jackson, Barbra Streisand and Britney Spears.