Post by davidhr on Jan 17, 2012 13:02:06 GMT -5
Lara's Paris concert for fans turned out to be a propitious and revealing event, of great importance for her as well..
[DISCLAIMER: Since the official site forum closed, and with no other general forum available, the primary resources for information on this concert are the various facebook sites concerned with Lara. Given the bite-size space allowed for comments on FB, there are no complete chronicles from fans (pure-lara, realizing this, has offered to make their forum available, a location that previously hasn’t been much utilized). Hence the following description/discussion is based on brief remarks, in some cases off-hand comments, gleamed from the various FB messages, and could contain inaccurate information. Please correct anything you know to be wrong, and if anything of that nature turns up subsequently on the web, it will be corrected in future updates…]
When Lara initially proposed this concert, it was as compensation for fan-club members who had been deprived of the cancelled quarterly Farfallina publication. Who knew that it would prove to be such a cathartic occurrence for Lara?
One got the impression that this was to be a ‘big event’ by the way Lara’s FB site began publicizing it in the days prior to the concert, including Lara’s video promoting it, showing her rehearsals, Lara’s staff wishing the fans a happy weekend, and their suggesting that it would be an exciting night.
In a message on youtube following the concert, Lara indicated that 2011 had been a very tough year for her. While no details were provided, we can imagine some of the causes, leading off with the controversy concerning the Mlle. Zhivago film. And while she was being excoriated for her actions, we weren’t aware of the toll it was taking, or what else was going on. Lara chose this concert to bare her feelings to the audience, and uncover some of the issues.
Of perhaps greatest importance was the revelation that she will be leaving Universal Music after this next album (Le Secret). Subsequently she will be releasing her albums herself. We don’t know what specifically occasioned it, but there are plenty of candidate issues: the failure of Universal to release TLFM1, her having to release EWIM on her own (although Universal is helping to distribute it, in a limited fashion), the Mlle. Zhivago album not being a Universal product, and of course Universal putting 3 million dollars into a film that Lara does not want released in its current state. It may simply be that the friction between them has grown too great to endure, on both sides.
This is a very big step; while it’s one thing to disparage what record companies actually do for artists, to go without one (for publicity, support, contacts, etc.) can mean the effective end of a mass market career. Some other artists are now doing it, but they generally fall into distinct categories: those who are sufficiently popular that they can be assured of continued success; those who are niche artists and prefer their independence; and those who can no longer get a record company to sign them. Lara wouldn't seem to fit any of these, so if this is her choice, she will be taking a risk. Undoubtedly, this has contributed to her characterization of 2011 as difficult.
In addition, Lara took the opportunity to discuss her problems with the Mlle. Zhivago film. (The FB site ‘Lara Fabian is Here’ provided a translation of Lara’s comments so they will only be summarized here). She said that she felt Alan Badoev’s approach in filming it was ‘amazing’, but that the final product was not balanced, it was ‘too dark’ (i.e., too cruel). She said it needed more ‘light’, and that is what she has been pushing for, otherwise ‘the fans wouldn’t like it’. She implied they had not yet reached agreement, and when they do, she will present the fans with a part of the film. No date was specified. She did note that she felt the music was wonderful (and that again raises the issue of why more wasn’t done with it, again raising the specter of problems with Universal).
Lara’s comment seems a bit disingenuous – clearly it was she who didn’t like it, and while she may truly think the fans (also) wouldn’t approve, their response on the web was that she shouldn’t judge for them, she should let them make up their own minds by letting them see Badoev’s version as well.
Perhaps in response to this, Alan Badoev today put on his twitter account the following (Google translated) message: “Very soon, will be the two most important moments for Lara Fabian; menya.ya send you the final version of Zhivago )) and presents a draft Z!” And in a follow-up message, perhaps referring to this same topic, he wrote, “This is exciting ... And very interesting, I think these projects will change many things in the life of creative people.” While the exact meaning of everything he wrote is not clear, one gets the main idea that this will be the next chance for it to see the light of day, if Lara feels it has been altered sufficiently. Let's hope!
As for ‘Le Secret’ itself, Lara said it would take a year or year-and-a-half to finish the album, to ‘get its colors right’. Therefore, fans should not expect a general tour for at least a year. Since she was speaking primarily to a French speaking audience, that also implied there will be no tour in France/Belgium for Mlle. Zhivago, which wouldn’t need to wait that long.
Recognizing that a hiatus of that length might well get her audience to ‘jump ship’, Lara held out a carrot. She said she would present some of the new songs to a select group of fans, and let them make the decision as to what they liked and what they didn’t. How the fans would be chosen was unclear, but presumably they would be from the ‘fan-club’ pool. Practically speaking, Lara probably won’t allow anyone else to make the final decision on her album (except, perhaps, Universal) but input from fans might well prove useful.
Lara has many times said that she feels the fans have kept her alive in the music business, that when things were bad they lifted her spirits (‘the wind beneath her wings’). It would seem that she used this concert event for that very purpose, in effect sharing her troubles, so that in their support and love, she would be healed. And her message afterward on youtube (video available with English subtitles) proclaimed that the worst was over, and things are looking up. Hopefully she will feel the same way when she sees Badoev’s latest completed draft .
As for the concert itself, Lara appeared extremely relaxed (in dungarees), and continually talked with the audience. While the song list had (presumably) been chosen by the fans’ poll, the order the songs were presented was determined interactively. Fans were chosen by lot and it was their decision as to which song was sung next; they could also ask a question, or if they wanted, they were also allowed to go onto the stage and present Lara with a gift. One fan had a big tattoo of Lara’s face on his back, and Lara signed it. She sang a short duet with one fan (Elissa). The fans sung ‘pas sans toi’ to her as well.
The song list was pretty much (though not completely) predictable: Je t'aime, La Différence, Always, J'y crois encore, J'ai besoin de parler, I guess I loved you, Je suis malade, Perdere l'amore, Lou, Broken Vow, Demain n'existe pas, Adagio, Pas sans toi. It was so long since she had sung ‘Perdere l’amore’ that she had to look at the words – nevertheless, she did a very good job, indicative of her fine vocal performance throughout. ‘Always’ would have been a big surprise, except that Lara released a video before the event showing her rehearsing it. It was also nice to see the contributions from Mlle. Zhivago, performed now for the first time in France. Multiple videos of each are available on youtube (e.g., Ocelot's message in the previous thread), except for ‘J’ai besoin de parler’, which doesn’t seem to have any – perhaps it wasn’t really performed... Gerard also filmed the concert – one imagines that means it will be made available to fans at some point, maybe even on Lara’s FB page.
An article about the event, with some nice pictures, appeared in pitiblog; it is available at:
www.ptitblog.net/Lara-Fabian/lara-fabian-donnait-rendez-vous-a-ses-fans-pour-un-showcase-prive_art6640.html
and a more general (very positive/optimistic) article about Lara’s prospects in 2012 (not including the recent revelations) can be found at:
anonimuzz.hubpages.com/hub/Lara-Fabian-in-2012-New-Tour-New-Album-New-Movie
In a bit of other news, Lara’s March 17th concert in Romania has been sold out, so she’s added another date, the 18th.
The ‘Lara Fabian is here’ website is showing a video of the ‘Morgan David’ ceremony that Lara and Gerard participated in last summer; it can be seen on the page at:
www.facebook.com/pages/LARA-FABIAN-IS-HERE/382393522416
And finally, a portion of a new remix for Lara’s ‘Otro Amor Vendra’ can be heard at:
soundcloud.com/defective-noise/lara-fabia-otro-amor-vendra
If Lara has really broken up with Universal, the implications for her future cannot be overstated. Of course, since she still has another year of working with them on the next album, there would seem to be time for that decision to change. If not, she might well put in place more local arrangements, like the one with Krutoi in Russia/Ukraine; her recent interactions with David Foster might also lead to unique arrangements for North America and Canada. And she might become more responsive to fans, both emotionally and professionally, as suggested by her recent outreach. After having suffered a number of reversals at the hands of Universal in recent years, it may well be for the best, especially if it helps restore her ‘joie de vivre’. Hopefully, 2012 will be a much better year for Lara.
David
[DISCLAIMER: Since the official site forum closed, and with no other general forum available, the primary resources for information on this concert are the various facebook sites concerned with Lara. Given the bite-size space allowed for comments on FB, there are no complete chronicles from fans (pure-lara, realizing this, has offered to make their forum available, a location that previously hasn’t been much utilized). Hence the following description/discussion is based on brief remarks, in some cases off-hand comments, gleamed from the various FB messages, and could contain inaccurate information. Please correct anything you know to be wrong, and if anything of that nature turns up subsequently on the web, it will be corrected in future updates…]
When Lara initially proposed this concert, it was as compensation for fan-club members who had been deprived of the cancelled quarterly Farfallina publication. Who knew that it would prove to be such a cathartic occurrence for Lara?
One got the impression that this was to be a ‘big event’ by the way Lara’s FB site began publicizing it in the days prior to the concert, including Lara’s video promoting it, showing her rehearsals, Lara’s staff wishing the fans a happy weekend, and their suggesting that it would be an exciting night.
In a message on youtube following the concert, Lara indicated that 2011 had been a very tough year for her. While no details were provided, we can imagine some of the causes, leading off with the controversy concerning the Mlle. Zhivago film. And while she was being excoriated for her actions, we weren’t aware of the toll it was taking, or what else was going on. Lara chose this concert to bare her feelings to the audience, and uncover some of the issues.
Of perhaps greatest importance was the revelation that she will be leaving Universal Music after this next album (Le Secret). Subsequently she will be releasing her albums herself. We don’t know what specifically occasioned it, but there are plenty of candidate issues: the failure of Universal to release TLFM1, her having to release EWIM on her own (although Universal is helping to distribute it, in a limited fashion), the Mlle. Zhivago album not being a Universal product, and of course Universal putting 3 million dollars into a film that Lara does not want released in its current state. It may simply be that the friction between them has grown too great to endure, on both sides.
This is a very big step; while it’s one thing to disparage what record companies actually do for artists, to go without one (for publicity, support, contacts, etc.) can mean the effective end of a mass market career. Some other artists are now doing it, but they generally fall into distinct categories: those who are sufficiently popular that they can be assured of continued success; those who are niche artists and prefer their independence; and those who can no longer get a record company to sign them. Lara wouldn't seem to fit any of these, so if this is her choice, she will be taking a risk. Undoubtedly, this has contributed to her characterization of 2011 as difficult.
In addition, Lara took the opportunity to discuss her problems with the Mlle. Zhivago film. (The FB site ‘Lara Fabian is Here’ provided a translation of Lara’s comments so they will only be summarized here). She said that she felt Alan Badoev’s approach in filming it was ‘amazing’, but that the final product was not balanced, it was ‘too dark’ (i.e., too cruel). She said it needed more ‘light’, and that is what she has been pushing for, otherwise ‘the fans wouldn’t like it’. She implied they had not yet reached agreement, and when they do, she will present the fans with a part of the film. No date was specified. She did note that she felt the music was wonderful (and that again raises the issue of why more wasn’t done with it, again raising the specter of problems with Universal).
Lara’s comment seems a bit disingenuous – clearly it was she who didn’t like it, and while she may truly think the fans (also) wouldn’t approve, their response on the web was that she shouldn’t judge for them, she should let them make up their own minds by letting them see Badoev’s version as well.
Perhaps in response to this, Alan Badoev today put on his twitter account the following (Google translated) message: “Very soon, will be the two most important moments for Lara Fabian; menya.ya send you the final version of Zhivago )) and presents a draft Z!” And in a follow-up message, perhaps referring to this same topic, he wrote, “This is exciting ... And very interesting, I think these projects will change many things in the life of creative people.” While the exact meaning of everything he wrote is not clear, one gets the main idea that this will be the next chance for it to see the light of day, if Lara feels it has been altered sufficiently. Let's hope!
As for ‘Le Secret’ itself, Lara said it would take a year or year-and-a-half to finish the album, to ‘get its colors right’. Therefore, fans should not expect a general tour for at least a year. Since she was speaking primarily to a French speaking audience, that also implied there will be no tour in France/Belgium for Mlle. Zhivago, which wouldn’t need to wait that long.
Recognizing that a hiatus of that length might well get her audience to ‘jump ship’, Lara held out a carrot. She said she would present some of the new songs to a select group of fans, and let them make the decision as to what they liked and what they didn’t. How the fans would be chosen was unclear, but presumably they would be from the ‘fan-club’ pool. Practically speaking, Lara probably won’t allow anyone else to make the final decision on her album (except, perhaps, Universal) but input from fans might well prove useful.
Lara has many times said that she feels the fans have kept her alive in the music business, that when things were bad they lifted her spirits (‘the wind beneath her wings’). It would seem that she used this concert event for that very purpose, in effect sharing her troubles, so that in their support and love, she would be healed. And her message afterward on youtube (video available with English subtitles) proclaimed that the worst was over, and things are looking up. Hopefully she will feel the same way when she sees Badoev’s latest completed draft .
As for the concert itself, Lara appeared extremely relaxed (in dungarees), and continually talked with the audience. While the song list had (presumably) been chosen by the fans’ poll, the order the songs were presented was determined interactively. Fans were chosen by lot and it was their decision as to which song was sung next; they could also ask a question, or if they wanted, they were also allowed to go onto the stage and present Lara with a gift. One fan had a big tattoo of Lara’s face on his back, and Lara signed it. She sang a short duet with one fan (Elissa). The fans sung ‘pas sans toi’ to her as well.
The song list was pretty much (though not completely) predictable: Je t'aime, La Différence, Always, J'y crois encore, J'ai besoin de parler, I guess I loved you, Je suis malade, Perdere l'amore, Lou, Broken Vow, Demain n'existe pas, Adagio, Pas sans toi. It was so long since she had sung ‘Perdere l’amore’ that she had to look at the words – nevertheless, she did a very good job, indicative of her fine vocal performance throughout. ‘Always’ would have been a big surprise, except that Lara released a video before the event showing her rehearsing it. It was also nice to see the contributions from Mlle. Zhivago, performed now for the first time in France. Multiple videos of each are available on youtube (e.g., Ocelot's message in the previous thread), except for ‘J’ai besoin de parler’, which doesn’t seem to have any – perhaps it wasn’t really performed... Gerard also filmed the concert – one imagines that means it will be made available to fans at some point, maybe even on Lara’s FB page.
An article about the event, with some nice pictures, appeared in pitiblog; it is available at:
www.ptitblog.net/Lara-Fabian/lara-fabian-donnait-rendez-vous-a-ses-fans-pour-un-showcase-prive_art6640.html
and a more general (very positive/optimistic) article about Lara’s prospects in 2012 (not including the recent revelations) can be found at:
anonimuzz.hubpages.com/hub/Lara-Fabian-in-2012-New-Tour-New-Album-New-Movie
In a bit of other news, Lara’s March 17th concert in Romania has been sold out, so she’s added another date, the 18th.
The ‘Lara Fabian is here’ website is showing a video of the ‘Morgan David’ ceremony that Lara and Gerard participated in last summer; it can be seen on the page at:
www.facebook.com/pages/LARA-FABIAN-IS-HERE/382393522416
And finally, a portion of a new remix for Lara’s ‘Otro Amor Vendra’ can be heard at:
soundcloud.com/defective-noise/lara-fabia-otro-amor-vendra
If Lara has really broken up with Universal, the implications for her future cannot be overstated. Of course, since she still has another year of working with them on the next album, there would seem to be time for that decision to change. If not, she might well put in place more local arrangements, like the one with Krutoi in Russia/Ukraine; her recent interactions with David Foster might also lead to unique arrangements for North America and Canada. And she might become more responsive to fans, both emotionally and professionally, as suggested by her recent outreach. After having suffered a number of reversals at the hands of Universal in recent years, it may well be for the best, especially if it helps restore her ‘joie de vivre’. Hopefully, 2012 will be a much better year for Lara.
David