Post by davidhr on May 2, 2017 7:40:26 GMT -5
This past week was primarily about the new album, and there was plenty of news indeed. Here are the main points:
**As noted in the interim report, Lara’s team announced the first of what seems will be a pre-listening tour for the new album; the first event will be in Los Angeles on May 3rd,
www.facebook.com/events/520263151696676/
but her Team said there will be other such events that will take place in numerous countries. For example, someone asked if it would occur in Germany, and her team answered yes. As the announcement said, listeners will be required to sign non-disclosure agreements, and will not be allowed to record what they hear. The whole event is said to take 90 minutes.
The purpose of this, in addition to perhaps generating a bit of publicity, is for people to answer questions, apparently giving their opinions. This suggests that they may be used to help define the set-list of the album, or perhaps choose between alternate versions of songs. One wonders whether that implies there is a degree of uncertainty about the album’s composition. It has ben more than a decade since Lara released her last English language album, and perhaps they simply want a better feeling for current tastes. It also might imply there is a difference of opinion about what songs to use, or, again, what versions. One doesn’t know how seriously to take this questionnaire – maybe they simply want assurance that Lara’s fans will like this album, since that is who will come to these listening sessions.
By the way, you may have noted this is officially being called an “International album”, although when queried as to what that meant, her Team said it was an album in English. That moniker is presumably because they don’t want to limit sales to English speaking audiences (or irritate French audiences by continual reference to the English language). It apparently does not mean it will contain multiple languages, like the Mademoiselle Zhivago album did.
**Lara’s team indicated the name of the album is “Camouflage”. Following the discussion in a previous Update as to what a name might mean, this could either be the title of a song – which is perhaps most likely – or something to do with Lara’s being able to fit in wherever she goes, adapting to local customs (like their languages). Lara has said many times that when she is in a place she can quickly learn to mimic the accents of the people – we can hear this most easily when she slips into the Montreal French patter when in that country, or even when just talking about Quebec. So she has a ‘verbal camouflage’ ability. Probably that’s too subtle for an album concept, but it is appropriate if she is ‘slipping into’ an English language vernacular for this recording. However, it may or may not be coincidental that the word chosen, of French origin, is pronounced the same in French as in English!
Lara’s team came up with a visual aid to announce the new album,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1539183452789813/?type=3&theater
and even though they said it was not the album cover, they got numerous comments about ‘the new album cover’. Some people really liked it, others thought it was at least interesting. They then had to continually reply, in different languages, that it WAS NOT the album cover. They probably came to regret ever being that creative.
Perhaps to emphasize this, they then posted a different ‘visual aid’,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.338665829508254.73574.201065806601591/1541533022554856/?type=3&theater
Actually, if they keep trotting out more 'visual aids', Lara’s team could extend their approach and ask for opinions on the album cover, too!
Since fans seemed to like the previous one, maybe the real thing would end up being something like that! .
**Lara’s team then announced the first dates of the ‘Camouflage World Tour’, with again a very creative poster:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1544263728948452/?type=3&theater
Of course they were asked whether this was the official poster for the tour; no answer was forthcoming – either it is, or they didn’t learn their lesson from the album cover.
As to the tour itself, here are the dates:
----------------------------------------------
First dates of the
CAMOUFLAGE WORLD TOUR
2018
February 3: Miami
February 5: New York City
February 7: Washington D.C
February 9: Chicago
February 11: Los Angeles
February 22: Minsk
February 24: Moscow
February 27: St Petersburg
March 2: Kiev
March 3: Kiev
March 15: Munich
March 17: Dusseldorf
March 19: Frankfurt
March 21: Berlin
March 23: Hannover
March 27: Sofia
March 29: Bucharest
March 31: Cluj Napoca
April 8: Budapest
April 11: Vienna
April 13: Ljubljana
April 15: Milano
April 17: Naples
May 19: Amsterdam
May 21: Barcelona
June 6: Brussels
June 13: Prague
June 14: Prague
June 16: Paris
June ?: Montreal (date to be confirmed)
----------------------------------
Lara’s team emphasized that no tickets are being sold as yet for these shows, and indeed, they’ve not yet been included on the ‘Events’ section of her FB page. This is to allow for minor adjustments in the dates as more shows are added.
The five U.S. shows cover what might have been expected, as far as the cities are concerned. This does not suggest she will make a concerted effort to sell the new English language album in the U.S., however – that would have required a much more extensive tour, taking a lot more time. Probably it means her media exposure in the U.S. will also be limited- hence not an attempt to ‘undo’ the perceived lack of success in that country.
Fans in Canada, Quebec in particular, were upset that the U.S shows were scheduled before any in that country/province. Lara’s team again repeated that they do not schedule shows themselves, they wait for promoters to come in with proposed venues and dates; apparently Canadian promoters haven’t yet confirmed any shows. It is interesting, though, that they are lagging behind those of not only the U.S. but also Russia, and both Ukraine and the Czech Republic where two shows are already scheduled.
As one can see, western Europe is strongly represented, especially Germany, but also for the first time including Italy (!) [although not (yet) Rome]. Belgium and France are barely represented; presumably that will change with time. Some of the central and Eastern European countries listed were in the last tour as well, so they will get a chance to hear Lara doing both French and English language concerts within the space of several years.
So far not included in the schedule are the proposed tours of South America (particularly Brazil) and Asia, both of which Lara indicated would see some eight or ten shows, approximately. This is clearly (or hopefully) just the beginning of what should be a major push with an English language album, the first such push in some 17 years. Exciting – with more excitement likely to come.
Back to the present, Lara did travel onward from Texas, so her exact reason for being there was never truly clarified. She then announced her presence in Los Angeles, with a series of photos at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/pcb.1540235752684583/1540233412684817/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “"City of stars
Are you shining just for me?
City of stars
You never shined so brightly" ( La La Land)”
- as noted, lines from the song ‘City of Stars’ from the movie ‘La la land’. The full song, with lyrics, can be heard at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZLT9LmbhPQ
Then Lara posted pictures of herself with several ‘European personages’; it may be she chose them to reassure her long-term fans that she hasn’t “gone American”.
First with Helene Segara,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1542785282429630/?type=3&theater
where she included the caption, “Reunion in Los Angeles with the beautiful Hélène Ségara”
Then George Perris,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1543656669009158/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “With a friend who is dear to me, George Perris in Los Angeles, California” . In reply, he wrote, “Every time I see her, her soul is becoming more and more beautiful! Her new album in English, which comes out in a few months, is amazing! Lara Fabian, I love you!! ❤❤
It’s hard to know how seriously to take the ‘few months’ comment. Given that the tour starts in February 2018, there really is no rush for the album to appear, although some form of it is already available, given the pre-listening session already scheduled. ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ was released in November of 2014, and the first concert date supporting it was three and ½ months later, in March of 2015. If that same time frame were to prevail, the new English album might be expected in mid-October 2017, not far from the previously suggested late September date.
Several fan sites posted a link to an Instagram photo of Adam Michalak, producer at Sony scoring stage. As they said, he has collaborated with Barbra Streisand and David Foster.
Included was his caption, “Today was an amazing experience recording @larafabianofficial in the same room with a live orchestra, the way it used to be done!” This verifies that Lara is in L.A. to complete the sound recording (although if it isn’t complete, what will the ‘album testers’ hear on Wednesday?). More importantly, it indicates that Lara is going for a full sound on this album, something fans have been longing for ever since hearing ‘Broken Vow’ that way (e.g., www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjGUMQJpbRk&index=2&list=PLC93E679AF7009A3C). This certainly bodes well for it!
Lara was not only in L.A. taking pictures. The MZ FBII site posted a link of Lara singing in the Grevin Wax Museum there; a short segment of her doing the ballad version of ‘I Will Love Again’ can be seen at:
scontent.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/18258796_1966911946887037_7383616958752620544_n.mp4
One might have some questions about the dress, but she seemed in very good voice .
So that’s it – we’ll let the photos of Lara in L.A. qualify for the interesting photos of the week to accentuate what was a momentous week of announcements by Lara and her team concerning the new album and new tour. Obviously we wish her the very best of luck with these ventures!!!
David
**As noted in the interim report, Lara’s team announced the first of what seems will be a pre-listening tour for the new album; the first event will be in Los Angeles on May 3rd,
www.facebook.com/events/520263151696676/
but her Team said there will be other such events that will take place in numerous countries. For example, someone asked if it would occur in Germany, and her team answered yes. As the announcement said, listeners will be required to sign non-disclosure agreements, and will not be allowed to record what they hear. The whole event is said to take 90 minutes.
The purpose of this, in addition to perhaps generating a bit of publicity, is for people to answer questions, apparently giving their opinions. This suggests that they may be used to help define the set-list of the album, or perhaps choose between alternate versions of songs. One wonders whether that implies there is a degree of uncertainty about the album’s composition. It has ben more than a decade since Lara released her last English language album, and perhaps they simply want a better feeling for current tastes. It also might imply there is a difference of opinion about what songs to use, or, again, what versions. One doesn’t know how seriously to take this questionnaire – maybe they simply want assurance that Lara’s fans will like this album, since that is who will come to these listening sessions.
By the way, you may have noted this is officially being called an “International album”, although when queried as to what that meant, her Team said it was an album in English. That moniker is presumably because they don’t want to limit sales to English speaking audiences (or irritate French audiences by continual reference to the English language). It apparently does not mean it will contain multiple languages, like the Mademoiselle Zhivago album did.
**Lara’s team indicated the name of the album is “Camouflage”. Following the discussion in a previous Update as to what a name might mean, this could either be the title of a song – which is perhaps most likely – or something to do with Lara’s being able to fit in wherever she goes, adapting to local customs (like their languages). Lara has said many times that when she is in a place she can quickly learn to mimic the accents of the people – we can hear this most easily when she slips into the Montreal French patter when in that country, or even when just talking about Quebec. So she has a ‘verbal camouflage’ ability. Probably that’s too subtle for an album concept, but it is appropriate if she is ‘slipping into’ an English language vernacular for this recording. However, it may or may not be coincidental that the word chosen, of French origin, is pronounced the same in French as in English!
Lara’s team came up with a visual aid to announce the new album,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1539183452789813/?type=3&theater
and even though they said it was not the album cover, they got numerous comments about ‘the new album cover’. Some people really liked it, others thought it was at least interesting. They then had to continually reply, in different languages, that it WAS NOT the album cover. They probably came to regret ever being that creative.
Perhaps to emphasize this, they then posted a different ‘visual aid’,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.338665829508254.73574.201065806601591/1541533022554856/?type=3&theater
Actually, if they keep trotting out more 'visual aids', Lara’s team could extend their approach and ask for opinions on the album cover, too!
Since fans seemed to like the previous one, maybe the real thing would end up being something like that! .**Lara’s team then announced the first dates of the ‘Camouflage World Tour’, with again a very creative poster:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1544263728948452/?type=3&theater
Of course they were asked whether this was the official poster for the tour; no answer was forthcoming
– either it is, or they didn’t learn their lesson from the album cover. As to the tour itself, here are the dates:
----------------------------------------------
First dates of the
CAMOUFLAGE WORLD TOUR
2018
February 3: Miami
February 5: New York City
February 7: Washington D.C
February 9: Chicago
February 11: Los Angeles
February 22: Minsk
February 24: Moscow
February 27: St Petersburg
March 2: Kiev
March 3: Kiev
March 15: Munich
March 17: Dusseldorf
March 19: Frankfurt
March 21: Berlin
March 23: Hannover
March 27: Sofia
March 29: Bucharest
March 31: Cluj Napoca
April 8: Budapest
April 11: Vienna
April 13: Ljubljana
April 15: Milano
April 17: Naples
May 19: Amsterdam
May 21: Barcelona
June 6: Brussels
June 13: Prague
June 14: Prague
June 16: Paris
June ?: Montreal (date to be confirmed)
----------------------------------
Lara’s team emphasized that no tickets are being sold as yet for these shows, and indeed, they’ve not yet been included on the ‘Events’ section of her FB page. This is to allow for minor adjustments in the dates as more shows are added.
The five U.S. shows cover what might have been expected, as far as the cities are concerned. This does not suggest she will make a concerted effort to sell the new English language album in the U.S., however – that would have required a much more extensive tour, taking a lot more time. Probably it means her media exposure in the U.S. will also be limited- hence not an attempt to ‘undo’ the perceived lack of success in that country.
Fans in Canada, Quebec in particular, were upset that the U.S shows were scheduled before any in that country/province. Lara’s team again repeated that they do not schedule shows themselves, they wait for promoters to come in with proposed venues and dates; apparently Canadian promoters haven’t yet confirmed any shows. It is interesting, though, that they are lagging behind those of not only the U.S. but also Russia, and both Ukraine and the Czech Republic where two shows are already scheduled.
As one can see, western Europe is strongly represented, especially Germany, but also for the first time including Italy (!) [although not (yet) Rome]. Belgium and France are barely represented; presumably that will change with time. Some of the central and Eastern European countries listed were in the last tour as well, so they will get a chance to hear Lara doing both French and English language concerts within the space of several years.
So far not included in the schedule are the proposed tours of South America (particularly Brazil) and Asia, both of which Lara indicated would see some eight or ten shows, approximately. This is clearly (or hopefully) just the beginning of what should be a major push with an English language album, the first such push in some 17 years. Exciting – with more excitement likely to come.
Back to the present, Lara did travel onward from Texas, so her exact reason for being there was never truly clarified. She then announced her presence in Los Angeles, with a series of photos at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/pcb.1540235752684583/1540233412684817/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “"City of stars
Are you shining just for me?
City of stars
You never shined so brightly" ( La La Land)”
- as noted, lines from the song ‘City of Stars’ from the movie ‘La la land’. The full song, with lyrics, can be heard at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZLT9LmbhPQ
Then Lara posted pictures of herself with several ‘European personages’; it may be she chose them to reassure her long-term fans that she hasn’t “gone American”.
First with Helene Segara,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1542785282429630/?type=3&theater
where she included the caption, “Reunion in Los Angeles with the beautiful Hélène Ségara”
Then George Perris,
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/a.215378125170359.50343.201065806601591/1543656669009158/?type=3&theater
and the caption, “With a friend who is dear to me, George Perris in Los Angeles, California” . In reply, he wrote, “Every time I see her, her soul is becoming more and more beautiful! Her new album in English, which comes out in a few months, is amazing! Lara Fabian, I love you!! ❤❤
It’s hard to know how seriously to take the ‘few months’ comment. Given that the tour starts in February 2018, there really is no rush for the album to appear, although some form of it is already available, given the pre-listening session already scheduled. ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ was released in November of 2014, and the first concert date supporting it was three and ½ months later, in March of 2015. If that same time frame were to prevail, the new English album might be expected in mid-October 2017, not far from the previously suggested late September date.
Several fan sites posted a link to an Instagram photo of Adam Michalak, producer at Sony scoring stage. As they said, he has collaborated with Barbra Streisand and David Foster.
http://instagram.com/p/BTc8ZYajxFJ
Included was his caption, “Today was an amazing experience recording @larafabianofficial in the same room with a live orchestra, the way it used to be done!” This verifies that Lara is in L.A. to complete the sound recording (although if it isn’t complete, what will the ‘album testers’ hear on Wednesday?). More importantly, it indicates that Lara is going for a full sound on this album, something fans have been longing for ever since hearing ‘Broken Vow’ that way (e.g., www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjGUMQJpbRk&index=2&list=PLC93E679AF7009A3C). This certainly bodes well for it!
Lara was not only in L.A. taking pictures. The MZ FBII site posted a link of Lara singing in the Grevin Wax Museum there; a short segment of her doing the ballad version of ‘I Will Love Again’ can be seen at:
scontent.cdninstagram.com/t50.2886-16/18258796_1966911946887037_7383616958752620544_n.mp4
One might have some questions about the dress, but she seemed in very good voice
.So that’s it – we’ll let the photos of Lara in L.A. qualify for the interesting photos of the week to accentuate what was a momentous week of announcements by Lara and her team concerning the new album and new tour. Obviously we wish her the very best of luck with these ventures!!!
David
