Post by davidhr on Aug 12, 2014 8:01:36 GMT -5
The big news event this past week was the release of the videos of Lara’s duet with Mustafa Ceceli, done in both English and (mostly) Turkish versions. They have been referred to in comments related to the previous Update, but for completeness sake, they are repeated here from Lara’s official youtube channel, first the English version,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu6imkChHzY&list=UU1gUvXeeznSixecbi16b8yg
and then the Turkish version,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvPjeQpEr08&list=UU1gUvXeeznSixecbi16b8yg
A question to ask is: are they the same videos, outside of the vocals? They are quite similar, but not completely – some different angles, timing, etc. But their effect is precisely the same.
The song and video (either one of them) are getting play in the media. The song is being carried on Turkish radio, e.g., (https://www.facebook.com/Kralfm/app_313768492052168), several days ago it was number 5 on iTunes Turkey. And as of this morning, it was number one on ‘soz music’ (http://www.sozmuzik.com/), and is fourth on the shelves of one of the major stores, MEDIA MARKT (https://www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye/photos/a.686604498082999.1073741830.682422835167832/686605861416196/?type=1&theater). A nice poster from one of the stores there is visible at:
www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye/photos/a.682431461833636.1073741829.682422835167832/685061558237293/?type=1&theater
while another display, from the D&R Store in Istanbul can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye/photos/a.682431461833636.1073741829.682422835167832/682685285141587/?type=1&theater
The video is also being well covered by the Turkish media (http://tvarsivi.com/player.php?y=15&z=2014-08-07+19%3A45%3A00), (http://www.son.tv/haber-274769).
The EP and video release have also been noted in the French press (e.g., www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/concerts-spectacles-28/artiste/album/153-lara-fabian.html?idAlbum=904379520&album=Make+Me+Yours+Tonight+-+EP); (http://nrjmusicawards.nrj.fr/nomines-4519/artiste/album/153-lara-fabian.html?idAlbum=904379520&album=Make+Me+Yours+Tonight+-+EP&message); (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/actualite/news-93156.html). The video is listed in the ’10 clips of the week not to miss’ (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/actualite/news-93156.html). The EP entered in 25th place on iTunes France, and several days ago had moved up to #12. It’s even available in Belgium, on ultrap.be where it entered the charts in 47th position (http://www.ultratop.be/fr/song/14255a/Lara-Fabian-&-Mustafa-Ceceli-Make-Me-Yours-Tonight).
The video has gotten a generally good reception from fans, as can be seen by some comments in the previous Update (as well as e-mail exchanges); some of it seems to be due to fans being happy to finally see Lara in action again. She gets high marks for her appearance, for her somewhat repressed but evident sensuality (which some have suggested is all that is allowed in current day Turkey), and for her outfit (which looks like it would work well for a belly dancing video). My reaction to it is mixed, while granting all of the above. The dual head shots of the performers are attractive and to some extent romantic. But to me, both she and Mustafa seem terribly constrained, starting with their back-to-back stance, then a chaste facing of each other. The passionate words of the song do not match their actions in the video. And this is the second straight video with dancing (following 'Danse') in which Lara does not dance, or even move much at all. It didn’t have to be belly dancing, but there is little movement by either of the main principals to the obvious rhythm of the song. Lara used to dance – in ‘Leila’, for example, in the movie ‘DeLovely’, and even occasionally when ‘Danse’ was presented live. It may be argued that when she was dancing in those songs she wasn’t actually singing, but of course she wasn’t really singing here either, which is what makes music videos the perfect vehicle for choreography for many singers. Her ‘restrained sensuality’ implied to me that her body wanted to move to the music, like the dancers surrounding her. From my perspective, another opportunity missed to display her musical soul in motion.
Mustafa gets worse reviews, appearing stiff or even somewhat afraid – as ‘Pure People’ says, while “Lara is sensual, her partner is ‘much less expressive” (http://www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-make-me-yours-tonight-son-retour-sensuel-avec-mustafa-ceceli_a145595/1#lt_source=external,manual). Movement would have helped humanize him, too. In looking at some of his other videos, he can be much more mobile and animated (e.g., www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZIwqbz29QE).
Concerning the song itself, the general opinion now seems to be that it is a fine summer ditty. If nothing else, it serves to introduce her to another audience and to keep her name alive in the Francophile world, to the extent it is played there. ‘La page des Fabianesk’ (https://www.facebook.com/lapagedesfabianesk) is including a list of French radio stations to which one can send in requests in an attempt to get them to feature it. It is already being played on cheriefm (http://www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/concerts-spectacles-28/artiste/album/153-lara-fabian.html?idAlbum=904379520&album=Make+Me+Yours+Tonight+-+EP) and Bel RTL has said they will play it if fans request it.
But it is doing even more for her: the ‘Lara Fabian International Page’ provided a list of the EP’s status on various iTunes sites as of August 5th: #6 Turkey; #10 Belgium;#18 France;#128 Mexico;#137 Romania;#143 Spain;#177 Italy. It is possible that this is Lara’s first appearance on music charts in some of these countries since her initial English album 15 years ago. Another step on the way to her expanded international career, and one that was likely enabled by her sudden expanded availability on iTunes charts around the world. Whoever is in charge of that world-wide activity for her is doing a very good job.
Lara will get another chance to move around to the song when she performs tomorrow night at the festival in Turkey with Mustafa Ceceli; some nice concert promos and articles are available at: (http://www.etkinlikistanbul.net/mustafa-ceceli-lara-fabian-konseri.html); (http://www.ankayasam.com/yasam/magazin/lara-fabian-harbiye-acikhavada/); (http://www.istanbul.com/tr/sehir/yasa/mustafa-cecili-ve-lara-fabian-ayni-sahnede);(http://www.dha.com.tr/en-son-haber-efsane-yildiz-buyulu-ses-lara-fabian-harbiye-acikhavada-flashaber_735806.html). Basically they say that Lara is a world-famous artist and Turkish fans are eager to meet her.
It was reported that Lara arrived in Turkey several days ago. As the ‘special guest’ in the outdoor stadium we don’t know how many songs she will sing - we will also find out whether she actually sings live. Hopefully videos will be available…For continual updates, one might check out “Lara Fabian Turkiye”:
www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye
A number of the French articles referred to in the links above contain brief stories about Lara’s return to health, and of course her Turkish duet. They are not translated here for they contain nothing new, being either the standard promo feeds or taking quotes directly from Lara’s Paris Match interview provided in last week’s Update. Perhaps we’ll get new information as Lara does publicity interviews in Turkey for her upcoming show along with the single. One such is SHOW TV on which Lara will be appearing tomorrow at 1600 GMT– the live feed (thanks to larafabianweb.com) is at tinyurl.com/showtvturkey, a link which leads to:
www.showtv.com.tr/canli-yayin/showtv
In other, unrelated news, the website ‘Lara Fabian in Ukrainian Hearts’ has some wonderful artistic drawings of Lara. They can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.496383033825733.1073741868.374882332642471&type=1
And speaking of pictures, there is a wonderful one of Lara reacting to the many flowers she received at a concert, on the Lara Fabian UK Fans site, at:
www.facebook.com/644480162285296/photos/a.718733131526665.1073741831.644480162285296/748762675190377/?type=1&theater
Now for the next three ‘best of’ videos”
Til I Get Over You: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDfFeT5SrK4
: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5yB1wmei0
Tango: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1UrKzYti0
The Last Goodbye: app.box.com/s/knd0xl3w8e0da7p2bkj0
: app.box.com/s/mzh3l7gucpbw5osldy8e
‘Til I Get Over You’ was the big, up-beat rhythmic sound that Lara’s Columbia/Sony record company somehow thought she should be using to sell records in the U.S. Lara got into the swing of it for the album, as evidenced by the two videos above, first from the Baden Baden concert in Germany, and then with the ‘From Lara with Love’ PBS show. As far as I know she hasn’t sung it in over a decade, and it would be a shock to hear her sing it again, ever.
‘Tango’ – almost the opposite of the above song, a seductive, sensual song from Nue, and a video that emphasizes those qualities – chosen here from the ‘Lara Fabian Live’ Nue DVD. It could be a video to show people who’ve never heard of Lara – they won’t forget her after that. However, one thing it has in common with the previous song is that she rarely ever performs it; the last time, as far as I know, was in Moscow in 2007 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7qL5-T72s4)
“The Last Goodbye’ was released as a single by Sony from ‘A Wonderful Life’, before they gave up on the album. It was also included by Universal on the ‘Best of Lara Fabian’ double CD release. So two record companies thought it would be a good hit song for her, somewhat in the mode of ‘Make Me Yours Tonight’. Only Lara didn’t like it, and never sings it (true, therefore, for all three of the songs this week). However, the first video chosen (one of the very few times she ever performed it live, perhaps the only one with a video) has the distinction of being recorded in the most unusual place ever for Lara to sing
. The song really does fit her voice, as shown here. The second choice was lip-synced, but it has the virtue of being topical in its own way, having taken place in Germany; as this was true also for the Baden Baden version of the first song, they set the stage for Lara’s return to Germany this coming fall.
After her Turkish appearance, Lara has nothing on her public schedule for the foreseeable future. Given her new-found emergence, and mobility, it would not be surprising for her to pop up anywhere – when healthy, she is usually a magnet for the media, as we know. But hopefully she will take the time to make sure she is fully recovered before her fall tour starts in October.
David
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu6imkChHzY&list=UU1gUvXeeznSixecbi16b8yg
and then the Turkish version,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvPjeQpEr08&list=UU1gUvXeeznSixecbi16b8yg
A question to ask is: are they the same videos, outside of the vocals? They are quite similar, but not completely – some different angles, timing, etc. But their effect is precisely the same.
The song and video (either one of them) are getting play in the media. The song is being carried on Turkish radio, e.g., (https://www.facebook.com/Kralfm/app_313768492052168), several days ago it was number 5 on iTunes Turkey. And as of this morning, it was number one on ‘soz music’ (http://www.sozmuzik.com/), and is fourth on the shelves of one of the major stores, MEDIA MARKT (https://www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye/photos/a.686604498082999.1073741830.682422835167832/686605861416196/?type=1&theater). A nice poster from one of the stores there is visible at:
www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye/photos/a.682431461833636.1073741829.682422835167832/685061558237293/?type=1&theater
while another display, from the D&R Store in Istanbul can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye/photos/a.682431461833636.1073741829.682422835167832/682685285141587/?type=1&theater
The video is also being well covered by the Turkish media (http://tvarsivi.com/player.php?y=15&z=2014-08-07+19%3A45%3A00), (http://www.son.tv/haber-274769).
The EP and video release have also been noted in the French press (e.g., www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/concerts-spectacles-28/artiste/album/153-lara-fabian.html?idAlbum=904379520&album=Make+Me+Yours+Tonight+-+EP); (http://nrjmusicawards.nrj.fr/nomines-4519/artiste/album/153-lara-fabian.html?idAlbum=904379520&album=Make+Me+Yours+Tonight+-+EP&message); (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/actualite/news-93156.html). The video is listed in the ’10 clips of the week not to miss’ (http://www.chartsinfrance.net/actualite/news-93156.html). The EP entered in 25th place on iTunes France, and several days ago had moved up to #12. It’s even available in Belgium, on ultrap.be where it entered the charts in 47th position (http://www.ultratop.be/fr/song/14255a/Lara-Fabian-&-Mustafa-Ceceli-Make-Me-Yours-Tonight).
The video has gotten a generally good reception from fans, as can be seen by some comments in the previous Update (as well as e-mail exchanges); some of it seems to be due to fans being happy to finally see Lara in action again. She gets high marks for her appearance, for her somewhat repressed but evident sensuality (which some have suggested is all that is allowed in current day Turkey), and for her outfit (which looks like it would work well for a belly dancing video). My reaction to it is mixed, while granting all of the above. The dual head shots of the performers are attractive and to some extent romantic. But to me, both she and Mustafa seem terribly constrained, starting with their back-to-back stance, then a chaste facing of each other. The passionate words of the song do not match their actions in the video. And this is the second straight video with dancing (following 'Danse') in which Lara does not dance, or even move much at all. It didn’t have to be belly dancing, but there is little movement by either of the main principals to the obvious rhythm of the song. Lara used to dance – in ‘Leila’, for example, in the movie ‘DeLovely’, and even occasionally when ‘Danse’ was presented live. It may be argued that when she was dancing in those songs she wasn’t actually singing, but of course she wasn’t really singing here either, which is what makes music videos the perfect vehicle for choreography for many singers. Her ‘restrained sensuality’ implied to me that her body wanted to move to the music, like the dancers surrounding her. From my perspective, another opportunity missed to display her musical soul in motion.
Mustafa gets worse reviews, appearing stiff or even somewhat afraid – as ‘Pure People’ says, while “Lara is sensual, her partner is ‘much less expressive” (http://www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-make-me-yours-tonight-son-retour-sensuel-avec-mustafa-ceceli_a145595/1#lt_source=external,manual). Movement would have helped humanize him, too. In looking at some of his other videos, he can be much more mobile and animated (e.g., www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZIwqbz29QE).
Concerning the song itself, the general opinion now seems to be that it is a fine summer ditty. If nothing else, it serves to introduce her to another audience and to keep her name alive in the Francophile world, to the extent it is played there. ‘La page des Fabianesk’ (https://www.facebook.com/lapagedesfabianesk) is including a list of French radio stations to which one can send in requests in an attempt to get them to feature it. It is already being played on cheriefm (http://www.cheriefm.fr/musique-104/concerts-spectacles-28/artiste/album/153-lara-fabian.html?idAlbum=904379520&album=Make+Me+Yours+Tonight+-+EP) and Bel RTL has said they will play it if fans request it.
But it is doing even more for her: the ‘Lara Fabian International Page’ provided a list of the EP’s status on various iTunes sites as of August 5th: #6 Turkey; #10 Belgium;#18 France;#128 Mexico;#137 Romania;#143 Spain;#177 Italy. It is possible that this is Lara’s first appearance on music charts in some of these countries since her initial English album 15 years ago. Another step on the way to her expanded international career, and one that was likely enabled by her sudden expanded availability on iTunes charts around the world. Whoever is in charge of that world-wide activity for her is doing a very good job.
Lara will get another chance to move around to the song when she performs tomorrow night at the festival in Turkey with Mustafa Ceceli; some nice concert promos and articles are available at: (http://www.etkinlikistanbul.net/mustafa-ceceli-lara-fabian-konseri.html); (http://www.ankayasam.com/yasam/magazin/lara-fabian-harbiye-acikhavada/); (http://www.istanbul.com/tr/sehir/yasa/mustafa-cecili-ve-lara-fabian-ayni-sahnede);(http://www.dha.com.tr/en-son-haber-efsane-yildiz-buyulu-ses-lara-fabian-harbiye-acikhavada-flashaber_735806.html). Basically they say that Lara is a world-famous artist and Turkish fans are eager to meet her.
It was reported that Lara arrived in Turkey several days ago. As the ‘special guest’ in the outdoor stadium we don’t know how many songs she will sing - we will also find out whether she actually sings live. Hopefully videos will be available…For continual updates, one might check out “Lara Fabian Turkiye”:
www.facebook.com/Larafabianturkiye
A number of the French articles referred to in the links above contain brief stories about Lara’s return to health, and of course her Turkish duet. They are not translated here for they contain nothing new, being either the standard promo feeds or taking quotes directly from Lara’s Paris Match interview provided in last week’s Update. Perhaps we’ll get new information as Lara does publicity interviews in Turkey for her upcoming show along with the single. One such is SHOW TV on which Lara will be appearing tomorrow at 1600 GMT– the live feed (thanks to larafabianweb.com) is at tinyurl.com/showtvturkey, a link which leads to:
www.showtv.com.tr/canli-yayin/showtv
In other, unrelated news, the website ‘Lara Fabian in Ukrainian Hearts’ has some wonderful artistic drawings of Lara. They can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.496383033825733.1073741868.374882332642471&type=1
And speaking of pictures, there is a wonderful one of Lara reacting to the many flowers she received at a concert, on the Lara Fabian UK Fans site, at:
www.facebook.com/644480162285296/photos/a.718733131526665.1073741831.644480162285296/748762675190377/?type=1&theater
Now for the next three ‘best of’ videos”
Til I Get Over You: www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDfFeT5SrK4
: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv5yB1wmei0
Tango: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1UrKzYti0
The Last Goodbye: app.box.com/s/knd0xl3w8e0da7p2bkj0
: app.box.com/s/mzh3l7gucpbw5osldy8e
‘Til I Get Over You’ was the big, up-beat rhythmic sound that Lara’s Columbia/Sony record company somehow thought she should be using to sell records in the U.S. Lara got into the swing of it for the album, as evidenced by the two videos above, first from the Baden Baden concert in Germany, and then with the ‘From Lara with Love’ PBS show. As far as I know she hasn’t sung it in over a decade, and it would be a shock to hear her sing it again, ever.
‘Tango’ – almost the opposite of the above song, a seductive, sensual song from Nue, and a video that emphasizes those qualities – chosen here from the ‘Lara Fabian Live’ Nue DVD. It could be a video to show people who’ve never heard of Lara – they won’t forget her after that. However, one thing it has in common with the previous song is that she rarely ever performs it; the last time, as far as I know, was in Moscow in 2007 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7qL5-T72s4)
“The Last Goodbye’ was released as a single by Sony from ‘A Wonderful Life’, before they gave up on the album. It was also included by Universal on the ‘Best of Lara Fabian’ double CD release. So two record companies thought it would be a good hit song for her, somewhat in the mode of ‘Make Me Yours Tonight’. Only Lara didn’t like it, and never sings it (true, therefore, for all three of the songs this week). However, the first video chosen (one of the very few times she ever performed it live, perhaps the only one with a video) has the distinction of being recorded in the most unusual place ever for Lara to sing
. The song really does fit her voice, as shown here. The second choice was lip-synced, but it has the virtue of being topical in its own way, having taken place in Germany; as this was true also for the Baden Baden version of the first song, they set the stage for Lara’s return to Germany this coming fall. After her Turkish appearance, Lara has nothing on her public schedule for the foreseeable future. Given her new-found emergence, and mobility, it would not be surprising for her to pop up anywhere – when healthy, she is usually a magnet for the media, as we know. But hopefully she will take the time to make sure she is fully recovered before her fall tour starts in October.
David
