Post by davidhr on Nov 24, 2015 9:39:12 GMT -5
No one reading this can be unaware of the turmoil that is currently roiling Belgium, with Brussels in a virtual state of lock-down. Lara is undoubtedly as affected by this as everyone else in the Brussels vicinity, but she had a closer call than we realized. Lara had the following report, as posted by the Lara Fabian –PHQ site, from an interview in the Canadian publication ‘7 Jours’ (https://www.facebook.com/353946178085395/photos/pcb.773114179501924/773114092835266/?type=3&theater). Here’s the translation:
------------------------------------
“It is necessary to love and to unite more than ever”.
Lara Fabian lives in Belgium, but she was in Paris at the moment of the attacks. “A little before the events, I was just next to the Bataclan, confided the singer. There was already a bizarre atmosphere. I granted an interview to France Television, and some armed guards monitor the premises. I could not imagine that the day would end thus…There are no words to describe the horror. It is necessary to gather one’s thoughts and to get back up to continue living. It is necessary to love and to unite more than ever. I wish that the politicians of the whole world unite to find the true solutions to this menace. It’s scary, but it’s not going to prevent me from doing what I have to do.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
!!!... There but for fortune…
Again, as was the case last week’s Update, we’ll report on her week, career-wise, while not downplaying the seriousness of the political issues affecting her, Belgium, and the entire world. We’ll start with her events that had something new to offer.
In a related development, Lara was on the show ‘Tout le monde joue avec le cerveau”, just five days after the Paris shooting. In tribute to the victims, the host Nagui and Michel Cymes asked the audience to join them in a minute of noise and applause – not silence! They decided not to cancel the show because they didn’t want the terrorists to deprive people of their reason for living. The show drew 3.8 million spectators, close to 17% of the audience. The video of their announcement, and some 21 minutes of the show (the parts involving Lara) can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/larafabian.artist/videos/761714547305843/
As for the game itself, Lara did not do so well
– she explained it as the result of being a ‘blond singer’! We also know math is not her strongpoint . Throughout she epitomized the ‘fun’ the program was desiring to promulgate.
Last week a video was provided of Lara leaving the studio of Europe 1 after recording the show ‘Les Pieds Dans Le Plat’ (PDLP) with Cyril Hanouna. This week one could see part of that show on youtube, in particular a segment where the panelists around the table were presented with the opportunity, in Lara’s presence, of trying to duplicate her singing on songs such as Je t’aime, J’y crois encore, Requiem pour un fou, and Tout. To put it bluntly, some were more pathetic than others! Lara had the best time of all, watching it. It can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8O5m2gWJ8A
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcKVTXpo75U
The full show (of 1 hour 37 minutes) can be seen on Daily Motion, at
www.dailymotion.com/video/x3e8xu1_replay-les-pieds-dans-le-plat-avec-lara-fabian_fun
In another enjoyable appearance, Lara performed a duet on a portion of ‘Requiem pour un fou’ with Matthias on the program 'Comment Ca Va Bien' (CCVB) on France 2. Lara, at least, was great! That can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP3sqlr572E
Another segment from the show featured Lara being tested on the quiz, “what is this thing?”. The guests are presented with innovative objects that presumably can be useful– in this case, it was anti-sea sickness sun glasses. Lara got it. They couldn’t test it on a real boat, of course, but they set up a platform with a base of cushions to simulate waves. [Who knows how well it would really work, on a real boat with real waves…]. It's visible at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SxMJO1-tzs
And there was also a segment on ‘beauty’ focused on “giving luster to the skin in the inner corner of the eyes, on the cheeks or bridge of the nose”, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMssxx78zf0&feature=youtu.be
The portion of the program with Lara (of 44 minutes) is available on Nabbox (www.nabbox.tv).
In what was the clearest promotional aspect of the week, Lara was on MFM Radio for an hour on Friday. The host, Thierry Beccaro with an ‘intimate voice’, called ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ a “very, very, very beautiful album". They discussed Lara’s accident and then they went through Lara’s history – that she was born in Lille in the Flemish portion of Belgium; piano bars, Eurovision, Canada. That she’s afraid of cosmetic surgery; and social networks are to be used with a filter. That she would like to mount a musical, it would take 1-2 years of writing. The work of Elodie and David Gategno on her album were discussed in glowing terms. Other artists were mentioned, and there was a long discussion of her history with Barbra Streisand. Lara ended with her own review of the interview and her thoughts about it. Thanks to the Operation Fan Club Lara Fabian site (as usual!) it can be found at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrSw4xVzoWU
A picture of Lara with the host can be seen at:
mfmradio.fr/son/podcast/13001/podcast-lara-fabian-en-mode-beccaro
An article on Lara and her album appeared in L’Avenir (http://www2.pic-upload.de/img/28893498/LAvenir---19-Nov.-2015.jpg) [thanks to the Lara Fabian – PHQ for the link]. Here’s the translation:
----------------------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian addresses those close to her
For her 12th studio album, Lara Fabian has collaborated with David Gategno (David and Jonathan). And addresses primarily her entourage.
Released here a week and a half ago, her album is classed in third place on the Belgian ‘Ultratop’, behind Mylene Farmer and Kendji Girac. In France, she is currently 4th, behind the same artists plus a compilation from NRJ. A pretty performance for Lara Fabian. Who should appreciate it even more when she looks in the rear-view mirror. For almost two years, she believed that she would not be able to sing anymore, following an auditory accident.
Today she explains “listening to music in a different way”, and only keeps the after-effects “very manageable”.
“It is a super-bad memory. It remains something, a mild hearing loss but very manageable”, explains the singer, 45 years old, with 32 million discs sold in 25 years of her career.
The accident took place in several stages in 2013, first on the occasion of a hearing shock on a television stage, then when she took two sound discharges during her last international tour, which had to be interrupted.
“During one year, I stopped and I followed all sorts of restrictive therapies”, explains the singer.
“An accident like that, it reframes you at all levels”, estimates Lara Fabian, who underlines from now on, she perceives the music differently while hearing more sounds “on the inside of her body.”
The singer has since gone back to taking concerts, “with apprehension, a little like a dancer recovering after breaking a leg”, with a mini-tour in Europe in the autumn of 2014.
Her 12th studio album has been co-written with David Gategno (of the ex-duo David and Jonathan) and Elodie Hesme, with some songs with unadorned arrangements which she particularly wanted to address to those close to her, to her husband, her daughter or a friend.
For these 11 new songs, Lara Fabian sticks to French, she has already sung in ten languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Mandarin and Dutch.
“It is my genesis, I was born into a family with four cultures, Italian, American, French and Andalucian (in Spain). [Note she does not mention ‘Flemish’, even though as noted in the MFM radio interview reviewed above, she was born in that part of Belgium…]. All my life I heard music in the morning in French, in the evening in Italian, during the day in English and on the weekend in Spanish”, laughs the singer, who goes back out on tour in the spring.
---
(There was also a brief album review)
An album full of contrasts
“An album that gives us the desire to recover lost time and to embrace life”. This is how Marc Levy characterizes the album of Lara Fabian in the preface of her booklet. The one who says that to sing “it is all that I know how to do” consecrates her 11 new songs to those close to her, among them her daughter Lou (Le coeur qui tremble) or her husband the Italian magician Gabriel di Giorgio (L’illusionniste). Alternatively romantic (Envie d’en rire) or naughty (Ton desir), she makes a nice album – which ends between softness and strength on L’oublie – full of contrasts.
---------------------------------------------------
And from the Lara Fabian – PHQ site, an article in ‘Mosquito’ music (https://www.facebook.com/353946178085395/photos/a.353954938084519.1073741828.353946178085395/770163453130330/?type=3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By Luc Lorfevre
Lara Fabian: New Life.
The singer lowers her guard to show us all that she is. And that succeeds well for her.
In the feel-good clip of ‘Quand je ne chante pas’, lead opening of her new album ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’, Lara Fabian has never been as fulfilled. And also natural. Chaining together a series of pretty shots-sequences, she evolves in her home sweet home, saunters between the furniture, poses on a sofa to read the latest Marc Levy book and moves on again against the clock. “A woman must know how to do everything”, she sings in making us understand that she doesn’t always achieve it.
This woman, husband of magician Gabriel Di Giorgio, mother of Lou,(“she is eight years old and incapable of lying” ) and friend (“who doesn’t find enough time for her friends"), returns to the forefront in the music news but without the Mariah Carey diva behavior which surrounded her previous promotional events. After the cozy hotel suites, the bourgeois restaurants, it is in patio 3 of RTBF where we met her, a goblet of tea (for her) and coffee (for us) in hand. And that’s how we love her. Without fuss.
Announced as one of her most personal discs, “Ma vie dans la tienne” is that, in effect. “There is a song about my mother, one about my husband, one about my daughter, one about my best friend…Then, yes, this disc is a direct connection with my intimate universe. I reveal myself as I probably never have before. After a headlock phase, I feel more serene and perfectly secure.” Happy, the Lara Fabian of 2015? “Yes, all goes well, a true gift…”, she responds. In 2014, Lara Fabian sustained a serious auditory shock on stage and was forced into complete silence, closed in on herself with her anguish. “The accident has almost become a bad memory. I came out of it after diverse therapies. Of course, technically, there are some precautions to take, but I have completely demystified my fears. It is behind me. In the studio as on stage, I sing without apprehension.”
Take the test around you: Like Mariah Carey yesterday, Zaz today and without doubt Christine And the Queen tomorrow, Lara Fabian arouses the most extreme reactions. One loves her or one hates her for exactly the same reasons and one meets the same fierceness. “These excessive behaviors have been able to hit me at a certain time. Today, I’ve stopped taking for or against myself the fact that you can love me or hate me beyond reason. I try to remain with equal humor.” Carried by “Quand je ne chante pas’, the moving ‘L’oubli’ or ‘Le coeur qui tremble’ in which many parents will recognize themselves, “Ma via dans la tienne’ is welcomed.
A disc of variety that, according to its singer, “revives the tradition of popular songs while adding sounds in tune with the times”. Addressing an imaginary person even if one sees it especially as an interior message, the song ‘Releve-toi’ makes almost a figure of declaration of faith. “This piece is for one who wants to hear it. This phrase lived in me at one certain time when I had to face obstacle after obstacle. But today I no longer have to pronounce it.” So much the better, so much the better.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Lara was on the radio station “Chante France’ (http://www.chantefrance.com/), and many pictures of her there can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/chantefranceradio/photos/pcb.992867110752377/992866314085790/?type=3&theater
She was featured in the Turkish publication ’46 Magazine’ with some beautiful pictures (she was on the cover - www.46magazine.com/web/), an interview (which of course is in Turkish), and, as linked to by Lara’s site, a short video featuring the music to ‘L’oubli’ associated with one of those pictures:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/videos/1017202544987909/
[It’s looking more and more like that will be the next single, and it could be very successful].
By now we have heard most of the stories Lara is telling the media concerning her current life, and the new album, so they won’t be repeated here. Examples of this include:
**A video of the interview that Lara did with ‘Femme actuelle’ [the interview itself was covered in the News Update of 11/10] was put on youtube, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpJQSkVvOCU
**A report on various issues that Lara raised in previous interviews as shown on Non-stop people, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZM4E2VSFbY
**An article in ‘Charts in France”, which mainly reviews the interview in ‘Closer’ discussed in last week’s Update, at
www.chartsinfrance.net/Lara-Fabian/news-99763.html
**Another article of a similar nature, in ‘femmes.orange’
femmes.orange.fr/people/news-people/article-lara-fabian-evoque-l-importance-du-soutien-de-sa-famille-CNT000000foajK.html
**An article in ‘La Derniere Heure (http://www2.pic-upload.de/img/28912589/01-4121.jpg) which discusses various points made previously, including the interview, covered last week, about the meeting with her husband. The one ‘new’ item in this interview is translated below:
-----------------------------------------
Beneficial years
But if with the years, Lara Fabian has finally managed to find the “shoe that fits”, she also became stronger. "As we age, we accept our weaknesses. We stop disguising it" she explains. "We just simply welcome all that is. We do not try to disguise. We are more in tune with what we are than with what we do. I listen more to the sense of my instinct, much less to the sense of listening to myself speak than I have done in the past.
-------------------------------------------
True to her word, Lara had not been allowing events to minimize her appearances. She was at the FNAC store in Brussels on November 14th (hence prior to the ‘lockdown’ and the latest threats to that city); some nice pictures of her there can be found at:
www.facebook.com/FnacBelgium/photos/a.10153712428989643.1073741955.372097559642/10153712429094643/?type=3&theater
[Thanks to the Lara Fabian website for the link. A video of her there was shown in the last Update].
In other promotional news, this morning Lara’s team published some photos of the shooting of the music video of the song ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ on her FB site. They can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/pcb.1019155348125962/1019154858126011/?type=3&theater
It reminds one that surrounding the images that we see, much equipment is around that we don’t see. In the same thread, they were asked when the next single would be released – Lara’s team responded with “patience”.
Also, Lara’s official URL website has been redone (www.larafabian.com) to which Lara/her team put a link on her FB page in both English and French asking people to come visit it. Now apparently run by Warner Brothers, it is attractive, but is still (hopefully) a work in progress. One can quibble a bit about things in the ‘biography’ section – for example, yes, Alan Badoev made ‘clips’ for each of the 11 songs on the Mademoiselle Zhivago album, but we didn’t get to see them all, due to Lara’s resistance. But the main problem is the ‘discography’ – it contained only this last album (i.e., Warner’s). As this is supposed to be Lara’s website – not Warner’s - obviously that needs to be corrected. In contrast, under the ‘videos’ section, we do get to see some of the older official videos, although not all of them.
And lest we forget, this past weekend Lara’s movie ‘Un soir autour du monde’ played in various theatres in Russia, and it is still to play in some eastern Europe countries (e.g., in Hungary on the 26th). The promotional video, modified for the Russian language, can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlNbJCaKBpU
Lara also apparently made a special video for them (in English),that can be seen at:
vk.com/lf_cp?z=video-121236_171448283%2F2e5eeac36f73923298
The Lara Fabian Connecting People site even organized a party for it at a theater in Moscow. Irina Popova, who has provided many wonderful videos of Lara, had this to say on that site about it, “As a participant of the event, too, I want to thank the organizers for an exclusive opportunity to see a concert in Prague again, this time on the big screen, once again to feel the indescribable atmosphere and relive the same emotions! And even, in some frames to see ourselves and our friends. The film was shot very well, Lara and musicians filmed close-up, and it gives an opportunity to see how they work together harmoniously, they're all really talented from God! Pleased with the Russian translation! It is for this a special thank you! Well, of course, thank you very much for the unique party administrators, dedicated to this event! A surprise for us! It was interesting and informative!...” Some of the fans also performed; here is a picture from the event:
vk.com/lf_cp?z=photo-121236_393910253%2Falbum-121236_00%2Frev
and a short video is available (in Russian) at: www.ustream.tv/recorded/78121293
And while on this subject a video of Lara at the premier of the movie at La Géode a few weeks ago can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lrXM-BINOs
As to how the album is doing after all this promotion and good publicity…In France it dropped from #3 in physical CDs (#4 overall) to #12 in physical CDs (#13 overall). This is pretty similar to what happened with ‘Le Secret’ in its second week (#1 to #11); we’ll see if this new album ends up having greater staying power than that one did. In Belgium it dropped from #3 to #5. On iTunes as of 11-23, the top listings were:
#23 Belgium; #26 Russia; #58 France; #151 Ukraine. The digital version might be expected to sell better in countries where the physical CD is not readily available.
In other news, Lara had some very nice comments to make about the singer ‘Anggun’, on the show ‘C à vous’ (https://www.facebook.com/larafabian.artist/videos/761691137308184/) and asked questions of her, such as what is your favorite album, film and book. Anguun responded on Twitter (in the Blue Room), first congratulating Lara on her magnificent album, and then with the following video (page at:
Friday was Lou’s eighth birthday. Several of the fans sites published birthday wishes for her, some with cartoons. For example, The 'Lara Fabian Is Here' site posted theirs at:
www.facebook.com/382393522416/photos/pcb.10153742805452417/10153742792467417/?type=3&theater
From 'Lara Fabian Voice of Passion' there was this beautiful statement, “Happy birthday to one great child! Happy birthday,Lou! We wish you your life to be always magical! We wish you to be always as loved as you are now and to be always healthy and happy! Enjoy your day, little star!” Their accompanying picture is shown below:
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianTheVoiceOfPassion/photos/a.722339551114856.1073741831.720473304634814/1280527595296046/?type=3&theater
And from ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’:
"La page 'Lara Fabian est ton autre' wishes a very happy birthday to Lou, the daughter of Lara”
There was a short video of Lara’s recent appearance at APAJH, including her discussing their important goals (helping the handicapped), shown on ITV, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLhWfe6vlSA
and the Lara Fabian Voice of Passion site had an appropriate photo of Lara, at:
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianTheVoiceOfPassion/photos/a.722339551114856.1073741831.720473304634814/1282054878476651/?type=3&theater
Interesting photo(s) of the week: from Lara Fabian – PHQ,
www.facebook.com/353946178085395/photos/a.353954938084519.1073741828.353946178085395/773651546114854/?type=3&theater
The site Operation Fan Club Lara Fabian has a wonderful, pensive picture of Lara at:
www.facebook.com/OperationFanClubLaraFabian/photos/a.674006339373232.1073741828.673991206041412/863104160463448/?type=3&theater
[That site also has a nice new ‘cover photo’].
And from ‘La Derniere Heure’, this image from the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ site:
www.facebook.com/166959643357708/photos/a.168982793155393.43222.166959643357708/926673020719696/?type=3&theater
By next Update perhaps we’ll have news of Lara’s appearance on ‘Les 150 ans de la SPA’ (for protection of animals). Among the upcoming TV shows for Lara there is the recording of "N'oubliez pas les paroles" (France 2) on November 24th - a photo is available at www.facebook.com/166959643357708/photos/a.168982793155393.43222.166959643357708/926737280713270/?type=3&theater. And "L'œuf ou la poule " (D8) will be shown December 8th. On one of the sites where an album reviewer noted that Lara’s record sales had dropped over the past decade, a respondent wrote in and said he was surprised, because he “sees her on TV all the time”. That’s the truth of the matter – Lara is a great guest, vocal, humorous, engaged, attractive. She is always welcome on these shows, so even though the promotional aspects are starting to wind down, as long as she’s in town – and transportation is not forbidden – we may still expect to see or hear her. Whether the record sales will be as ubiquitous, we’ll soon find out.
David
------------------------------------
“It is necessary to love and to unite more than ever”.
Lara Fabian lives in Belgium, but she was in Paris at the moment of the attacks. “A little before the events, I was just next to the Bataclan, confided the singer. There was already a bizarre atmosphere. I granted an interview to France Television, and some armed guards monitor the premises. I could not imagine that the day would end thus…There are no words to describe the horror. It is necessary to gather one’s thoughts and to get back up to continue living. It is necessary to love and to unite more than ever. I wish that the politicians of the whole world unite to find the true solutions to this menace. It’s scary, but it’s not going to prevent me from doing what I have to do.”
-----------------------------------------------------------
!!!... There but for fortune…
Again, as was the case last week’s Update, we’ll report on her week, career-wise, while not downplaying the seriousness of the political issues affecting her, Belgium, and the entire world. We’ll start with her events that had something new to offer.
In a related development, Lara was on the show ‘Tout le monde joue avec le cerveau”, just five days after the Paris shooting. In tribute to the victims, the host Nagui and Michel Cymes asked the audience to join them in a minute of noise and applause – not silence! They decided not to cancel the show because they didn’t want the terrorists to deprive people of their reason for living. The show drew 3.8 million spectators, close to 17% of the audience. The video of their announcement, and some 21 minutes of the show (the parts involving Lara) can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/larafabian.artist/videos/761714547305843/
As for the game itself, Lara did not do so well
– she explained it as the result of being a ‘blond singer’! We also know math is not her strongpoint . Throughout she epitomized the ‘fun’ the program was desiring to promulgate. Last week a video was provided of Lara leaving the studio of Europe 1 after recording the show ‘Les Pieds Dans Le Plat’ (PDLP) with Cyril Hanouna. This week one could see part of that show on youtube, in particular a segment where the panelists around the table were presented with the opportunity, in Lara’s presence, of trying to duplicate her singing on songs such as Je t’aime, J’y crois encore, Requiem pour un fou, and Tout. To put it bluntly, some were more pathetic than others! Lara had the best time of all, watching it
. It can be seen at:www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8O5m2gWJ8A
or
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcKVTXpo75U
The full show (of 1 hour 37 minutes) can be seen on Daily Motion, at
www.dailymotion.com/video/x3e8xu1_replay-les-pieds-dans-le-plat-avec-lara-fabian_fun
In another enjoyable appearance, Lara performed a duet on a portion of ‘Requiem pour un fou’ with Matthias on the program 'Comment Ca Va Bien' (CCVB) on France 2. Lara, at least, was great! That can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP3sqlr572E
Another segment from the show featured Lara being tested on the quiz, “what is this thing?”. The guests are presented with innovative objects that presumably can be useful– in this case, it was anti-sea sickness sun glasses. Lara got it. They couldn’t test it on a real boat, of course, but they set up a platform with a base of cushions to simulate waves. [Who knows how well it would really work, on a real boat with real waves…]. It's visible at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SxMJO1-tzs
And there was also a segment on ‘beauty’ focused on “giving luster to the skin in the inner corner of the eyes, on the cheeks or bridge of the nose”, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMssxx78zf0&feature=youtu.be
The portion of the program with Lara (of 44 minutes) is available on Nabbox (www.nabbox.tv).
In what was the clearest promotional aspect of the week, Lara was on MFM Radio for an hour on Friday. The host, Thierry Beccaro with an ‘intimate voice’, called ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ a “very, very, very beautiful album". They discussed Lara’s accident and then they went through Lara’s history – that she was born in Lille in the Flemish portion of Belgium; piano bars, Eurovision, Canada. That she’s afraid of cosmetic surgery; and social networks are to be used with a filter. That she would like to mount a musical, it would take 1-2 years of writing. The work of Elodie and David Gategno on her album were discussed in glowing terms. Other artists were mentioned, and there was a long discussion of her history with Barbra Streisand. Lara ended with her own review of the interview and her thoughts about it. Thanks to the Operation Fan Club Lara Fabian site (as usual!) it can be found at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrSw4xVzoWU
A picture of Lara with the host can be seen at:
mfmradio.fr/son/podcast/13001/podcast-lara-fabian-en-mode-beccaro
An article on Lara and her album appeared in L’Avenir (http://www2.pic-upload.de/img/28893498/LAvenir---19-Nov.-2015.jpg) [thanks to the Lara Fabian – PHQ for the link]. Here’s the translation:
----------------------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian addresses those close to her
For her 12th studio album, Lara Fabian has collaborated with David Gategno (David and Jonathan). And addresses primarily her entourage.
Released here a week and a half ago, her album is classed in third place on the Belgian ‘Ultratop’, behind Mylene Farmer and Kendji Girac. In France, she is currently 4th, behind the same artists plus a compilation from NRJ. A pretty performance for Lara Fabian. Who should appreciate it even more when she looks in the rear-view mirror. For almost two years, she believed that she would not be able to sing anymore, following an auditory accident.
Today she explains “listening to music in a different way”, and only keeps the after-effects “very manageable”.
“It is a super-bad memory. It remains something, a mild hearing loss but very manageable”, explains the singer, 45 years old, with 32 million discs sold in 25 years of her career.
The accident took place in several stages in 2013, first on the occasion of a hearing shock on a television stage, then when she took two sound discharges during her last international tour, which had to be interrupted.
“During one year, I stopped and I followed all sorts of restrictive therapies”, explains the singer.
“An accident like that, it reframes you at all levels”, estimates Lara Fabian, who underlines from now on, she perceives the music differently while hearing more sounds “on the inside of her body.”
The singer has since gone back to taking concerts, “with apprehension, a little like a dancer recovering after breaking a leg”, with a mini-tour in Europe in the autumn of 2014.
Her 12th studio album has been co-written with David Gategno (of the ex-duo David and Jonathan) and Elodie Hesme, with some songs with unadorned arrangements which she particularly wanted to address to those close to her, to her husband, her daughter or a friend.
For these 11 new songs, Lara Fabian sticks to French, she has already sung in ten languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Turkish, Russian, Mandarin and Dutch.
“It is my genesis, I was born into a family with four cultures, Italian, American, French and Andalucian (in Spain). [Note she does not mention ‘Flemish’, even though as noted in the MFM radio interview reviewed above, she was born in that part of Belgium…]. All my life I heard music in the morning in French, in the evening in Italian, during the day in English and on the weekend in Spanish”, laughs the singer, who goes back out on tour in the spring.
---
(There was also a brief album review)
An album full of contrasts
“An album that gives us the desire to recover lost time and to embrace life”. This is how Marc Levy characterizes the album of Lara Fabian in the preface of her booklet. The one who says that to sing “it is all that I know how to do” consecrates her 11 new songs to those close to her, among them her daughter Lou (Le coeur qui tremble) or her husband the Italian magician Gabriel di Giorgio (L’illusionniste). Alternatively romantic (Envie d’en rire) or naughty (Ton desir), she makes a nice album – which ends between softness and strength on L’oublie – full of contrasts.
---------------------------------------------------
And from the Lara Fabian – PHQ site, an article in ‘Mosquito’ music (https://www.facebook.com/353946178085395/photos/a.353954938084519.1073741828.353946178085395/770163453130330/?type=3)
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By Luc Lorfevre
Lara Fabian: New Life.
The singer lowers her guard to show us all that she is. And that succeeds well for her.
In the feel-good clip of ‘Quand je ne chante pas’, lead opening of her new album ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’, Lara Fabian has never been as fulfilled. And also natural. Chaining together a series of pretty shots-sequences, she evolves in her home sweet home, saunters between the furniture, poses on a sofa to read the latest Marc Levy book and moves on again against the clock. “A woman must know how to do everything”, she sings in making us understand that she doesn’t always achieve it.
This woman, husband of magician Gabriel Di Giorgio, mother of Lou,(“she is eight years old and incapable of lying” ) and friend (“who doesn’t find enough time for her friends"), returns to the forefront in the music news but without the Mariah Carey diva behavior which surrounded her previous promotional events. After the cozy hotel suites, the bourgeois restaurants, it is in patio 3 of RTBF where we met her, a goblet of tea (for her) and coffee (for us) in hand. And that’s how we love her. Without fuss.
Announced as one of her most personal discs, “Ma vie dans la tienne” is that, in effect. “There is a song about my mother, one about my husband, one about my daughter, one about my best friend…Then, yes, this disc is a direct connection with my intimate universe. I reveal myself as I probably never have before. After a headlock phase, I feel more serene and perfectly secure.” Happy, the Lara Fabian of 2015? “Yes, all goes well, a true gift…”, she responds. In 2014, Lara Fabian sustained a serious auditory shock on stage and was forced into complete silence, closed in on herself with her anguish. “The accident has almost become a bad memory. I came out of it after diverse therapies. Of course, technically, there are some precautions to take, but I have completely demystified my fears. It is behind me. In the studio as on stage, I sing without apprehension.”
Take the test around you: Like Mariah Carey yesterday, Zaz today and without doubt Christine And the Queen tomorrow, Lara Fabian arouses the most extreme reactions. One loves her or one hates her for exactly the same reasons and one meets the same fierceness. “These excessive behaviors have been able to hit me at a certain time. Today, I’ve stopped taking for or against myself the fact that you can love me or hate me beyond reason. I try to remain with equal humor.” Carried by “Quand je ne chante pas’, the moving ‘L’oubli’ or ‘Le coeur qui tremble’ in which many parents will recognize themselves, “Ma via dans la tienne’ is welcomed.
A disc of variety that, according to its singer, “revives the tradition of popular songs while adding sounds in tune with the times”. Addressing an imaginary person even if one sees it especially as an interior message, the song ‘Releve-toi’ makes almost a figure of declaration of faith. “This piece is for one who wants to hear it. This phrase lived in me at one certain time when I had to face obstacle after obstacle. But today I no longer have to pronounce it.” So much the better, so much the better.
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Lara was on the radio station “Chante France’ (http://www.chantefrance.com/), and many pictures of her there can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/chantefranceradio/photos/pcb.992867110752377/992866314085790/?type=3&theater
She was featured in the Turkish publication ’46 Magazine’ with some beautiful pictures (she was on the cover - www.46magazine.com/web/), an interview (which of course is in Turkish), and, as linked to by Lara’s site, a short video featuring the music to ‘L’oubli’ associated with one of those pictures:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/videos/1017202544987909/
[It’s looking more and more like that will be the next single, and it could be very successful].
By now we have heard most of the stories Lara is telling the media concerning her current life, and the new album, so they won’t be repeated here. Examples of this include:
**A video of the interview that Lara did with ‘Femme actuelle’ [the interview itself was covered in the News Update of 11/10] was put on youtube, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpJQSkVvOCU
**A report on various issues that Lara raised in previous interviews as shown on Non-stop people, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZM4E2VSFbY
**An article in ‘Charts in France”, which mainly reviews the interview in ‘Closer’ discussed in last week’s Update, at
www.chartsinfrance.net/Lara-Fabian/news-99763.html
**Another article of a similar nature, in ‘femmes.orange’
femmes.orange.fr/people/news-people/article-lara-fabian-evoque-l-importance-du-soutien-de-sa-famille-CNT000000foajK.html
**An article in ‘La Derniere Heure (http://www2.pic-upload.de/img/28912589/01-4121.jpg) which discusses various points made previously, including the interview, covered last week, about the meeting with her husband. The one ‘new’ item in this interview is translated below:
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Beneficial years
But if with the years, Lara Fabian has finally managed to find the “shoe that fits”, she also became stronger. "As we age, we accept our weaknesses. We stop disguising it" she explains. "We just simply welcome all that is. We do not try to disguise. We are more in tune with what we are than with what we do. I listen more to the sense of my instinct, much less to the sense of listening to myself speak than I have done in the past.
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True to her word, Lara had not been allowing events to minimize her appearances. She was at the FNAC store in Brussels on November 14th (hence prior to the ‘lockdown’ and the latest threats to that city); some nice pictures of her there can be found at:
www.facebook.com/FnacBelgium/photos/a.10153712428989643.1073741955.372097559642/10153712429094643/?type=3&theater
[Thanks to the Lara Fabian website for the link. A video of her there was shown in the last Update].
In other promotional news, this morning Lara’s team published some photos of the shooting of the music video of the song ‘Ma vie dans la tienne’ on her FB site. They can be seen at:
www.facebook.com/larafabianofficial/photos/pcb.1019155348125962/1019154858126011/?type=3&theater
It reminds one that surrounding the images that we see, much equipment is around that we don’t see. In the same thread, they were asked when the next single would be released – Lara’s team responded with “patience”.
Also, Lara’s official URL website has been redone (www.larafabian.com) to which Lara/her team put a link on her FB page in both English and French asking people to come visit it. Now apparently run by Warner Brothers, it is attractive, but is still (hopefully) a work in progress. One can quibble a bit about things in the ‘biography’ section – for example, yes, Alan Badoev made ‘clips’ for each of the 11 songs on the Mademoiselle Zhivago album, but we didn’t get to see them all, due to Lara’s resistance. But the main problem is the ‘discography’ – it contained only this last album (i.e., Warner’s). As this is supposed to be Lara’s website – not Warner’s - obviously that needs to be corrected. In contrast, under the ‘videos’ section, we do get to see some of the older official videos, although not all of them.
And lest we forget, this past weekend Lara’s movie ‘Un soir autour du monde’ played in various theatres in Russia, and it is still to play in some eastern Europe countries (e.g., in Hungary on the 26th). The promotional video, modified for the Russian language, can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlNbJCaKBpU
Lara also apparently made a special video for them (in English),that can be seen at:
vk.com/lf_cp?z=video-121236_171448283%2F2e5eeac36f73923298
The Lara Fabian Connecting People site even organized a party for it at a theater in Moscow. Irina Popova, who has provided many wonderful videos of Lara, had this to say on that site about it, “As a participant of the event, too, I want to thank the organizers for an exclusive opportunity to see a concert in Prague again, this time on the big screen, once again to feel the indescribable atmosphere and relive the same emotions! And even, in some frames to see ourselves and our friends. The film was shot very well, Lara and musicians filmed close-up, and it gives an opportunity to see how they work together harmoniously, they're all really talented from God! Pleased with the Russian translation! It is for this a special thank you! Well, of course, thank you very much for the unique party administrators, dedicated to this event! A surprise for us! It was interesting and informative!...” Some of the fans also performed; here is a picture from the event:
vk.com/lf_cp?z=photo-121236_393910253%2Falbum-121236_00%2Frev
and a short video is available (in Russian) at: www.ustream.tv/recorded/78121293
And while on this subject a video of Lara at the premier of the movie at La Géode a few weeks ago can be seen at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lrXM-BINOs
As to how the album is doing after all this promotion and good publicity…In France it dropped from #3 in physical CDs (#4 overall) to #12 in physical CDs (#13 overall). This is pretty similar to what happened with ‘Le Secret’ in its second week (#1 to #11); we’ll see if this new album ends up having greater staying power than that one did. In Belgium it dropped from #3 to #5. On iTunes as of 11-23, the top listings were:
#23 Belgium; #26 Russia; #58 France; #151 Ukraine. The digital version might be expected to sell better in countries where the physical CD is not readily available.
In other news, Lara had some very nice comments to make about the singer ‘Anggun’, on the show ‘C à vous’ (https://www.facebook.com/larafabian.artist/videos/761691137308184/) and asked questions of her, such as what is your favorite album, film and book. Anguun responded on Twitter (in the Blue Room), first congratulating Lara on her magnificent album, and then with the following video (page at:
Friday was Lou’s eighth birthday. Several of the fans sites published birthday wishes for her, some with cartoons. For example, The 'Lara Fabian Is Here' site posted theirs at:
www.facebook.com/382393522416/photos/pcb.10153742805452417/10153742792467417/?type=3&theater
From 'Lara Fabian Voice of Passion' there was this beautiful statement, “Happy birthday to one great child! Happy birthday,Lou! We wish you your life to be always magical! We wish you to be always as loved as you are now and to be always healthy and happy! Enjoy your day, little star!” Their accompanying picture is shown below:
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianTheVoiceOfPassion/photos/a.722339551114856.1073741831.720473304634814/1280527595296046/?type=3&theater
And from ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’:
"La page 'Lara Fabian est ton autre' wishes a very happy birthday to Lou, the daughter of Lara”
There was a short video of Lara’s recent appearance at APAJH, including her discussing their important goals (helping the handicapped), shown on ITV, at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLhWfe6vlSA
and the Lara Fabian Voice of Passion site had an appropriate photo of Lara, at:
www.facebook.com/LaraFabianTheVoiceOfPassion/photos/a.722339551114856.1073741831.720473304634814/1282054878476651/?type=3&theater
Interesting photo(s) of the week: from Lara Fabian – PHQ,
www.facebook.com/353946178085395/photos/a.353954938084519.1073741828.353946178085395/773651546114854/?type=3&theater
The site Operation Fan Club Lara Fabian has a wonderful, pensive picture of Lara at:
www.facebook.com/OperationFanClubLaraFabian/photos/a.674006339373232.1073741828.673991206041412/863104160463448/?type=3&theater
[That site also has a nice new ‘cover photo’].
And from ‘La Derniere Heure’, this image from the ‘Lara Fabian est ton autre’ site:
www.facebook.com/166959643357708/photos/a.168982793155393.43222.166959643357708/926673020719696/?type=3&theater
By next Update perhaps we’ll have news of Lara’s appearance on ‘Les 150 ans de la SPA’ (for protection of animals). Among the upcoming TV shows for Lara there is the recording of "N'oubliez pas les paroles" (France 2) on November 24th - a photo is available at www.facebook.com/166959643357708/photos/a.168982793155393.43222.166959643357708/926737280713270/?type=3&theater. And "L'œuf ou la poule " (D8) will be shown December 8th. On one of the sites where an album reviewer noted that Lara’s record sales had dropped over the past decade, a respondent wrote in and said he was surprised, because he “sees her on TV all the time”. That’s the truth of the matter – Lara is a great guest, vocal, humorous, engaged, attractive. She is always welcome on these shows, so even though the promotional aspects are starting to wind down, as long as she’s in town – and transportation is not forbidden – we may still expect to see or hear her. Whether the record sales will be as ubiquitous, we’ll soon find out.
David
