Post by davidhr on Oct 27, 2020 7:47:50 GMT -5
The big news this past week continued to be associated with the the documentary "Lara", which premiered the previous week on the Club Illico private TV channel in Quebec. At this point in time it is more generally available on an outlet in Russia (with Russian subtitles), though whether that will still be the case by the time you read this remains to be “seen”; given that caveat, it is currently at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=neD8MPL7qMI
Lara herself continued discussing the documentary with the press this past week. In particular, she gave an interview to Ici Ottawa Gatineau, on Radio Canada, available at
www.facebook.com/iciottawagatineau/videos/2683152325232038/
Several subjects were targeted, including the general issue of security, but the most sensitive aspect discussed were Lara’s comments with regard to the “Me too” movement, of which she said, “"I lived it and I pressed the stop button. And it was hard. Because there were consequences, simply. Big consequences" (without going into further detail). Lara addressed some of the more unfortunate aspects of the ‘business’ in the documentary, but had not included this one. Fans writing in in response naturally were sympathetic.
Further in response to this revelation, there were articles in the press. For example: (https://fr.news.yahoo.com/lara-fabian-victime-harc%C3%A8lement-sexuel-150554113.html), translated below:
----------------------------------------
Lara Fabian victim of sexual harassment: she comes out of silence
Lara Fabian has decided to give up with an open heart. On the occasion of a new documentary dedicated to her, the former coach of The Voice agreed to grant an intimate interview to our colleagues from ICI Radio-Canada . The singer, usually very modest when it comes to talking about her private life, this time agreed to make some personal confidences. While being questioned about the #MeToo movement , Lou's mother revealed that she too had suffered inappropriate behavior from a man: "I experienced it, very closely . And I never spoke about it, not even in the documentary ", she confided in the preamble.
While she had never spoken of it before, Lara Fabian agreed to come out of the silence and share her personal experience: "I believe that there is, as a woman, sometimes a price that one is ready to pay in the name of certain dreams. But when we are about to pay this price, we cannot imagine the extent of the pain. I have experienced it and I pressed the stop button" , she explained. Maurane's friend specified that she understood the women who remained walled in silence after such acts: "It was hard. There were consequences, simply. Big consequences," she said, without giving more details.
The interpreter of “Je t’aime” also affirmed that she had, for her part, preferred to give up certain professional successes rather than to give in to the blackmail of this man: For me, the consequence to the place of who I am as a woman would have been much more serious than not being able to accomplish certain things (...) Today, I am able to tell myself that I did not enter this omerta , I did not not accept, I denounced it in front of the person himself, "she told ICI Radio-Canada, relieved that fear is now changing sides . And to conclude: "My only power at that time was to say no."
------------------------------------
And also from pure people (https://www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-rejoint-metoo-je-l-ai-vecu-ca-a-ete-dur-revelations-inattendues_a409571/1)
----------------------------------------
Lara Fabian joins #MeToo: "I lived it, it was hard ...", unexpected revelations
Three years after the global turning point that the #MeToo movement has taken, singer Lara Fabian is coming out of silence. Interviewed on the sidelines of a documentary dedicated to him in Quebec, the star revealed to have also been the victim at least once of inappropriate behavior on the part of a man. She had never mentioned it before.
In the wake of the Weinstein affair, the #MeToo movement has had an echo around the world. Women victims of assault or sexual harassment have spoken publicly. Denunciations that affected the world of cinema as well as that of music. Singer Lara Fabian has just joined her voice to the movement by making revelations.
The 50-year-old star, who makes the news in Quebec - where she settled with her husband Gabriel and her daughter Lou - thanks to a new documentary dedicated to her on Club Illico, was interviewed on the sidelines of this program. With the journalist Kevin Sweet, for Ici Radio-Canada, Lara Fabian evoked several subjects and, in particular, the #MeToo movement which shook Quebec . " I experienced it, very closely ... I never spoke about it, never. Even in the documentary. I believe that there is, as a woman, sometimes, a price that we are ready to pay in the name of certain dreams (...) I lived it and I pressed the stop button. And it was hard. Simply because there were consequences. Big consequences", first told the interpreter of the hits Je t’aime , Immortelle , Tout or Tu es mon autre.
Lara Fabian continued her unexpected confidences by affirming that she preferred to ignore certain successes rather than give in to blackmail. "For me, the consequence for who I am as a woman would have been much more serious than not being able to accomplish certain things. Today, I am able to tell myself that I did not return to this omerta, I did not accept it, I denounced it in front of the person himself", she added, specifying that she is aware that fear has now finally emerged from the side and that women are less anxious than in the past to go "shouting from the rooftops" what may have happened in an office or in a "meeting".
The singer, who did not give more details on what she suffered during her career, also welcomed that, from now on, women victims of inappropriate behavior are no longer treated as "crazy" when they speak up.
-----------------------------------------------------
Had this actually appeared in the documentary, it would likely have swamped all other aspects of the show (and perhaps led to a more acute investigation by the host of whom Lara was referring to…).
As it was, the press did pick up on several of the more sensational aspects that did appear in the documentary, those which were mentioned in last week’s News Update. The item most referred to involved Lara’s comments about Celine Dion, especially in France and Belgium. There were many such publications in France to trumpet it; choosing just two, there was, for example, first
fr.finance.yahoo.com/actualites/lara-fabian-c%C3%A9line-dion-t-185814467.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFP8yipiJROPxAspqtRzLwfHaCEs5xqper2p3ctg5YFG4_nAo8aSTB1LmvFFMVXbGbT9x1-EuZu_J5Qp3_Hnu7I8jowKbvtt45O9GRxUquaaaPir4ADFVxDp7ApRyK6mDrW9ZGQ1xbW5h_s1MCaG0erC3fWmNOlxtd8eNvIn4eJe
Here's the translation:
--------------------------------------------
Lara Fabian accuses Celine Dion of sabotaging her career
In a documentary broadcast in Quebec on the occasion of her 50th birthday, Lara Fabian confides in the failure of her career in the United States orchestrated by Celine Dion's team.
America, Lara Fabian wanted to have it, but she didn't! The fault is bad luck or rather Celine Dion. In a documentary broadcast on Club illico in Quebec on the occasion of her 50th birthday , the interpreter of the cult title “Je t'aime” confided in her failure across the Atlantic. For both singers, their respective careers have long followed. While Celine Dion seizes the USA in 2000 with the soundtrack of the film Titanic, her colleague is already a real star in Europe at the same time and hopes to conquer the country of Uncle Sam. But it was without counting on the team that surrounds the mother of René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy.
If Lou's mother has always praised the talent of the internationally renowned artist, she nevertheless felt that those around her prevented her from being recognized in North America. Both having signed in the record company Sony Music, their teams "elbow to ensure that everything remains in its place", declared the Belgian-Canadian who considers that these are "the rules of the game".
"Celine Dion's team played hard" against Lara Fabian
Thus, the latter was forced to change record company, but also her professional entourage: "No one knew what I was: the pseudo dance singer à la Cher, who sang 'I Will Love Again', or the emotional and dramatic girl in 'Adagio' ". "She was parachuted to another record company, surrounded by strangers who wanted to turn her into a pseudo dance diva ," reports the Journal de Montréal .
"Reading between the lines, we understand that behind the scenes, the Celine Dion clan, who was also under contract with Sony Music, did not remain quiet in her corner. To protect her achievements and prevent another singer from voice from attacking the same market, Celine Dion's team played hard, very hard " , she tells our Canadian colleagues. In an interview with TV Grandes Chains, the companion of Gabriel Di Giorgio lamented: "The media used that to make me suffer".
-----------------------------------------------
And then (https://www.public.fr/News/Lara-Fabian-ses-revelations-sur-sa-descente-aux-enfers-orchestree-par-Celine-Dion-1656149):
----------------------------------------
Lara Fabian: her revelations on her descent into hell orchestrated by Celine Dion
Lara Fabian is convinced to have found why she had never succeeded in breaking through the Atlantic. According to her, her failure would be Celine Dion's fault.
Lara Fabian has made a success of her life. The Belgian-Canadian singer has released around fifteen studio albums since the start of her career and her career is acclaimed in French-speaking countries. But there is one country that the songwriter has never managed to conquer: the United States. And according to her, the reason is quite simple: Celine Dion's team did everything to prevent it ... In a documentary broadcast on the Quebec channel Club illico , the interpreter of the hit "Je t'aime" confided that Celine Dion's staff had done everything to prevent Lara from breaking through in order to avoid competition. "Good player", Lara Fabian wanted to clarify: "These are the rules of the game".
It all happened at the end of the 90s. At the time, Celine Dion became a real star in the United States thanks to My Heart Will Go On, her title which became cult in the blockbuster Titanic. On the strength of her success in Europe, Lara Fabian also tried to impose herself on the American music market, but their respective teams "elbowed to keep everything in its place". Lara Fabian and Celine Dion were however part of the same record company, Sony Music. But the stakes were too high to give herself gifts… Lara Fabian therefore made a major decision: to change labels. But nothing happened as she imagined:“No one knew what I was anymore: the pseudo dance singer à la Cher singing 'I Will Love Again', or the emotional and dramatic girl in 'Adagio',” she explained.
The singer still ended up accepting the situation. What does she regret? That some have used this information to invent a rivalry between themselves: "How could someone who was inspiring to me have made me suffer?", she had dropped, annoyed, in the columns of Télé 2 Weeks at the beginning of the year.
-----------------------------
[In this second article, Lara is listed as making the choice to switch to another label (within Sony music), while in the first and more generally it was reported that it was done to her].
And then here's one from Belgium (https://www.sudinfo.be/id267806/article/2020-10-20/lara-fabian-comment-lequipe-de-celine-dion-t-elle-sabote-sa-carriere-aux-usa):
-----------------------------------------
Lara Fabian: how did Celine Dion's team sabotage her career in the USA?
Since October 15, the Canadian streaming platform Club Illico has been offering a documentary dedicated to the interpreter of "Je t’aime", in which she talks about her joys, her sorrows and her sometimes tormented career.
To celebrate her 50th birthday, Lara Fabian kicked off a world tour called “50 World Tour”. Problem: the many dates of this tour covered the year 2020 ... turned upside down by the coronavirus crisis. The singer was therefore unfortunately unable to find her international audience, so dear to her heart. Because needless to say that Lara is a global artist, having sold millions of records around the world. However, there is one country in which she has never really been able to break into, namely the United States. The Journal de Montreal thus returned to this failed American dream, following the broadcast of a documentary entitled "Lara", in which she confides without filter.
In its columns, the Quebec media points to the Celine Dion team, at the origin of this failure. In 1999, Lara Fabian released her first album in English for the American market. Her single "I Will Love Again" ranks 32nd on the Billboard (the "Top 50" made in USA). But the success is not really there. “The Celine Dion clan, which was also under contract with Sony Music, did not remain quiet in its corner." It must be said that the singer with Belgian-Canadian voice appeared very clearly as a rival of Céline, then at the height of her glory in the United States, in particular thanks to the soundtrack of the film" Titanic". Lara was thus "parachuted towards another record company, surrounded by strangers who wanted to transform her into a pseudo dance diva".
The interpreter of “Tout” had already expressed herself on this subject in an interview for Radio-Canada in 2015: “I was redirected to Europe […] It is due to a problem of concordance of house of discs. We changed houses, actually. Quite simply, I went from one label to another […] And from there, there was no more consistency. "
In the docu "Lara", the singer looks back on these years spent in the United States and this lack of coherence in terms of image: "No one knew what I was: the pseudo dance singer à la Cher, who sang 'I Will Love Again', or the emotional and dramatic girl in 'Adagio' “.
Carried from labels to labels because of Celine Dion's team, Lara Fabian is not bitter today. In a virtual press conference, she explains that “it was the rules of the game”. Last January, she denied any rivalry with Celine Dion, in an interview for TV Grandes Chains. " How could someone who was inspiring to me have made me suffer?" The media used that to make me suffer, ” she said of her alleged lifelong rival, whom she had faced at Eurovision in 1988 (Lara had finished fourth; Celine, first).
A documentary soon to be broadcast on RTL
Le Journal de Montréal announces that the documentary "Lara", available in Canada on the Club Illico platform, will be broadcast soon on RTL, at home. The artist reveals in particular to have had a miscarriage at the age of 47 years. She also returns to the scam of which she was the victim on her previous tour in Romania, scammed by a producer "in default of payment", as she had revealed on Facebook last February.
---------------------------------------
Lara actually discussed this issue in two separate parts of the documentary, and they were put together by the various publications (under the rubric “reading between the lines”). The first was in the first section of the show, the “U.S.” portion, where she noted that Sony didn’t want two similar singers as part of their stable and so Lara was exiled to another company; and the second was in the “France” section, where Lara says that there was never a competition between her and Celine, just that “their teams elbowed one another to make sure everything stayed in its place” - that this is “the name of the game”. Putting those two segments together led to the complete story listed above. Given that ‘construction’, it is unclear whether Lara realized it would make such a big splash, especially since she went out of her way to say there was no personal competition, and that Celine was such an inspiration to her. It will not be remembered that way
.
Then there was Lara’s discussion of her mother’s death, included in the following more general article (https://www.archyde.com/she-bursts-into-tears-talking-about-her-mothers-death/):
----------------------------------------
In a documentary dedicated to the singer, Lara Fabian looks back on the death of her mother. She lost her a year ago after a long illness. The former coach of The Voice paid her a final tribute.
Quebec television is devoting a documentary to her. Lara Fabian has indeed spent her time in Canada since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. The singer will not participate in the next season of The Voice. She warned her fans on her Instagram account last August.
“Unfortunately, this year I will not be able to be part of the coaches and find my red chair, the health situation being particularly cloudy and unpredictable, I made the decision to stay in Quebec so as not to endanger the shootings if the situation we are going through worsens and prevent me to meet my commitments ”, she announced to her followers on Monday, August 24, 2020.
Lara Fabian “wish Amel Bent, Marc Lavoine, Florent Pagny and Vianney a good season ”
Obviously, the ex-coach greeted her former team-mates: “I wish a good season to Amel Bent, Marc Lavoine, Florent Pagny and Vianney, who will be together a sublime quartet to discover the talents of tomorrow, and I will look with pleasure at those who will present themselves to us for the 10th season”.
Among the projects to which the beautiful blonde has devoted herself, there is this documentary for the Quebec video on demand service “Club Illico”. During this film directed by Jean-Philippe Dion, Lara Fabian explains how much her parents counted in her career. Her daddy, a chimney sweep by trade, used all his savings so that his daughter could break into the song business.
As for her mom, she simply meant everything to her. Maria Luisa Serio was her name, and she passed away in March 2019. She suffered from Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease whose symptoms are similar to those of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“I asked her permission to go away”.
The diva agreed to tell the story of the day she lost her mom. With tears in her eyes, she confided: “I asked her permission to go away and I swear to you that she said, yet there were parts where she was there and parts where she was not, there she turned to me and said: "Ah, finally my life", because she called me ‘my life’, "Finally my life, you are going to go back to a place where people have their arms wide open."
In this intimate documentary 'Lara', her fans will also be able to discover the former looks of the singer. It’s worth the detour!
-------------------------------
Another about her mother (https://www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-emue-aux-larmes-ce-souvenir-poignant-avec-sa-defunte-maman_a408719/1):
----------------------------------
Lara Fabian moved to tears: this poignant memory with her late mother ...
In March 2019, singer Lara Fabian announced the death of her beloved mother, Luisa. The star opens up about her relationship with her mother in a documentary dedicated to her and, with tears in her eyes, she told an anecdote she will never forget.
Now is the time for confidences. The Quebec channel Club illico dedicates a documentary to Lara Fabian in which the popular 50-year-old singer opens up frankly, not obscuring any subject of her American career torpedoed by the team of her rival Celine Dion, and at the loss of the baby she she was waiting with her young husband Gabriel. The diva also mentioned her late mother, Maria Luisa.
On her Instagram account, Lara Fabian shared with her fans a short sequence of the documentary in which she remembers her beloved mother, Maria Luisa Serio, who died in March 2019 after being ill for a long time, victim of Lewy body dementia (disease combining Parkinson's and Alzheimer's). "I asked her permission to go and I swear to you that she said, yet there were 'ends' where she was there and 'ends' where she was not there, she turned back to me and she said, "Ah, finally my life", because she called me 'my life.' "Finally my life, you're going to go back to a place where people have their arms wide open wide." "So I packed my bags, and left, with her approval", she remembered, her voice knotted with emotion and tears at the edge of her eyes.
Lara Fabian, who dedicated a poignant song to her mother called “L’oblivion”, commented on its publication with a nice message: "And your blessing will have allowed me to return home ... I love you Mom." The diva, who lived in Belgium, land of her parents, has returned to Quebec a few years ago after having lived there for a very long time. The interpreter of Je t'aime spends peaceful days there with her husband Gabriel di Gorgio and her daughter Lou (12 years old).
Lara Fabian, who is due to resume her 50 World Tour and become director of the Star Academy in Quebec, today watches over his father Pierre, also ill .
-----------------------------
The third aspect that got publicized was Lara’s miscarriage (https://www.aufeminin.com/grossesse/lara-fabian-revele-avoir-fait-une-fausse-couche-s4018360.html):
-----------------------------------
Lara Fabian reveals she had a miscarriage
In the documentary “Lara”, broadcast in Quebec this Thursday, October 15, the singer was revealed more than ever. She says she miscarried at the age of 47.
An ordeal that affects nearly 200,000 women each year in France. In 2017, Lara Fabian reveals having miscarried at 47 years old. A suffering that she wished to share in the eponymous documentary “Lara”, directed by Jean-François Fontaine, broadcast this Thursday, October 15 on the Canadian channel Club Illico.
"My baby had no heart"
The singer goes back to this terrible day of March 22, 2017. That day, she attends the commemorations of the Brussels attacks which took place 12 months previously. She learns that she is then expecting a child, but a few hours later, her world collapses: " My baby had no heart" , says the singer.
Despite everything, Lara Fabian managed to overcome this painful ordeal supported by her husband Gabriel di Giorgio and her 13-year-old daughter Lou, born from her previous relationship with director Gérard Pullicino.
--------------------------------------
With respect to this last story, the “Lara Fabian Coeur de Lumiere” FB site published the following photo from the Journal of Montreal, dated originally 10/24/20
www.facebook.com/larafabiancoeurdelumiere/photos/a.271448360159464/706219890015640/
Here’s the translation:
--------------------------------------
It served me as an outlet
A painful river hides behind the song Par Amour.
“Like many of my resilient love songs,” Lara Fabian says, “it was born out of a great shock, the umpteenth betrayal in my life. I can't say enough about it, but I can say that it served as an outlet for what I was passing through at that time, a few years ago. "
"I received the mp3 of Moh Denebi's melody from What's App, I sat down with my phone and wrote the song with my hands raised in less than three minutes, as if my emotion dictated the text, no more no less”, she adds.
The audience's reaction, says the singer was as strong as for the song “J’y crois encore”. ‘Par amour’ gives hope and courage. It also gives the possibility of washing away one's pain through the words that are expressed."
---------------------------------
We now know what that was…Lara said it was a gift she wanted to give to her husband Gabriel, but that it was not meant to be.
Undeniably, this documentary has brought Lara to prominence once again in French speaking countries.
In association with the an article about the documentary last week in “7 Jours”, the same journal had an additional article discussing Lara and the Star Academy (https://www.7jours.ca/2020/10/21/lara-fabian-revele-quel-genre-de-directrice-elle-sera-a-star-academie?fbclid=IwAR2vuq5jD5zFWmKmkpYLNBt5kVz8UFozQQnkbhJsfiLwHGaWU3xDe63ZZ2A):
--------------------------
Lara Fabian reveals what kind of director she will be at "Star Académie"
“I will not 'direct' the academicians; I will accompany them, with kindness, empathy, and even a little maternal side. An artist is first and foremost a human being. And my strength is to open my ears and my heart to these young people in full quest of their artistic identity. The idea of putting my 30 years of experience at the service of academics delights me. I will share my baggage with them so that they can take a journey deep within themselves, discover what makes them vibrate, the reason why they love to sing so much. "
Lara Fabian kept her participation in Star Académie a secret for several weeks. “Only my husband and my daughter knew about it, and I warned them not to tell anyone. I hadn't even told my best friends about it. Moreover, when the news came out, I saw many messages appear on my iPhone! Many relatives simply couldn't believe that I didn't say a word to them! (laughs)."
-------------------------------------------
BTW, a correction from last week's News Update: of the 3 new 50 World Tour dates added last week to Lara's schedule, only the first two, Annecy and Lille, are in France, with Charleroi being in Belgium.
Interesting photo(s) of the week: posted by the Lara Fabian est ton autre FB site (from the 7 Jours article):
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/photos/a.646180015435666/3360206817366292/
And superimposed on segments of the video from the Lara documentary, "L’universe de Lara Fabian" has placed an audio mix of Lara singing “Silence” in both French and English, from her albums in 1983 and 1984; it's available at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i6-OycMW2Q
Also, again in video mode, the ‘Lara Fabian Multimedia’ youtube channel has added some 11 digitally enhanced versions of Lara’s videos in the last week. They are really well done, and the available videos can be accessed at
www.youtube.com/user/larafabiannewsbr/videos
After a lapse of some 5 years between such efforts, they have now re-done 35 of these videos in the last month - they deserve a lot of thanks!
Outside of possibly answering further questions about the documentary and her reveal about having suffered a “Me too” experience, Lara’s coming week will probably involve Star Academy business, potential work on her coming “Lockdown sessions” album, and of course her home life. In the documentary, Lara indicates that this 50 World Tour may well be her last of such great extent, indicating she would likely “do a few concerts a year, from 10-15 days, 7 or 8 great cities” that she loves. At the age of 50 she no longer feels “as much urgency” to be loved as when she was young and “imprisoned by insecurities”. We should thus expect Lara to become more of a home-body; fortunately, Quebec seems to offer many opportunities for her to display her craft, as multi-variate as it is now becoming.
David
www.youtube.com/watch?v=neD8MPL7qMI
Lara herself continued discussing the documentary with the press this past week. In particular, she gave an interview to Ici Ottawa Gatineau, on Radio Canada, available at
www.facebook.com/iciottawagatineau/videos/2683152325232038/
Several subjects were targeted, including the general issue of security, but the most sensitive aspect discussed were Lara’s comments with regard to the “Me too” movement, of which she said, “"I lived it and I pressed the stop button. And it was hard. Because there were consequences, simply. Big consequences" (without going into further detail). Lara addressed some of the more unfortunate aspects of the ‘business’ in the documentary, but had not included this one. Fans writing in in response naturally were sympathetic.
Further in response to this revelation, there were articles in the press. For example: (https://fr.news.yahoo.com/lara-fabian-victime-harc%C3%A8lement-sexuel-150554113.html), translated below:
----------------------------------------
Lara Fabian victim of sexual harassment: she comes out of silence
Lara Fabian has decided to give up with an open heart. On the occasion of a new documentary dedicated to her, the former coach of The Voice agreed to grant an intimate interview to our colleagues from ICI Radio-Canada . The singer, usually very modest when it comes to talking about her private life, this time agreed to make some personal confidences. While being questioned about the #MeToo movement , Lou's mother revealed that she too had suffered inappropriate behavior from a man: "I experienced it, very closely . And I never spoke about it, not even in the documentary ", she confided in the preamble.
While she had never spoken of it before, Lara Fabian agreed to come out of the silence and share her personal experience: "I believe that there is, as a woman, sometimes a price that one is ready to pay in the name of certain dreams. But when we are about to pay this price, we cannot imagine the extent of the pain. I have experienced it and I pressed the stop button" , she explained. Maurane's friend specified that she understood the women who remained walled in silence after such acts: "It was hard. There were consequences, simply. Big consequences," she said, without giving more details.
The interpreter of “Je t’aime” also affirmed that she had, for her part, preferred to give up certain professional successes rather than to give in to the blackmail of this man: For me, the consequence to the place of who I am as a woman would have been much more serious than not being able to accomplish certain things (...) Today, I am able to tell myself that I did not enter this omerta , I did not not accept, I denounced it in front of the person himself, "she told ICI Radio-Canada, relieved that fear is now changing sides . And to conclude: "My only power at that time was to say no."
------------------------------------
And also from pure people (https://www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-rejoint-metoo-je-l-ai-vecu-ca-a-ete-dur-revelations-inattendues_a409571/1)
----------------------------------------
Lara Fabian joins #MeToo: "I lived it, it was hard ...", unexpected revelations
Three years after the global turning point that the #MeToo movement has taken, singer Lara Fabian is coming out of silence. Interviewed on the sidelines of a documentary dedicated to him in Quebec, the star revealed to have also been the victim at least once of inappropriate behavior on the part of a man. She had never mentioned it before.
In the wake of the Weinstein affair, the #MeToo movement has had an echo around the world. Women victims of assault or sexual harassment have spoken publicly. Denunciations that affected the world of cinema as well as that of music. Singer Lara Fabian has just joined her voice to the movement by making revelations.
The 50-year-old star, who makes the news in Quebec - where she settled with her husband Gabriel and her daughter Lou - thanks to a new documentary dedicated to her on Club Illico, was interviewed on the sidelines of this program. With the journalist Kevin Sweet, for Ici Radio-Canada, Lara Fabian evoked several subjects and, in particular, the #MeToo movement which shook Quebec . " I experienced it, very closely ... I never spoke about it, never. Even in the documentary. I believe that there is, as a woman, sometimes, a price that we are ready to pay in the name of certain dreams (...) I lived it and I pressed the stop button. And it was hard. Simply because there were consequences. Big consequences", first told the interpreter of the hits Je t’aime , Immortelle , Tout or Tu es mon autre.
Lara Fabian continued her unexpected confidences by affirming that she preferred to ignore certain successes rather than give in to blackmail. "For me, the consequence for who I am as a woman would have been much more serious than not being able to accomplish certain things. Today, I am able to tell myself that I did not return to this omerta, I did not accept it, I denounced it in front of the person himself", she added, specifying that she is aware that fear has now finally emerged from the side and that women are less anxious than in the past to go "shouting from the rooftops" what may have happened in an office or in a "meeting".
The singer, who did not give more details on what she suffered during her career, also welcomed that, from now on, women victims of inappropriate behavior are no longer treated as "crazy" when they speak up.
-----------------------------------------------------
Had this actually appeared in the documentary, it would likely have swamped all other aspects of the show (and perhaps led to a more acute investigation by the host of whom Lara was referring to…).
As it was, the press did pick up on several of the more sensational aspects that did appear in the documentary, those which were mentioned in last week’s News Update. The item most referred to involved Lara’s comments about Celine Dion, especially in France and Belgium. There were many such publications in France to trumpet it; choosing just two, there was, for example, first
fr.finance.yahoo.com/actualites/lara-fabian-c%C3%A9line-dion-t-185814467.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFP8yipiJROPxAspqtRzLwfHaCEs5xqper2p3ctg5YFG4_nAo8aSTB1LmvFFMVXbGbT9x1-EuZu_J5Qp3_Hnu7I8jowKbvtt45O9GRxUquaaaPir4ADFVxDp7ApRyK6mDrW9ZGQ1xbW5h_s1MCaG0erC3fWmNOlxtd8eNvIn4eJe
Here's the translation:
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Lara Fabian accuses Celine Dion of sabotaging her career
In a documentary broadcast in Quebec on the occasion of her 50th birthday, Lara Fabian confides in the failure of her career in the United States orchestrated by Celine Dion's team.
America, Lara Fabian wanted to have it, but she didn't! The fault is bad luck or rather Celine Dion. In a documentary broadcast on Club illico in Quebec on the occasion of her 50th birthday , the interpreter of the cult title “Je t'aime” confided in her failure across the Atlantic. For both singers, their respective careers have long followed. While Celine Dion seizes the USA in 2000 with the soundtrack of the film Titanic, her colleague is already a real star in Europe at the same time and hopes to conquer the country of Uncle Sam. But it was without counting on the team that surrounds the mother of René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy.
If Lou's mother has always praised the talent of the internationally renowned artist, she nevertheless felt that those around her prevented her from being recognized in North America. Both having signed in the record company Sony Music, their teams "elbow to ensure that everything remains in its place", declared the Belgian-Canadian who considers that these are "the rules of the game".
"Celine Dion's team played hard" against Lara Fabian
Thus, the latter was forced to change record company, but also her professional entourage: "No one knew what I was: the pseudo dance singer à la Cher, who sang 'I Will Love Again', or the emotional and dramatic girl in 'Adagio' ". "She was parachuted to another record company, surrounded by strangers who wanted to turn her into a pseudo dance diva ," reports the Journal de Montréal .
"Reading between the lines, we understand that behind the scenes, the Celine Dion clan, who was also under contract with Sony Music, did not remain quiet in her corner. To protect her achievements and prevent another singer from voice from attacking the same market, Celine Dion's team played hard, very hard " , she tells our Canadian colleagues. In an interview with TV Grandes Chains, the companion of Gabriel Di Giorgio lamented: "The media used that to make me suffer".
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And then (https://www.public.fr/News/Lara-Fabian-ses-revelations-sur-sa-descente-aux-enfers-orchestree-par-Celine-Dion-1656149):
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Lara Fabian: her revelations on her descent into hell orchestrated by Celine Dion
Lara Fabian is convinced to have found why she had never succeeded in breaking through the Atlantic. According to her, her failure would be Celine Dion's fault.
Lara Fabian has made a success of her life. The Belgian-Canadian singer has released around fifteen studio albums since the start of her career and her career is acclaimed in French-speaking countries. But there is one country that the songwriter has never managed to conquer: the United States. And according to her, the reason is quite simple: Celine Dion's team did everything to prevent it ... In a documentary broadcast on the Quebec channel Club illico , the interpreter of the hit "Je t'aime" confided that Celine Dion's staff had done everything to prevent Lara from breaking through in order to avoid competition. "Good player", Lara Fabian wanted to clarify: "These are the rules of the game".
It all happened at the end of the 90s. At the time, Celine Dion became a real star in the United States thanks to My Heart Will Go On, her title which became cult in the blockbuster Titanic. On the strength of her success in Europe, Lara Fabian also tried to impose herself on the American music market, but their respective teams "elbowed to keep everything in its place". Lara Fabian and Celine Dion were however part of the same record company, Sony Music. But the stakes were too high to give herself gifts… Lara Fabian therefore made a major decision: to change labels. But nothing happened as she imagined:“No one knew what I was anymore: the pseudo dance singer à la Cher singing 'I Will Love Again', or the emotional and dramatic girl in 'Adagio',” she explained.
The singer still ended up accepting the situation. What does she regret? That some have used this information to invent a rivalry between themselves: "How could someone who was inspiring to me have made me suffer?", she had dropped, annoyed, in the columns of Télé 2 Weeks at the beginning of the year.
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[In this second article, Lara is listed as making the choice to switch to another label (within Sony music), while in the first and more generally it was reported that it was done to her].
And then here's one from Belgium (https://www.sudinfo.be/id267806/article/2020-10-20/lara-fabian-comment-lequipe-de-celine-dion-t-elle-sabote-sa-carriere-aux-usa):
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Lara Fabian: how did Celine Dion's team sabotage her career in the USA?
Since October 15, the Canadian streaming platform Club Illico has been offering a documentary dedicated to the interpreter of "Je t’aime", in which she talks about her joys, her sorrows and her sometimes tormented career.
To celebrate her 50th birthday, Lara Fabian kicked off a world tour called “50 World Tour”. Problem: the many dates of this tour covered the year 2020 ... turned upside down by the coronavirus crisis. The singer was therefore unfortunately unable to find her international audience, so dear to her heart. Because needless to say that Lara is a global artist, having sold millions of records around the world. However, there is one country in which she has never really been able to break into, namely the United States. The Journal de Montreal thus returned to this failed American dream, following the broadcast of a documentary entitled "Lara", in which she confides without filter.
In its columns, the Quebec media points to the Celine Dion team, at the origin of this failure. In 1999, Lara Fabian released her first album in English for the American market. Her single "I Will Love Again" ranks 32nd on the Billboard (the "Top 50" made in USA). But the success is not really there. “The Celine Dion clan, which was also under contract with Sony Music, did not remain quiet in its corner." It must be said that the singer with Belgian-Canadian voice appeared very clearly as a rival of Céline, then at the height of her glory in the United States, in particular thanks to the soundtrack of the film" Titanic". Lara was thus "parachuted towards another record company, surrounded by strangers who wanted to transform her into a pseudo dance diva".
The interpreter of “Tout” had already expressed herself on this subject in an interview for Radio-Canada in 2015: “I was redirected to Europe […] It is due to a problem of concordance of house of discs. We changed houses, actually. Quite simply, I went from one label to another […] And from there, there was no more consistency. "
In the docu "Lara", the singer looks back on these years spent in the United States and this lack of coherence in terms of image: "No one knew what I was: the pseudo dance singer à la Cher, who sang 'I Will Love Again', or the emotional and dramatic girl in 'Adagio' “.
Carried from labels to labels because of Celine Dion's team, Lara Fabian is not bitter today. In a virtual press conference, she explains that “it was the rules of the game”. Last January, she denied any rivalry with Celine Dion, in an interview for TV Grandes Chains. " How could someone who was inspiring to me have made me suffer?" The media used that to make me suffer, ” she said of her alleged lifelong rival, whom she had faced at Eurovision in 1988 (Lara had finished fourth; Celine, first).
A documentary soon to be broadcast on RTL
Le Journal de Montréal announces that the documentary "Lara", available in Canada on the Club Illico platform, will be broadcast soon on RTL, at home. The artist reveals in particular to have had a miscarriage at the age of 47 years. She also returns to the scam of which she was the victim on her previous tour in Romania, scammed by a producer "in default of payment", as she had revealed on Facebook last February.
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Lara actually discussed this issue in two separate parts of the documentary, and they were put together by the various publications (under the rubric “reading between the lines”). The first was in the first section of the show, the “U.S.” portion, where she noted that Sony didn’t want two similar singers as part of their stable and so Lara was exiled to another company; and the second was in the “France” section, where Lara says that there was never a competition between her and Celine, just that “their teams elbowed one another to make sure everything stayed in its place” - that this is “the name of the game”. Putting those two segments together led to the complete story listed above. Given that ‘construction’, it is unclear whether Lara realized it would make such a big splash, especially since she went out of her way to say there was no personal competition, and that Celine was such an inspiration to her. It will not be remembered that way
. Then there was Lara’s discussion of her mother’s death, included in the following more general article (https://www.archyde.com/she-bursts-into-tears-talking-about-her-mothers-death/):
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In a documentary dedicated to the singer, Lara Fabian looks back on the death of her mother. She lost her a year ago after a long illness. The former coach of The Voice paid her a final tribute.
Quebec television is devoting a documentary to her. Lara Fabian has indeed spent her time in Canada since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. The singer will not participate in the next season of The Voice. She warned her fans on her Instagram account last August.
“Unfortunately, this year I will not be able to be part of the coaches and find my red chair, the health situation being particularly cloudy and unpredictable, I made the decision to stay in Quebec so as not to endanger the shootings if the situation we are going through worsens and prevent me to meet my commitments ”, she announced to her followers on Monday, August 24, 2020.
Lara Fabian “wish Amel Bent, Marc Lavoine, Florent Pagny and Vianney a good season ”
Obviously, the ex-coach greeted her former team-mates: “I wish a good season to Amel Bent, Marc Lavoine, Florent Pagny and Vianney, who will be together a sublime quartet to discover the talents of tomorrow, and I will look with pleasure at those who will present themselves to us for the 10th season”.
Among the projects to which the beautiful blonde has devoted herself, there is this documentary for the Quebec video on demand service “Club Illico”. During this film directed by Jean-Philippe Dion, Lara Fabian explains how much her parents counted in her career. Her daddy, a chimney sweep by trade, used all his savings so that his daughter could break into the song business.
As for her mom, she simply meant everything to her. Maria Luisa Serio was her name, and she passed away in March 2019. She suffered from Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease whose symptoms are similar to those of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“I asked her permission to go away”.
The diva agreed to tell the story of the day she lost her mom. With tears in her eyes, she confided: “I asked her permission to go away and I swear to you that she said, yet there were parts where she was there and parts where she was not, there she turned to me and said: "Ah, finally my life", because she called me ‘my life’, "Finally my life, you are going to go back to a place where people have their arms wide open."
In this intimate documentary 'Lara', her fans will also be able to discover the former looks of the singer. It’s worth the detour!
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Another about her mother (https://www.purepeople.com/article/lara-fabian-emue-aux-larmes-ce-souvenir-poignant-avec-sa-defunte-maman_a408719/1):
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Lara Fabian moved to tears: this poignant memory with her late mother ...
In March 2019, singer Lara Fabian announced the death of her beloved mother, Luisa. The star opens up about her relationship with her mother in a documentary dedicated to her and, with tears in her eyes, she told an anecdote she will never forget.
Now is the time for confidences. The Quebec channel Club illico dedicates a documentary to Lara Fabian in which the popular 50-year-old singer opens up frankly, not obscuring any subject of her American career torpedoed by the team of her rival Celine Dion, and at the loss of the baby she she was waiting with her young husband Gabriel. The diva also mentioned her late mother, Maria Luisa.
On her Instagram account, Lara Fabian shared with her fans a short sequence of the documentary in which she remembers her beloved mother, Maria Luisa Serio, who died in March 2019 after being ill for a long time, victim of Lewy body dementia (disease combining Parkinson's and Alzheimer's). "I asked her permission to go and I swear to you that she said, yet there were 'ends' where she was there and 'ends' where she was not there, she turned back to me and she said, "Ah, finally my life", because she called me 'my life.' "Finally my life, you're going to go back to a place where people have their arms wide open wide." "So I packed my bags, and left, with her approval", she remembered, her voice knotted with emotion and tears at the edge of her eyes.
Lara Fabian, who dedicated a poignant song to her mother called “L’oblivion”, commented on its publication with a nice message: "And your blessing will have allowed me to return home ... I love you Mom." The diva, who lived in Belgium, land of her parents, has returned to Quebec a few years ago after having lived there for a very long time. The interpreter of Je t'aime spends peaceful days there with her husband Gabriel di Gorgio and her daughter Lou (12 years old).
Lara Fabian, who is due to resume her 50 World Tour and become director of the Star Academy in Quebec, today watches over his father Pierre, also ill .
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The third aspect that got publicized was Lara’s miscarriage (https://www.aufeminin.com/grossesse/lara-fabian-revele-avoir-fait-une-fausse-couche-s4018360.html):
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Lara Fabian reveals she had a miscarriage
In the documentary “Lara”, broadcast in Quebec this Thursday, October 15, the singer was revealed more than ever. She says she miscarried at the age of 47.
An ordeal that affects nearly 200,000 women each year in France. In 2017, Lara Fabian reveals having miscarried at 47 years old. A suffering that she wished to share in the eponymous documentary “Lara”, directed by Jean-François Fontaine, broadcast this Thursday, October 15 on the Canadian channel Club Illico.
"My baby had no heart"
The singer goes back to this terrible day of March 22, 2017. That day, she attends the commemorations of the Brussels attacks which took place 12 months previously. She learns that she is then expecting a child, but a few hours later, her world collapses: " My baby had no heart" , says the singer.
Despite everything, Lara Fabian managed to overcome this painful ordeal supported by her husband Gabriel di Giorgio and her 13-year-old daughter Lou, born from her previous relationship with director Gérard Pullicino.
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With respect to this last story, the “Lara Fabian Coeur de Lumiere” FB site published the following photo from the Journal of Montreal, dated originally 10/24/20
www.facebook.com/larafabiancoeurdelumiere/photos/a.271448360159464/706219890015640/
Here’s the translation:
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It served me as an outlet
A painful river hides behind the song Par Amour.
“Like many of my resilient love songs,” Lara Fabian says, “it was born out of a great shock, the umpteenth betrayal in my life. I can't say enough about it, but I can say that it served as an outlet for what I was passing through at that time, a few years ago. "
"I received the mp3 of Moh Denebi's melody from What's App, I sat down with my phone and wrote the song with my hands raised in less than three minutes, as if my emotion dictated the text, no more no less”, she adds.
The audience's reaction, says the singer was as strong as for the song “J’y crois encore”. ‘Par amour’ gives hope and courage. It also gives the possibility of washing away one's pain through the words that are expressed."
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We now know what that was…Lara said it was a gift she wanted to give to her husband Gabriel, but that it was not meant to be.
Undeniably, this documentary has brought Lara to prominence once again in French speaking countries.
In association with the an article about the documentary last week in “7 Jours”, the same journal had an additional article discussing Lara and the Star Academy (https://www.7jours.ca/2020/10/21/lara-fabian-revele-quel-genre-de-directrice-elle-sera-a-star-academie?fbclid=IwAR2vuq5jD5zFWmKmkpYLNBt5kVz8UFozQQnkbhJsfiLwHGaWU3xDe63ZZ2A):
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Lara Fabian reveals what kind of director she will be at "Star Académie"
“I will not 'direct' the academicians; I will accompany them, with kindness, empathy, and even a little maternal side. An artist is first and foremost a human being. And my strength is to open my ears and my heart to these young people in full quest of their artistic identity. The idea of putting my 30 years of experience at the service of academics delights me. I will share my baggage with them so that they can take a journey deep within themselves, discover what makes them vibrate, the reason why they love to sing so much. "
Lara Fabian kept her participation in Star Académie a secret for several weeks. “Only my husband and my daughter knew about it, and I warned them not to tell anyone. I hadn't even told my best friends about it. Moreover, when the news came out, I saw many messages appear on my iPhone! Many relatives simply couldn't believe that I didn't say a word to them! (laughs)."
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BTW, a correction from last week's News Update: of the 3 new 50 World Tour dates added last week to Lara's schedule, only the first two, Annecy and Lille, are in France, with Charleroi being in Belgium.
Interesting photo(s) of the week: posted by the Lara Fabian est ton autre FB site (from the 7 Jours article):
www.facebook.com/larafabiantonautre/photos/a.646180015435666/3360206817366292/
And superimposed on segments of the video from the Lara documentary, "L’universe de Lara Fabian" has placed an audio mix of Lara singing “Silence” in both French and English, from her albums in 1983 and 1984; it's available at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i6-OycMW2Q
Also, again in video mode, the ‘Lara Fabian Multimedia’ youtube channel has added some 11 digitally enhanced versions of Lara’s videos in the last week. They are really well done, and the available videos can be accessed at
www.youtube.com/user/larafabiannewsbr/videos
After a lapse of some 5 years between such efforts, they have now re-done 35 of these videos in the last month - they deserve a lot of thanks!
Outside of possibly answering further questions about the documentary and her reveal about having suffered a “Me too” experience, Lara’s coming week will probably involve Star Academy business, potential work on her coming “Lockdown sessions” album, and of course her home life. In the documentary, Lara indicates that this 50 World Tour may well be her last of such great extent, indicating she would likely “do a few concerts a year, from 10-15 days, 7 or 8 great cities” that she loves. At the age of 50 she no longer feels “as much urgency” to be loved as when she was young and “imprisoned by insecurities”. We should thus expect Lara to become more of a home-body; fortunately, Quebec seems to offer many opportunities for her to display her craft, as multi-variate as it is now becoming.
David
