Post by davidhr on Dec 29, 2020 8:18:18 GMT -5
In this holiday week that’s light on news, Lara's Facebook site provided a “thank you” video to those who have helped support the Leski Foundation, which offers support animals to people in need, and combined it with happy holiday greetings. The video can be seen at
www.facebook.com/Fondation.leski/videos/143612010866378
with the accompanying caption, “At the end of the year we would like to thank you for your great generosity without which the foundation could not exist.
We join Lara, Gabriel and Kayla in wishing you Happy Holidays!
fondationleski.com
Lara Fabian”
The documentary “Lara” played on RTL TV in Belgium. The fan response was highly positive, as expected, but many were also disconcerted at the ‘meanness’ that Lara had encountered in her career – something even Lara’s daughter Lou hadn’t appreciated. Several commented that she should “move past it”, which Lara has often said she’s been making progress at doing. It has still not been shown in France, and a number of people wrote in asking why...
Lara’s new album the Lockdown Sessions has now been out for more than a week. It’s too early for any appearance of this album on the charts, if indeed that happens at all, given its “non-commercial” vendor, only on her website. There are still no obvious ‘formal’ reviews in publications (that I’ve seen), and as time goes by, they become less likely. Hopefully Lara will not conclude that it’s not successful – it is a high quality production that likely fulfills Lara’s desires, and which can be appreciated in its own right.
We close with the year in review. Happy New Year everyone, and may 2021 be better than 2020 – a very low bar, to be sure, but one we still have to get over.
Lara’s Year in Review 2020
“At the end of our “Year in Review 2019”, we included the following statement:
“We also speculated that might then lead her to "a more reduced touring schedule, and less emphasis on record sales, while more on ‘transmitting her knowledge’ (while still continuing her music)”. That is certainly still a possibility, perhaps one we’re now closer to. But it won’t happen in 2020 when the 50 World Tour will continue (with Lara celebrating her 50th birthday on stage in Brussels), and Lara says she has another project to complete.”
So much for prognostication: 2020 obviously did move Lara closer to reduced touring, although not voluntarily. However, in this ‘year like no other’, Lara did manage to continue with her career, and so despite its challenges, there is much to report in the year in review. Here are the major points, organized chronologically:
JANUARY: Lara started off the year wishing fans “health and happiness”, without any appreciation of how important those sentiments would turn out to be. Her concerts were still continuing in France and Belgium, with the latter featuring her wonderful 50th birthday celebration on stage (as covered in the documentary ‘Lara’ released later in the year). This ‘birthday bash’ would rank as the first (i.e., #1) positive highlight of the year [personal choices, obviously]. A nice review of it was published in the Cine Tele Review, and emphasized Lara’s moving tribute to her parents. [See the News Update for 1/14].
At her French concerts, Lara arranged “duets” based on videos sent in to her using the ”smule” website. These were often high points in the evening, especially when the local person singing the duet with Lara was known by the audience. And they were often surprisingly good.
This month also featured the broadcast of the first program of “The Voice – la plus belle voix”. It served to re-introduce Lara to the French public, and in that it was quite successful. Lara was featured in many publications and TV shows. While appreciation for what she did on the show wasn’t universal, overall people admired her enthusiasm and empathy. Her being a judge on the show as a whole then ranks as highlight #2.
FEBRUARY: Bad news struck this month (although in comparison to what happened later, it now seems somewhat trivial): Lara’s concerts in Greece and Bucharest were cancelled at the beginning of the month. It turned out that the promoter handling these concerts was not turning over the money he collected to Lara and her people, so she couldn’t afford to carry on. After ignoring irregularities in his actions for quite some time, it reached the breaking point, and Lara said she had to go to court.
This didn’t affect her French concerts, which continued, in particular her show in Paris. A highlight of the month concerning this concert was Lara’s interview (ironically) by the 'journal de quebec' [covered in the News Update of 2/11]. In addition to the concert itself, the journalist was privy to Lara’s whole day, and provided more details about the problems with the cancelled concerts. This is then highlight #3.
So the problems with venues in Eastern Europe did not derail her tour; in fact Lara opened up a show selling items from the 50 World Tour (www.larafabian.shop) [and one can seemingly still buy them there].
Meanwhile, the pre-recorded programs for The Voice continued, with Lara seeming to enjoy her participation and the attention it brought her in France. She did get some criticism for switching into a Quebec accent when trying to lure Quebec candidates to her team (Margau in particular). Lara has often said she’s a natural mimic, and doesn’t do this intentionally; however, the utilitarian (and often successful) nature of the approach meant that the critics – including the other judges – weren’t mollified.
In association with her being on The Voice, a nice program about her “L’aura de Lara” aired on on the show TéléMatin on France2, reviewing Lara’s career. She said what kept her going was her passion for that career. Lara wasn’t completely absent from Quebec TV either; she was the guest of the show “1ere fois” where she was presented with various “firsts”, including an old friend who had helped her, and whom she “just knew no one would be able to find” [covered in the News Update of 2/18].
Lara also introduced the fact that there would be a re-edition of Papillon (s), with three new songs, and one of them, “C’est la heure” was released at the beginning of March as a promo in anticipation of a full album release later that month. As it turned out, that release was months away.
MARCH: Lara appeared again on French TV shows, but did not leave Quebec completely behind; in the beginning of the month, she was on three mornings in a row on “Deux filles le matin”, on TVA. As if more proof was needed, this once again showed that Lara could have a career as a ‘TV personality’.
And then – in the middle of this month – live events came to a grinding halt. There were already concerns about Lara’s shows in eastern Europe/Asia due to the problems with the promoter, but then, at this point, all her 50 World Tour concerts, including the ones scheduled for France, were postponed due to the spreading Corona virus. (In France, there were bans on gatherings of more than 1000 people, which would have affected a number of these dates). The shows were all postponed, optimistically, to September. In addition, her concerts scheduled for April in Quebec were postponed, again optimistically, ‘til June.
'The Voice' continued on TV, as it had been prerecorded months earlier. A highlight was a trio of Lara’s contestants (Cheyenne, Maria and Amaury), in the battle section, singing “You Raise Me Up”. It was so good that Lara was allowed to keep two of the contestants (though all three were excellent).
Later in the month, as the seriousness of the virus began becoming clear, Lara tried to raise the spirits of her fans, with various on-line posts. One such attempt involved singing a portion of Celine Dion’s “Courage”; another involved sharing the video from her own “Par Amour”. She also announced a new project that fans could participate in – she had written a song called ““Nos cœurs à la fenêtre", and she asked fans to send in videos showing them applauding caregivers, at their windows. She would then use some of them in her video. Lara would repeat such spirited interactions with her fans throughout the year, in one form or another.
APRIL: Lara postponed the release of Papillon (s), further evidence of the havoc in the entertainment industry that the virus was starting to wreak. However, on the positive side, Lara released the video of her new song “““Nos cœurs à la fenêtre", and it was an absolute masterpiece – hence highlight #4 of the year. It included videos of both fans and celebrities (Eva Longoria, Veronic Dicaire, etc.), all paying homage to caregivers who were risking their lives dealing with victims of the pandemic.
This was one of two videos Lara produced this month. Together with the Riverin Sisters, her Quebec backup chorus on her tour, she produced a video of the song “Don’t Worry About Me”. Another winner, this would be highlight #5.
Lara continued getting media appearances on French TV, a wonderful one this month was as the subject of the program “50 min inside" [the video and discussion are available on the News Update of 4/7]. Lara was also in the media in Quebec, e.g., the radio show ““Deux filles en quarantaine”; she was actually in Quebec, where restrictions on travel were coming into effect.
'The Voice' continued with its pre-recorded shows, and Lara ran into some more controversy when she dropped Margau, a seeming “star in the making” in favor of a blind contestant, Maria – who Lara said reminded her of her mother. Margau would not go quietly, and implied she regretted joining Lara’s team; even though they seemed to subsequently reconcile, their interaction will likely not be at an end since Margau is also from Quebec. Lara’s three candidates for the live action semi-finals were thus Cheyenne (best voice), Gustine (most creative) and Maria.
MAY: Lara received credit for her video honoring health care workers in various publications this month, e.g., articles in ‘Allo Vedettes’ and long interviews in Tele Magazine and 7 Jours. People were greatly interested in Lara’s getting such quick contributions from the fans and celebrities for its production, an indication of the high regard in which she is held by the community, and the worthiness of the cause.
Meanwhile the pre-recorded shows having ended, 'The Voice' had to suspend its shows, live productions being impossible to hold safely; they were to begin again in modified form in June. Lara’s release of Papillon (s) was also rescheduled for June, and in preparation for that, Lara released a new video of Par amour, which she now reframed as a song of resilience; this would be highlight #6. And one other event that was postponed was a documentary about her called “Lara”; it would not see the light of day until the fall.
An oddity during the month occurred on a benefit program in Quebec, “Une Chance qu'on s'a", a tribute to some of the Quebecers swept away by the COVID-19. It included both Lara and Celine Dion (along with many other stars), one of the rare times they have appeared on the same show together.
JUNE: Papillon (s) was released this month (highlight #7), with, as noted, three new songs, and it actually did fairly well on the charts in the beginning in both Europe and Quebec, due likely to the publicity Lara had been getting. She also did numerous TV and press interviews in support of it (with a nice interview for hotmix radio that came out in July – see the News Update for 7/7). The translations of the lyrics for the three additional songs can be found in the News Update of 4/7.
And “The Voice – la plus belle voix” resumed – but without either a live audience or Lara on set, since she could not come over to France and then back to Quebec without being quarantined, which was unacceptable to her. Therefore she used the Quebec studios of TVA to participate in the show on TV1. She claimed she was fully involved, but it had to hurt her candidates not to have her physically present for them. And of her candidates, the surprise one to advance was Gustine, whose typically ‘eccentric’ performance paid off in getting her to the finals (and though she did not win, she finished with the second most votes). Abi, the candidate from Pascal Obispo was the winner – a smooth performer, though not a great voice [and as a whole, the show did not seem to greatly value vocal ability, despite its name]. As a side project, Gustine and Antoine Delie did a wonderful video of ‘Par amour’ – a highlight of the year (though not Lara’s). [See the discussion of this in the News Update of 6/16].
At the end of the month, Lara participated in the show “Tout le Quebec à l’Unisson”, a national celebration to highlight the indigenous contributions to Quebec history and culture. It was a really big production, (with social distancing and a Zoom children’s chorus) that was broadcast on all the TV channels in the province to emphasize unity in this challenging time. Lara gave a wonderful performance of 'Humana', always perfect for such an event (and hence highlight #8).
And on RTL (radio) in France, Lara had a long interview on the radio version of the Frequenstar show, with Laurent Boyer; it was the 20th anniversary of her initial appearance on the Frequenstar show. It covered her career and many other topics – one of the most extensive radio interviews of the year (highlight #9).
JULY: This month featured a deconfinement for Lara in Quebec, and she found it wasn’t easy to do, which she mentioned in an Instagram video, and also in an interview with 7 Jours. When asked, “What will you never see the same way again?”, she answered “Probably my job, because it will have changed a lot. It will be less easy to travel, and I don't think we will be able to go on tour like we did before.” Nevertheless, she re-scheduled her previously postponed France (and Switzerland) concerts, as well as the bypassed concerts in eastern Europe for September, and the Quebec concerts for December. Again, this would prove overly optimistic.
Notable events of the month included Lara’s appearance on TF1 on Saturday, again on the program “50 min inside” with Nikos Aliagas as host. Called “A Portrait of – Lara Fabian" it reviewed her international career, starting from the present, her appearance on The Voice – la plus belle voix, and the release of Papillon (s), then going through her Italian roots; her time in Montreal; her experience in America including the Christmas Show at Madison Square Garden with Michael Jackson, Beyonce and Whitney Houston among others; her success in Russia; singing with her parents an Italian song on TV; and then her 50th birthday show in Brussels, with her father singing along from the audience on her performance of Take Me Home Country Roads. All in all a wonderfully loving portrait of Lara. This would qualify as highlight #10. She was also on the show Bonsoir Bonsoir where she sang a nice version of “Je t’aime”, which had won a reader’s poll.
AUGUST: As part of her ‘deconfinement routine’ Lara posted a number of videos both in July and August of herself exercising. She felt this improved both her body and spirit after the long bout of act-home inactivity. She urged her fans to do it.
Meanwhile, COVID conditions in France were slowly starting to worsen, but France went ahead with an easing of public restrictions, allowing events with more than 5000 people. While this would seem to allow Lara’s concerts to take place, there were additional restrictions: At many concerts, people would be required to leave a seat free between each group of spectators. Attendees would also be required to wear masks at all times at the venue. The French government was not prohibiting her from coming, as since July 1st, travelers originating from Canada were allowed to travel to France for non-essential travel, for tourist travel - and therefore Lara would certainly be allowed in to give concerts. Since she is also a Belgian citizen, she might well be allowed in regardless, given their common European Union status. However, on returning to Quebec she would have to self-isolate for 14 days. While Lara was still promoting these concerts, and tickets were still being sold (for those shows not already sold out), other performers were pulling out of their shows. Then some 10 days before the concerts were to start, Lara pulled the plug, announcing that one again they had to be postponed, to the spring of 2021.
Another big announcement this month had the same flavor – Lara would no longer be participating in “The Voice – la plus belle voix”. She explained the decision was based on the unpredictability of her availability for the show, given the virus situation, although it was not clear that she had been asked (the replacement judges for both her and Pascal Obispo indicated they had been asked or expected to be on the show for some months now). Regardless, it had served the purpose of re-introducing Lara to the French audience, and Lara did seem to have a good time.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, the situation was also slowly getting worse but it was relatively much better than in France (where riot police were forcing people to wear masks). Yet Quebec had restrictions of no more than 250 people at an event – obviously not a financially viable situation for Lara if that were to be in place in December.
She did have time for a vacation in the Estrie region of southern Quebec as Sicily and Belgium were off limits this summer due to virus restrictions. Lara said a number of times that one of the worst aspects of the situation was not being able to see and help her father, although he seemed to be getting along well, with people there to aid him.
SEPTEMBER: While no longer on “The Voice” in France, Lara did schedule a return to the franchise as a guest on “La Voix” in Quebec, which had had its own postponement from the spring, and was now resuming.
However, the big event, also for TVA, was the announcement that Lara would become the director of the Star Academie, to be shown in Quebec the coming winter. The director would oversee the ‘school’ that aspiring singers would attend and live at, with their activities showing up on the TV screen. Lara said that this activity in effect ‘replaced’ the school that she had been looking forward to establishing in Quebec (although there is another school in France that she had already agreed to help out with, in combination with her singing teacher, Pierre-Yves Duchesne). A full discussion of Lara’s involvement and how it evolved can be found in the News Update of 9/29. This represents highlight #11.
Following the announcement, Lara gave a wonderfully long interview on “La vie est belle” (available on Spotify), covering many topics. One of the best of the year, this is highlight #12.
Meanwhile, not surprisingly, Lara cancelled the concerts in Eastern Europe postponing them to June 2021. And she postponed the Quebec concerts to October 2021.
OCTOBER: Lara announced that the twice postponed concerts in France and Switzerland would now be scheduled for June 2021, and she would be giving her concert that month in Belgrade as well; given the other eastern Europe concerts planned, this would make that a very full month for her. We’ll see if they take place even then!
Lara made her guest appearance on La Voix this month, singing her song “C’est l’heure” along with Garou and two of the candidates. Not only did it help the show, it acted as an advertisement for Lara’s next job with TVA, on the Star Acadamie.
The big event of the of the month, however, was the delayed release of the documentary “Lara”, shown on a private channel in Quebec. The person who hired her for the Star Academie, Jean-Philippe Dion, produced the program, which involved him and his team following her around during the portion of the 50 World Tour that actually took place, in the U.S., Paris and Belgium (for her 50th birthday celebration). Also shown was her trip to Sicily and her life in Quebec. Very honest, it showcased Lara’s joys and problems (including a miscarriage; the problems with the promoter in Eastern Europe; and her decades-long abuse by the French press) in a way that surprised many people – including Lara’s daughter Lou, who appeared before the public in a very notable way (more so than ever before). Although done with some finesse, on the show Lara in effect held Celine Dion’s team responsible for sabotaging her U.S. career – which, as one might imagine, was picked up and run with by the press. It is without a doubt one of the best programs on Lara (and thus highlight #13). It also served to illustrate the great enthusiasm of Lara's audience, and how much she is loved by them. A full discussion of the show can be found in the News Update of 10/20.
Lara was on the show "Ça finit bien la semaine" with Jean-Philippe to discuss the film (among other things), and she said, “his team became a bit like part of the family, visible and invisible when necessary”. The show was not immediately available in Belgium, although that would eventually be resolved, or in France (where it has yet to be seen). They also discussed how this version of the Star Academie would be much kinder to contestants, and less intrusive. .
NOVEMBER: Lara’s involvement with the Star Academie deepened this month, as she acted as ‘tour guide’, introducing the TV audience to the new building exterior (and surrounding land) that would house the venture, the ‘Manoir Maplewood’, in Waterloo, Quebec ( it’s big - area of 1580 m²). Auditions were held for the show during the month, though Lara did not seem to be directly involved.
She spent time during the month amplifying and responding to questions concerning the “Lara” documentary, which received plenty of attention, even in the press of countries who had not necessarily seen it.
DECEMBER: The big event this month was Lara’s release of a new album, the “Lockdown Sessions”, prepared by her and her family (including Lou singing on three songs) along with Moh Denebi. She emphasized that it was an ‘experimental’ venture, electro-pop with fewer, more mantra-like lyrics, in both English and French. It was nevertheless a full-fledged album, with full instrumentation, and is highlight #14. Unfortunately, it is not being treated as a commercial production, in that there are no reviews available in ‘official’ publications. A full discussion of the album, along with the lyrics (and necessary translations) can be found in the News Update of 12/22
It was also announced this month that Lara had now starting using her URL “larafabian.com”, which was where one could buy this album. It also now features a way to buy tickets for her upcoming shows, as well as advertising Papillon (s). One can also sign up for her newsletter that her team says will offer updates concerning her commercial activities.
Another notable event was Lara participated in the (pre-recorded) Refuge Show, a charity event to provide housing for trouble teenagers, organized by the Refuge des Jeunes de Montreal. She sang several duets and participated more generally (with some attention paid to social distancing).
The documentary “Lara” finally appeared on TV in Belgium, and was recognized for the quality production it is. There is still no timetable for it to be shown in France. If/when it does, one can expect some controversy concerning Lara’s comments on how she was treated in their media.
Finally, once again at the end of this month, as she has at various times throughout the year, Lara made appeals for support of the Laski Foundation, which provides support animals for people in need. Her dog Kayla is one such animal, and has been present for her, with her husband Gabriel, in many visuals. Lara takes her role as spokesperson for this organization seriously, and in addition to the other charitable contributions she made throughout the year, is one that’s obviously as close to her heart as the dog is. This is highlight #15.
In summary: 2020 for Lara, like for many people, was an interrupted year, affecting her 50 World Tour, her appearance on "The Voice – la plus belle voix", and the re-release of Papillon (s). It guaranteed that she would not be on 'The Voice' in the coming year. Regardless of anything else, this year will be remembered for the Corona Virus.
However, she rebounded nicely. Here is the list of the positive highlights of the year:
#1 Birthday Concert in Brussels (January)
#2 Judge/Coach on “The Voice – la plus belle voix” (January)
#3 Interview in Journal de Montreal (February)
#4 The video “Nos coeurs a la fenetre” (April)
#5 The video “Don’t worry about me” (April)
#6 New video for “Par Amour” (May)
#7 Papillon (s) album released (June)
#8 Performance of “Humana” on “Tout le Quebec à l’Unisson” (June)
#9 Frequenstar Interview (June)
#10 Interview “A Portrait of – Lara Fabian" (TF1) (July)
#11 Director of Star Academie (September)
#12 Interview La vie est belle (September)
#13 ‘Lara’ documentary (October)
#14 Release of the “Lockdown Sessions” (December)
#15 Support for the Laski Foundation (throughout the year)
As one can see, it’s a mix of performances, video and album releases, jobs, charity initiatives, and compelling interviews – like any other year. And they were spread throughout the calendar year, in the face of the lockdown restrictions. These “highlights” were every bit as impressive as her outstanding events in other years, despite the obstacles.
As to what next year will bring: a lot, obviously, has to do with the state of the coronavirus. If the vaccinations work, and are sufficiently widespread in Europe and Quebec, Lara’s 50 World Tour will resume to its conclusion, and she’ll have the opportunity to finish the Star Academie show properly – with possibly the potential to do it again next fall. If the corona virus is still rampant through most of 2021, her concerts may have to be postponed yet again (or even cancelled), and her TV show may have unavoidable disruptions.
However, regardless, one thing seems to have changed: the lockdown helped accelerate Lara’s desire to reduce touring and her workload in general (including producing and promoting new CDs), by showing her what more time with her family really feels like. Given that she will be celebrating her 51st birthday this coming January, and no longer really has anything to prove, a more relaxed approach to her career seems to be in the offing. As she herself has said, there will be more attention to ”transmitting her knowledge” as well as providing music in less formal ways. If this really comes to pass, the changes wrought by the virus for her will not go away when it does; Lara’s life and career going forward may have been forever altered. Nevertheless, the greatest highlight of the year is: Lara (and we) got through it!
David
www.facebook.com/Fondation.leski/videos/143612010866378
with the accompanying caption, “At the end of the year we would like to thank you for your great generosity without which the foundation could not exist.
We join Lara, Gabriel and Kayla in wishing you Happy Holidays!
fondationleski.com
Lara Fabian”
The documentary “Lara” played on RTL TV in Belgium. The fan response was highly positive, as expected, but many were also disconcerted at the ‘meanness’ that Lara had encountered in her career – something even Lara’s daughter Lou hadn’t appreciated. Several commented that she should “move past it”, which Lara has often said she’s been making progress at doing. It has still not been shown in France, and a number of people wrote in asking why...
Lara’s new album the Lockdown Sessions has now been out for more than a week. It’s too early for any appearance of this album on the charts, if indeed that happens at all, given its “non-commercial” vendor, only on her website. There are still no obvious ‘formal’ reviews in publications (that I’ve seen), and as time goes by, they become less likely. Hopefully Lara will not conclude that it’s not successful – it is a high quality production that likely fulfills Lara’s desires, and which can be appreciated in its own right.
We close with the year in review. Happy New Year everyone, and may 2021 be better than 2020 – a very low bar, to be sure, but one we still have to get over.
Lara’s Year in Review 2020
“At the end of our “Year in Review 2019”, we included the following statement:
“We also speculated that might then lead her to "a more reduced touring schedule, and less emphasis on record sales, while more on ‘transmitting her knowledge’ (while still continuing her music)”. That is certainly still a possibility, perhaps one we’re now closer to. But it won’t happen in 2020 when the 50 World Tour will continue (with Lara celebrating her 50th birthday on stage in Brussels), and Lara says she has another project to complete.”
So much for prognostication: 2020 obviously did move Lara closer to reduced touring, although not voluntarily. However, in this ‘year like no other’, Lara did manage to continue with her career, and so despite its challenges, there is much to report in the year in review. Here are the major points, organized chronologically:
JANUARY: Lara started off the year wishing fans “health and happiness”, without any appreciation of how important those sentiments would turn out to be. Her concerts were still continuing in France and Belgium, with the latter featuring her wonderful 50th birthday celebration on stage (as covered in the documentary ‘Lara’ released later in the year). This ‘birthday bash’ would rank as the first (i.e., #1) positive highlight of the year [personal choices, obviously]. A nice review of it was published in the Cine Tele Review, and emphasized Lara’s moving tribute to her parents. [See the News Update for 1/14].
At her French concerts, Lara arranged “duets” based on videos sent in to her using the ”smule” website. These were often high points in the evening, especially when the local person singing the duet with Lara was known by the audience. And they were often surprisingly good.
This month also featured the broadcast of the first program of “The Voice – la plus belle voix”. It served to re-introduce Lara to the French public, and in that it was quite successful. Lara was featured in many publications and TV shows. While appreciation for what she did on the show wasn’t universal, overall people admired her enthusiasm and empathy. Her being a judge on the show as a whole then ranks as highlight #2.
FEBRUARY: Bad news struck this month (although in comparison to what happened later, it now seems somewhat trivial): Lara’s concerts in Greece and Bucharest were cancelled at the beginning of the month. It turned out that the promoter handling these concerts was not turning over the money he collected to Lara and her people, so she couldn’t afford to carry on. After ignoring irregularities in his actions for quite some time, it reached the breaking point, and Lara said she had to go to court.
This didn’t affect her French concerts, which continued, in particular her show in Paris. A highlight of the month concerning this concert was Lara’s interview (ironically) by the 'journal de quebec' [covered in the News Update of 2/11]. In addition to the concert itself, the journalist was privy to Lara’s whole day, and provided more details about the problems with the cancelled concerts. This is then highlight #3.
So the problems with venues in Eastern Europe did not derail her tour; in fact Lara opened up a show selling items from the 50 World Tour (www.larafabian.shop) [and one can seemingly still buy them there].
Meanwhile, the pre-recorded programs for The Voice continued, with Lara seeming to enjoy her participation and the attention it brought her in France. She did get some criticism for switching into a Quebec accent when trying to lure Quebec candidates to her team (Margau in particular). Lara has often said she’s a natural mimic, and doesn’t do this intentionally; however, the utilitarian (and often successful) nature of the approach meant that the critics – including the other judges – weren’t mollified.
In association with her being on The Voice, a nice program about her “L’aura de Lara” aired on on the show TéléMatin on France2, reviewing Lara’s career. She said what kept her going was her passion for that career. Lara wasn’t completely absent from Quebec TV either; she was the guest of the show “1ere fois” where she was presented with various “firsts”, including an old friend who had helped her, and whom she “just knew no one would be able to find” [covered in the News Update of 2/18].
Lara also introduced the fact that there would be a re-edition of Papillon (s), with three new songs, and one of them, “C’est la heure” was released at the beginning of March as a promo in anticipation of a full album release later that month. As it turned out, that release was months away.
MARCH: Lara appeared again on French TV shows, but did not leave Quebec completely behind; in the beginning of the month, she was on three mornings in a row on “Deux filles le matin”, on TVA. As if more proof was needed, this once again showed that Lara could have a career as a ‘TV personality’.
And then – in the middle of this month – live events came to a grinding halt. There were already concerns about Lara’s shows in eastern Europe/Asia due to the problems with the promoter, but then, at this point, all her 50 World Tour concerts, including the ones scheduled for France, were postponed due to the spreading Corona virus. (In France, there were bans on gatherings of more than 1000 people, which would have affected a number of these dates). The shows were all postponed, optimistically, to September. In addition, her concerts scheduled for April in Quebec were postponed, again optimistically, ‘til June.
'The Voice' continued on TV, as it had been prerecorded months earlier. A highlight was a trio of Lara’s contestants (Cheyenne, Maria and Amaury), in the battle section, singing “You Raise Me Up”. It was so good that Lara was allowed to keep two of the contestants (though all three were excellent).
Later in the month, as the seriousness of the virus began becoming clear, Lara tried to raise the spirits of her fans, with various on-line posts. One such attempt involved singing a portion of Celine Dion’s “Courage”; another involved sharing the video from her own “Par Amour”. She also announced a new project that fans could participate in – she had written a song called ““Nos cœurs à la fenêtre", and she asked fans to send in videos showing them applauding caregivers, at their windows. She would then use some of them in her video. Lara would repeat such spirited interactions with her fans throughout the year, in one form or another.
APRIL: Lara postponed the release of Papillon (s), further evidence of the havoc in the entertainment industry that the virus was starting to wreak. However, on the positive side, Lara released the video of her new song “““Nos cœurs à la fenêtre", and it was an absolute masterpiece – hence highlight #4 of the year. It included videos of both fans and celebrities (Eva Longoria, Veronic Dicaire, etc.), all paying homage to caregivers who were risking their lives dealing with victims of the pandemic.
This was one of two videos Lara produced this month. Together with the Riverin Sisters, her Quebec backup chorus on her tour, she produced a video of the song “Don’t Worry About Me”. Another winner, this would be highlight #5.
Lara continued getting media appearances on French TV, a wonderful one this month was as the subject of the program “50 min inside" [the video and discussion are available on the News Update of 4/7]. Lara was also in the media in Quebec, e.g., the radio show ““Deux filles en quarantaine”; she was actually in Quebec, where restrictions on travel were coming into effect.
'The Voice' continued with its pre-recorded shows, and Lara ran into some more controversy when she dropped Margau, a seeming “star in the making” in favor of a blind contestant, Maria – who Lara said reminded her of her mother. Margau would not go quietly, and implied she regretted joining Lara’s team; even though they seemed to subsequently reconcile, their interaction will likely not be at an end since Margau is also from Quebec. Lara’s three candidates for the live action semi-finals were thus Cheyenne (best voice), Gustine (most creative) and Maria.
MAY: Lara received credit for her video honoring health care workers in various publications this month, e.g., articles in ‘Allo Vedettes’ and long interviews in Tele Magazine and 7 Jours. People were greatly interested in Lara’s getting such quick contributions from the fans and celebrities for its production, an indication of the high regard in which she is held by the community, and the worthiness of the cause.
Meanwhile the pre-recorded shows having ended, 'The Voice' had to suspend its shows, live productions being impossible to hold safely; they were to begin again in modified form in June. Lara’s release of Papillon (s) was also rescheduled for June, and in preparation for that, Lara released a new video of Par amour, which she now reframed as a song of resilience; this would be highlight #6. And one other event that was postponed was a documentary about her called “Lara”; it would not see the light of day until the fall.
An oddity during the month occurred on a benefit program in Quebec, “Une Chance qu'on s'a", a tribute to some of the Quebecers swept away by the COVID-19. It included both Lara and Celine Dion (along with many other stars), one of the rare times they have appeared on the same show together.
JUNE: Papillon (s) was released this month (highlight #7), with, as noted, three new songs, and it actually did fairly well on the charts in the beginning in both Europe and Quebec, due likely to the publicity Lara had been getting. She also did numerous TV and press interviews in support of it (with a nice interview for hotmix radio that came out in July – see the News Update for 7/7). The translations of the lyrics for the three additional songs can be found in the News Update of 4/7.
And “The Voice – la plus belle voix” resumed – but without either a live audience or Lara on set, since she could not come over to France and then back to Quebec without being quarantined, which was unacceptable to her. Therefore she used the Quebec studios of TVA to participate in the show on TV1. She claimed she was fully involved, but it had to hurt her candidates not to have her physically present for them. And of her candidates, the surprise one to advance was Gustine, whose typically ‘eccentric’ performance paid off in getting her to the finals (and though she did not win, she finished with the second most votes). Abi, the candidate from Pascal Obispo was the winner – a smooth performer, though not a great voice [and as a whole, the show did not seem to greatly value vocal ability, despite its name]. As a side project, Gustine and Antoine Delie did a wonderful video of ‘Par amour’ – a highlight of the year (though not Lara’s). [See the discussion of this in the News Update of 6/16].
At the end of the month, Lara participated in the show “Tout le Quebec à l’Unisson”, a national celebration to highlight the indigenous contributions to Quebec history and culture. It was a really big production, (with social distancing and a Zoom children’s chorus) that was broadcast on all the TV channels in the province to emphasize unity in this challenging time. Lara gave a wonderful performance of 'Humana', always perfect for such an event (and hence highlight #8).
And on RTL (radio) in France, Lara had a long interview on the radio version of the Frequenstar show, with Laurent Boyer; it was the 20th anniversary of her initial appearance on the Frequenstar show. It covered her career and many other topics – one of the most extensive radio interviews of the year (highlight #9).
JULY: This month featured a deconfinement for Lara in Quebec, and she found it wasn’t easy to do, which she mentioned in an Instagram video, and also in an interview with 7 Jours. When asked, “What will you never see the same way again?”, she answered “Probably my job, because it will have changed a lot. It will be less easy to travel, and I don't think we will be able to go on tour like we did before.” Nevertheless, she re-scheduled her previously postponed France (and Switzerland) concerts, as well as the bypassed concerts in eastern Europe for September, and the Quebec concerts for December. Again, this would prove overly optimistic.
Notable events of the month included Lara’s appearance on TF1 on Saturday, again on the program “50 min inside” with Nikos Aliagas as host. Called “A Portrait of – Lara Fabian" it reviewed her international career, starting from the present, her appearance on The Voice – la plus belle voix, and the release of Papillon (s), then going through her Italian roots; her time in Montreal; her experience in America including the Christmas Show at Madison Square Garden with Michael Jackson, Beyonce and Whitney Houston among others; her success in Russia; singing with her parents an Italian song on TV; and then her 50th birthday show in Brussels, with her father singing along from the audience on her performance of Take Me Home Country Roads. All in all a wonderfully loving portrait of Lara. This would qualify as highlight #10. She was also on the show Bonsoir Bonsoir where she sang a nice version of “Je t’aime”, which had won a reader’s poll.
AUGUST: As part of her ‘deconfinement routine’ Lara posted a number of videos both in July and August of herself exercising. She felt this improved both her body and spirit after the long bout of act-home inactivity. She urged her fans to do it.
Meanwhile, COVID conditions in France were slowly starting to worsen, but France went ahead with an easing of public restrictions, allowing events with more than 5000 people. While this would seem to allow Lara’s concerts to take place, there were additional restrictions: At many concerts, people would be required to leave a seat free between each group of spectators. Attendees would also be required to wear masks at all times at the venue. The French government was not prohibiting her from coming, as since July 1st, travelers originating from Canada were allowed to travel to France for non-essential travel, for tourist travel - and therefore Lara would certainly be allowed in to give concerts. Since she is also a Belgian citizen, she might well be allowed in regardless, given their common European Union status. However, on returning to Quebec she would have to self-isolate for 14 days. While Lara was still promoting these concerts, and tickets were still being sold (for those shows not already sold out), other performers were pulling out of their shows. Then some 10 days before the concerts were to start, Lara pulled the plug, announcing that one again they had to be postponed, to the spring of 2021.
Another big announcement this month had the same flavor – Lara would no longer be participating in “The Voice – la plus belle voix”. She explained the decision was based on the unpredictability of her availability for the show, given the virus situation, although it was not clear that she had been asked (the replacement judges for both her and Pascal Obispo indicated they had been asked or expected to be on the show for some months now). Regardless, it had served the purpose of re-introducing Lara to the French audience, and Lara did seem to have a good time.
Meanwhile, in Quebec, the situation was also slowly getting worse but it was relatively much better than in France (where riot police were forcing people to wear masks). Yet Quebec had restrictions of no more than 250 people at an event – obviously not a financially viable situation for Lara if that were to be in place in December.
She did have time for a vacation in the Estrie region of southern Quebec as Sicily and Belgium were off limits this summer due to virus restrictions. Lara said a number of times that one of the worst aspects of the situation was not being able to see and help her father, although he seemed to be getting along well, with people there to aid him.
SEPTEMBER: While no longer on “The Voice” in France, Lara did schedule a return to the franchise as a guest on “La Voix” in Quebec, which had had its own postponement from the spring, and was now resuming.
However, the big event, also for TVA, was the announcement that Lara would become the director of the Star Academie, to be shown in Quebec the coming winter. The director would oversee the ‘school’ that aspiring singers would attend and live at, with their activities showing up on the TV screen. Lara said that this activity in effect ‘replaced’ the school that she had been looking forward to establishing in Quebec (although there is another school in France that she had already agreed to help out with, in combination with her singing teacher, Pierre-Yves Duchesne). A full discussion of Lara’s involvement and how it evolved can be found in the News Update of 9/29. This represents highlight #11.
Following the announcement, Lara gave a wonderfully long interview on “La vie est belle” (available on Spotify), covering many topics. One of the best of the year, this is highlight #12.
Meanwhile, not surprisingly, Lara cancelled the concerts in Eastern Europe postponing them to June 2021. And she postponed the Quebec concerts to October 2021.
OCTOBER: Lara announced that the twice postponed concerts in France and Switzerland would now be scheduled for June 2021, and she would be giving her concert that month in Belgrade as well; given the other eastern Europe concerts planned, this would make that a very full month for her. We’ll see if they take place even then!
Lara made her guest appearance on La Voix this month, singing her song “C’est l’heure” along with Garou and two of the candidates. Not only did it help the show, it acted as an advertisement for Lara’s next job with TVA, on the Star Acadamie.
The big event of the of the month, however, was the delayed release of the documentary “Lara”, shown on a private channel in Quebec. The person who hired her for the Star Academie, Jean-Philippe Dion, produced the program, which involved him and his team following her around during the portion of the 50 World Tour that actually took place, in the U.S., Paris and Belgium (for her 50th birthday celebration). Also shown was her trip to Sicily and her life in Quebec. Very honest, it showcased Lara’s joys and problems (including a miscarriage; the problems with the promoter in Eastern Europe; and her decades-long abuse by the French press) in a way that surprised many people – including Lara’s daughter Lou, who appeared before the public in a very notable way (more so than ever before). Although done with some finesse, on the show Lara in effect held Celine Dion’s team responsible for sabotaging her U.S. career – which, as one might imagine, was picked up and run with by the press. It is without a doubt one of the best programs on Lara (and thus highlight #13). It also served to illustrate the great enthusiasm of Lara's audience, and how much she is loved by them. A full discussion of the show can be found in the News Update of 10/20.
Lara was on the show "Ça finit bien la semaine" with Jean-Philippe to discuss the film (among other things), and she said, “his team became a bit like part of the family, visible and invisible when necessary”. The show was not immediately available in Belgium, although that would eventually be resolved, or in France (where it has yet to be seen). They also discussed how this version of the Star Academie would be much kinder to contestants, and less intrusive. .
NOVEMBER: Lara’s involvement with the Star Academie deepened this month, as she acted as ‘tour guide’, introducing the TV audience to the new building exterior (and surrounding land) that would house the venture, the ‘Manoir Maplewood’, in Waterloo, Quebec ( it’s big - area of 1580 m²). Auditions were held for the show during the month, though Lara did not seem to be directly involved.
She spent time during the month amplifying and responding to questions concerning the “Lara” documentary, which received plenty of attention, even in the press of countries who had not necessarily seen it.
DECEMBER: The big event this month was Lara’s release of a new album, the “Lockdown Sessions”, prepared by her and her family (including Lou singing on three songs) along with Moh Denebi. She emphasized that it was an ‘experimental’ venture, electro-pop with fewer, more mantra-like lyrics, in both English and French. It was nevertheless a full-fledged album, with full instrumentation, and is highlight #14. Unfortunately, it is not being treated as a commercial production, in that there are no reviews available in ‘official’ publications. A full discussion of the album, along with the lyrics (and necessary translations) can be found in the News Update of 12/22
It was also announced this month that Lara had now starting using her URL “larafabian.com”, which was where one could buy this album. It also now features a way to buy tickets for her upcoming shows, as well as advertising Papillon (s). One can also sign up for her newsletter that her team says will offer updates concerning her commercial activities.
Another notable event was Lara participated in the (pre-recorded) Refuge Show, a charity event to provide housing for trouble teenagers, organized by the Refuge des Jeunes de Montreal. She sang several duets and participated more generally (with some attention paid to social distancing).
The documentary “Lara” finally appeared on TV in Belgium, and was recognized for the quality production it is. There is still no timetable for it to be shown in France. If/when it does, one can expect some controversy concerning Lara’s comments on how she was treated in their media.
Finally, once again at the end of this month, as she has at various times throughout the year, Lara made appeals for support of the Laski Foundation, which provides support animals for people in need. Her dog Kayla is one such animal, and has been present for her, with her husband Gabriel, in many visuals. Lara takes her role as spokesperson for this organization seriously, and in addition to the other charitable contributions she made throughout the year, is one that’s obviously as close to her heart as the dog is. This is highlight #15.
In summary: 2020 for Lara, like for many people, was an interrupted year, affecting her 50 World Tour, her appearance on "The Voice – la plus belle voix", and the re-release of Papillon (s). It guaranteed that she would not be on 'The Voice' in the coming year. Regardless of anything else, this year will be remembered for the Corona Virus.
However, she rebounded nicely. Here is the list of the positive highlights of the year:
#1 Birthday Concert in Brussels (January)
#2 Judge/Coach on “The Voice – la plus belle voix” (January)
#3 Interview in Journal de Montreal (February)
#4 The video “Nos coeurs a la fenetre” (April)
#5 The video “Don’t worry about me” (April)
#6 New video for “Par Amour” (May)
#7 Papillon (s) album released (June)
#8 Performance of “Humana” on “Tout le Quebec à l’Unisson” (June)
#9 Frequenstar Interview (June)
#10 Interview “A Portrait of – Lara Fabian" (TF1) (July)
#11 Director of Star Academie (September)
#12 Interview La vie est belle (September)
#13 ‘Lara’ documentary (October)
#14 Release of the “Lockdown Sessions” (December)
#15 Support for the Laski Foundation (throughout the year)
As one can see, it’s a mix of performances, video and album releases, jobs, charity initiatives, and compelling interviews – like any other year. And they were spread throughout the calendar year, in the face of the lockdown restrictions. These “highlights” were every bit as impressive as her outstanding events in other years, despite the obstacles.
As to what next year will bring: a lot, obviously, has to do with the state of the coronavirus. If the vaccinations work, and are sufficiently widespread in Europe and Quebec, Lara’s 50 World Tour will resume to its conclusion, and she’ll have the opportunity to finish the Star Academie show properly – with possibly the potential to do it again next fall. If the corona virus is still rampant through most of 2021, her concerts may have to be postponed yet again (or even cancelled), and her TV show may have unavoidable disruptions.
However, regardless, one thing seems to have changed: the lockdown helped accelerate Lara’s desire to reduce touring and her workload in general (including producing and promoting new CDs), by showing her what more time with her family really feels like. Given that she will be celebrating her 51st birthday this coming January, and no longer really has anything to prove, a more relaxed approach to her career seems to be in the offing. As she herself has said, there will be more attention to ”transmitting her knowledge” as well as providing music in less formal ways. If this really comes to pass, the changes wrought by the virus for her will not go away when it does; Lara’s life and career going forward may have been forever altered. Nevertheless, the greatest highlight of the year is: Lara (and we) got through it!
David
