Post by davidhr on Dec 6, 2022 6:41:29 GMT -5
Lara continued promoting her book “Tout” this past week, including on media in both France and Belgium. One such was on Le News 24, the program ‘Le Bon Filon’, which can be seen at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z6qvcw4ri0
The interviewer commented on how Lara must have written the book in Quebec, because there were Quebec expressions. Lara, trying to make it more relevant to a broader audience, noted that one tried to fit in with the community where one was living at the moment; but when asked if that was now her home base, she said she had three home bases, Belgium and Sicily being the other two. When the reviewer noted how he remembered when she was ridiculed in France, she said the important thing was not that it happened, but how one responds to it. And he mentioned that he was impressed it was not just her triumphs recounted in the book, but also her failures; Lara responded that it was important to recount the various things that were part of one’s journey. There also was an indication, as we’ve heard before, that there might be another book, with more stories (and recipes) when it was appropriate to tell them.
The Lara Fabian Family FB site posted links to various other interviews Lara did about the book; one was with “ON N’EST PAS DE PINGEONS, on rrtf.be, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYO7aAU9Rgs
It was emphasized that Lara liked to cook to the music of Mozart, but if she had to choose one of her songs, it would be Humana because it embraces the “meaning of what we share”. The interviewer also noted that Lara’s recipes emphasize ingredients that are not expensive, perhaps from her time in Quebec when she didn’t have much money. Lara said it was funny he mentioned it, because she hadn’t paid any attention to that, but it represents her experience that a good meal around the table doesn’t have to be complicated or inaccessible. She was asked about the rumor that she might join the Star Academy in France next season; Lara denied she had any information about that whatsoever, but was interested in whether they knew something she didn’t. They even made Lara’s recipe for osso bucco, both Lara’s way and ‘Carlo’s way. At the end, Lara approved of his version!
Then there was a short interview with leslieencuisine, at
www.facebook.com/100087078295806/videos/602438208548122/
and one at tomatecerise_be,
www.facebook.com/100087078295806/videos/851802632906091
These shows were also actually interested in the cuisine! Her message at the end of the second program was to show moderation and enjoy the little things in life.
Lara was also on ‘Les Bons Vivants on Bel RTL (promo picture at www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=123409313905011&set=a.111099345136008
And she was scheduled to appear for book promotion on Franceinfo, yesterday, and will also be again on France Bleu (see promo at (https://www.facebook.com/100087078295806/videos/661192458943109).
Going further back into her past, she had a comment to make on the show ‘50’ inside’ concerning her appearance with Johnny Hallyday at the Stade de France. As discussed in the site (https://newsactual.fr/50inside-sommaire-et-reportages-diffuses-ce-samedi-3-decembre-sur-tf1-video/): “The Story of the week is dedicated to a cult duet “Requiem pour un fou” with Johnny Hallyday and Lara Fabian. At the dawn of the 5th anniversary of the ‘disappearance’ of the singer, a look back at the secrets of this song which remains anchored in the memories..."
Lara’s comments can be heard at:
www.facebook.com/larafabiancoeurdelumiere/videos/1098013697447261
She said, “Suddenly you are transported, transformed, by this moment of grace, by this palpable human energy, by the unique aspect of the moment.” Unique it was; as with so many of her duets, among them with the most popular of her ‘views’ on youtube, she never sang this song in any of her own concerts (true also of ‘For Always’ with Josh Groban; The Prayer with Michael Bolton; Un Cuore Malato with Gigi D’Alessio; La Solitudine with Laura Pausini; All Alone Am I with Mario Frangoulis; etc. etc.). The comment on the program was “Between them emerges a rage but also a sensuality”.
An in-depth interview with Lara Fabian ‘about her voice’ appears at (https://www.alinejalliet.com/une-voix-a-soi-13-5mn-avec-la-voix-de-lara-fabian/) [thanks to the Lara Fabian Coeur de Lumiere FB site for the link]. Here’s the translation:
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A Voice to Self #13: 5mn with the voice of Lara Fabian
It is the privilege of great voices to leave an unforgettable impression in our ears. Lara Fabian is one of the singing divas who have marked the last 30 years and contributed with their voice to building the memorial fund of our collective sound history. By their power, their staggering range, their variety of colors, shades and expressions, Lara Fabian's vocal performances have fascinated as much as they have been violently denigrated. With humility and lucidity, Lara draws lessons from the fantastic and painful path that has been hers. She told me with touching sincerity what the quest for approval can do to a woman's voice...
To listen to the voice of Lara Fabian it's here
After 30 years of a leading international career, could you tell me what relationship you have today with your voice?
LF: I'm watching. As if I put my voice in a space where I gave myself the right to encounter it differently. To find what I, Lara, would like to hear from that voice. Why? Because for years I needed to be approved by my peers, by my father, and by all those who had a very precise barometer on what would have been the ideal of a voice, on what can be asked of a voice, what can be demanded of a voice. For decades, I made this expectation mine and moved my voice to a place where its performance, its faculties, its deployment reflected this request and the image of the need I had to convince, to shine and to be approved.
The result of everything I have just explained to you – and this will probably surprise you – is that I don't like my voice. I don't like what she did to me, beautiful and less beautiful. And even when it was very beautiful, the price to pay was very expensive. I discover today that it may not be painful to exist through this voice. I think there is a place where the voice can be in perfect harmony with a resonance that brings us joy and that makes it no longer a way of the cross or a sacrifice, but a path towards oneself, towards being-itself.
A path of reconciliation?
LF: I was tyrannical with my voice, and my voice today tells me clearly: "I will no longer allow you to be anything other than yourself, at the cost of taking away your means if you had to ask me again". I remain a soprano who nevertheless has a great vocal range. But the area of my voice which is the most beautiful and in which, when I listen to myself, I have the feeling of rediscovering someone, it is not the one with which I was both praised and sacrificed. It is the one that is perhaps infinitely less impressive, but also infinitely more comforting. And that's where she can finally bring me into a comfort zone that won't destroy who I am. I'm talking about the expression zone which fills the whole spectrum of who you are, but which remains a comfort zone.
And if you had to address your voice, what would you say to it?
LF: After this immense journey which was extraordinary and which I do not regret at all, I want to say to my voice: "I am going to put you there, you, my pretty voice, and I am going to look at you with much, much love by asking yourself a question: how do you want to sing today? How do you want to deploy? What are the sounds you want to produce that will make you feel good?” And I want to say to myself: “when will you also be able to listen to yourself rather than trying to make yourself heard? How are you going to unfold your voice from this comfort zone which will be the whole dimension of who you are, which will allow you to refocus, to reconnect and then to be heard for who you really are?”
Does that mean you're going to love your voice?
LF: I would like to leave this earth having loved it at least once.
I know that you have lived through very difficult moments in your career as a singer. Would you like to tell me about it?
LF: At the beginning, many people said that I had a nice voice and probably a unique gift, but that with my style of voice I would never have a career if I did not meet such and such criteria. So I worked to develop in the spectrum of my voice a dimension which, I believe at the base, did not belong to its color. Intrinsically, my nature was not that of all those huge voice singers of the 90s: less in pure performance than in the ability to portray a character with intense strength. Me, I dreamed of being an actress-singer on Broadway, of going to live in New York or in the West End, and of using my incredible instrument to embody truths, not to disembody my truth for the benefit of an approval... What I do in “Je suis malade”: I no longer use my voice as a circus freak; the two or three extreme notes of which I have the capacity put themselves at the service of what I have to say. The time of a counter-ground, my soul and my heart come into harmony. And there, I get people up, really. Why have some of my songs like "Je suis malade" or "Je t’aime" been so successful? Because these are the songs where the deployment of my voice belonged not to my will to convince, but to my need to say something with honesty.
Do you have any regrets?
LF: The mistake I made was to decide that one day I would demonstrate with my voice to all those who did not believe in me that they were wrong. When your voice is decried as a caricature and the way it expressed the need to be loved so much becomes the worst representation of yourself, it is an immense pain. I believed in the program, I believed that I had to shine for my father and my peers. Then I thought I had to convince my peers that I wasn't a garish caricature, so I completely turned my instrument around 360 degrees: I started to under-sing, to un- to sing. Fatal error since, suddenly, those who had loved me because I was in the deployment of my voice did not understand where I was going. I lost neither more nor less the sense of my voice. But I held on thanks to courage.
How did you get out of this gear?
LF: I went to the end of all the programs I could join, until the day I entered the transmission, 5 years ago [NB: Reality TV programs such as The Voice, La Voix, Star Academie]. There, suddenly, I discovered that I could use my experience of misalignments to allow all those who would voluntarily come into contact with me to benefit from this experience, in order to never reproduce this program. Because it's easy to have such a need to please or convince that we drift away from who we are and end up hating ourselves. We wanted so much to be heard that we ended up not listening to each other.
So it was the transmission that made you access consciousness?
LF: Yes, when young people started to ask me how I made such and such a note, I realized what had brought me to the realization of these surreal notes. In "You're not from here", the end note of the last 40 seconds is staggering. But what did I do then? Was I technical? Did I want to impress someone? No, it was a love song, the first love song I wrote in English for someone who is probably one of those souls you love too much. And I used my voice to tell him how special I saw him as not even being from here, he was so special to me. And there, I unfolded my instrument as if I too were not from here, as if I too were up to it. My voice was put at the service of this authentic expression, honest of what I had in the heart. It was anything but a performance, it was my naked soul, it was my unfolding heart, it was my body thrown into my voice and my voice thrown into my body. It was a perfect match between my feeling, my need for integrity and my ability to say it with absolute authenticity, by putting this instrument that was given to me by someone greater than me at the service of that. And not the other way around. So, when the kids I accompany ask me how I managed to sing this exceptional note, behind the technical question, I hear the one they ask without even knowing it: how do you do it, beyond the performance, to be authentic?
Would you say it was their questions that gave you a mirror for your voice?
LF: Yes, because I realized that my voice was big and beautiful and I only loved it when I heard myself, listened to myself and finally was heard. Certainly not so long as I was in comparison to other great voices whose performances I was looking to replicate. There, of course, I was no longer me. So today, I'm watching this girl who made this trip and she pains me a lot. But at the same time, I find her really courageous and I tell myself that she has nevertheless built up this lucidity.
The lucidity of not getting lost in what your voice does to others?
LF: The effect produced by our voice is a diabolical illusionist. It sends back to us an image of our voice which is so far from what it is for us, that we end up deluding ourselves with this illusion, especially if we have met with success. Today I can no longer do without the truth because I am going to die of having been something other than myself all these years. At the same time, have I been dishonest? Never. Because I used my need to be loved, which was the most honest in the world, to produce a result, to be approved, understood, to be part of the group. But the voice is not that. The voice is a builder of who we are. It can't be a destroyer of who we are. And from the moment we used the voice as a strategy that only aims to be approved, understood or liked, and that we have completely forgotten the creator, builder, healer aspect of the voice for ourselves, we have completely dissociated ourselves from the reason for which we are the carriers of this voice. By moving away from that place and accepting it because of success, we end up completely extinguishing ourselves.
Do you spot in the young women you work with that mirrors what you understood with your voice?
LF: Exactly the same as what I spotted in mine: the need to know that outside of themselves there is approval. They have very, very few benchmarks on the quality of what they do. Very very little positively analytical and linking faculty. It is for example: “oh yes, is it beautiful like that? It's good?". To which I reply: “but do you hear that it's beautiful? Can't you hear it?" I started to propose in real time that they register so that we listen to their performance together. Upon agreeing on the recording, Christelle – who is one of my students who won the Star Ac – said to me: “Did I sing like that last week? My god it's not that bad!" To which I retorted: “Can you rephrase? There is no false humility here, we are in labor, can you rephrase please?". And she exclaimed: “It's good!". So I insisted: “Yes, it's good! It's so good! But it has to come from you, you have to stop waiting for what's beautiful in you to be reflected back to you only through the mirror of others. You must be able to recognize your strength as you must be able to recognize your weakness!". But we are taught when we are little to eat salty yogurt and to say “hum it's good!". And that, the salty yogurt syndrome, I've seen it a lot...
From your point of view, is it really more specific to women? Don't see this trend in men?
LF: Less, otherwise. Men are more: “tell me what to do and I'll do it”. Whereas we are completely insecure, in the great need to please. For some women, as soon as I pointed at something, I could tell it was sensitive, so I was very careful. I used all the love of which I was capable – I mean love, not diplomacy. I think the need for approval creates the need to delude yourself about who you are; this induces a lack of self-knowledge which one day or another produces a kind of backlash, a deep loss of love for who we are. It was my path. And after all that, a vital need to get back in love, who knows, one day find that voice that is finally able to resonate for others and for oneself.
It's very moving what you say. I now feel you are so close to yourself and to this quest for authenticity in your voice...
LF: On the other hand, I would like to tell you that unfortunately, before arriving there, I damaged myself a lot. And that I have no desire right now to go back to coal. To be on stage, I will do everything in my power, but from another space. I have to find the angle. Would there be another strategy, other exercises, other techniques that would allow me in a more playful, lighter way, to disengage from this torture that I feel at the idea of working and that could commit myself to joy in order to re-tame myself? And there, I don't have the answer. This is where I am today with my voice.
What does your voice allow or allow you to be and manifest, that you could not have been and manifested without it?
LF: I couldn't have been the dense, rich girl that I am today, really ready to give everything to others. I couldn't have been the one who shared at that level, if I hadn't had that voice.
Is it your voice that allows you to be so strong, in the presence with the other?
LF: Yes, strong, but in the gift. Not strong in survival. Strong in generosity.
Including your speaking voice?
LF: Yes, a lot my speaking voice. My spoken voice is a bridge to the hearts of others.
For you, is the investment of your speaking voice a little different from that of your singing voice?
LF: Yes, especially since I use my speaking voice which is sometimes harmful for my singing voice. So there too, I will have to understand how to put them in line. However, my speaking voice is much closer to me, to who I really am. My singing voice is something that everyone is waiting for, it's this thing that makes counter-grounds. Me, it tired me this voice. Maybe it's my speaking voice that will bring me to my real singing voice… maybe in a repertoire that will bring them closer. When I'm with my little ones, when I look at them, I observe them, I touch them with my heart, it's certain that I don't speak like when I sing "Adagio"...
What has been wonderful for you to live with your voice?
LF: The encounters that it allowed. The people that it allowed to let into my life, like you for example. This is what my voice allowed, the meeting with somewhat exceptional beings. It also allowed me to travel, to meet cultures that I would never have encountered, to speak languages that I would never have spoken, to write incredible songs. I wouldn't have written “Broken Vow” and “You’re not from here”, or “Je t’aime”, if I hadn't had the voice that I have.
Does all this journey with your voice make you another woman?
LF: Yes, 100%. And today, this other woman, we see her. We see her when I am in communication with the young people, we see her when she expresses herself, we see her when she is simply in silence in a room where she no longer speaks, she listens.
And now, if you had a dream for your voice...
LF: May it be a lantern that enlightens, not only the one who carries it, but also the one who sees it.
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Very soul-searching interview. One thing it brings to mind is that Lara’s critics were not completely wrong when they said her singing was ‘excessive’; they intuitively felt, though they perhaps could not put it into words, that it wasn’t true to who she was, that she was aiming for an ‘effect’. A point of view she has now come around to. And one that we all can take to heart, in our own lives…
Also… if one listens to Lara at her recent concerts, it’s not necessarily easy to find much that is different from previous live performances of those songs. Perhaps the change is more in her approach and attitude than it is in result, which might imply she could have had the same result with a ‘more healthy’ approach when she was younger.
A small portion of this interview can be heard at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQpdClU3d7o
Lara was on mRadio (https://mradio.fr/news/people/48838/lara-fabian-parle-de-sa-fille-lou-une-petite-nana-incroyable) talking about Lou, as described below:
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Lara Fabian talks about her daughter Lou, "an incredible little girl"
Lara Fabian recently released an autobiography, "Tout", in which, precisely, she says everything she had to go through during her life. Truths and testimony that surprised even her own daughter, Lou, as the singer explained in the columns of Ciné Télé Revue.
"She told me that she didn't imagine that I had gone through all this. But it made her laugh a lot too, because I tell all this with a touch of humor."
The former juror of "The Voice" then painted a portrait full of love and tenderness of her daughter that she had with the television director Gérard Pullicino which shows a beautiful bond between the two women.
“She's a very rock'n'roll teenager, I love it! She is very natural, introspective . She also loves the table, sharing. She's an amazing little girl."
Lara Fabian hides nothing
It must be said that, in her autobiography, Lara Fabian does not evade any subject.
She talks about her birth, which went very badly, and the fact that she could very well not be alive today.
"Mom is already in a coma, and when asked what he [her father] would do if he had to choose between his wife and his child, he collapses against the double door of the emergency room. I was born at 7:30 p.m. on January 9 1970 and mom will wake up from her heavy sleep nine days later."
But she also returns to her anorexia and her food dysfunctions.
"I will oscillate between weeks where everything is seemingly fine. Weeks where I will eat an apple cut into seven wedges for each day. A green apple on which I will plant little flags with the name of each of the days of the week" .
We understand better why Lou was surprised when she read this book...
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Last week it was mentioned that Lara was on the (Belgian) program “Les visitors du soir”, but not much was said about it. It is now also available on youtube, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=umrzLSHJj7g
The interviewers kept coming back to the divergence between Lara’s great popularity with the public and at the same time the troubles she was undergoing in her life, emotional and physical. Lara, as she has before, said it would be ‘inelegant’ to complain about what was going wrong with her at the same time as she was being given an opportunity to do, and live, what she loved, and to be so welcomed by the public. She said that people need to dream that artists can be idols for them, and it’s the artist's role to maintain that illusion. But revealing it afterwards, as in this case, can be more acceptable (which is what Patrick Sebastien says in the following interview on that show).
All of this led into the discussion of Lara in Russia. She noted that she had met Putin, but that ironically, the person who opened all the doors for her in Russia, Igor Krutoy, is Ukrainian. She distinguished the Russian people from the ‘few men who made wars’, and who are oppress the people. However, this led to the following (https://www.lalibre.be/culture/musique/2022/12/03/lara-fabian-mal-a-laise-face-a-un-journaliste-on-ma-dit-que-le-president-poutine-etait-amoureux-de-vous-4UJREWOIU5FKTK25RXS27623EQ/):
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"I was told that President Putin was in love with you": Lara Fabian uncomfortable
The singer was present on the set of "Visitors du soir" on LN24 this Monday, November 28 and was slightly embarrassed by a question.
The famous singer, present on the occasion of the publication of her latest book, was asked about a surprising subject: her relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Preparing the ground, the journalist warns that he has never done that (discuss unsubstantiated rumors) and then launches out: "I was told that President Putin was in love with you". In front of the incomprehension of the singer, the journalist continues: "He would have already told you, is it true?".
Without departing from a certain calm, Lara Fabian replies: "No , at least not in this form, I know he liked what I was doing but no."
The journalist then relaunches her: "You never spoke with him, he didn't tell you precisely to leave Europe because it could blow up in the years to come?", he asks.
The singer does not lose her means and responds by questioning the relationship between this question and the feelings of the Russian president towards her.
The journalist finally asks if Lara Fabian does not "know President Putin a little more than that" and, with a mischievous air, the singer simply replies "not as you express it there, like any artist invited to the Kremlin to sing before 6000".
We will also learn that the singer risked a prison sentence in Russia for having sung a text addressing homosexual themes, a penalty avoided by a very heavy fine paid by Lara Fabian.
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The video of that portion of the interview is included on that site (as well as in the youtube video)…and Lara does appear to be very careful in how she answers the questions. This topic was covered in various articles, in both France and Belgium – and even in Quebec (https://vedettequebec.com/2022/12/01/lara-fabian-sort-et-fait-taire-la-rumeur-amoureuse-qui-courait-sur-elle/).
With respect to the homosexual issues: Lara defended her right to express her opinions in songs, for a community that she has defended for years, and she believed (as she’s often said) that music is a way to solve disagreements, much better than political discourse. At the end, the questioner said that was why they were proud to have her on the show and to say that they were Belgian, like Lara Fabian!
Also, in association with Lara’s promotional tour for her book, the French press has discovered Lara’s appearance in the movie ‘Arlette’. Here’s the latest article (https://www.gala.fr/l_actu/news_de_stars/lara-fabian-etonne-dans-une-scene-lesbienne-au-cinema-on-est-nues-au-lit-mais-cest-tres-bien-filme_507809):
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THE NEWS OF STARS
Lara Fabian amazes in a lesbian scene in the cinema: "We are naked in bed, but it is very well filmed"
In the columns Ciné Télé Revue, Lara Fabian talks about the naked scene "in bed with a woman" that she had to play for her very first film. A shooting that was not the most obvious for the singer.
At 52 years, she made her first steps as an actress. For her film debut, Lara Fabian does not spare herself. Under the guise of a French minister, in the film Arlette by the Quebecer Mariloup Wolfe, the singer agrees to strip for a love scene with the heroine Arlette de Saint-Amour. "The lead actress, Maripier Morin, who is a superstar in Canada, wanted me to play the French minister," says Lara Fabian in the columns of Ciné Télé Revue.
The director of the Canadian version of Star Academy tells the backstage of this "very pretty scene": "We are naked in bed, but it is very well filmed, the light is very beautiful". If the result seems to please Lou's mom, the shooting was not the most obvious because of the covid rules in force which somewhat complicated the takes. "We had a mask, with the covid police of set who shouted, asking us to separate ourselves", remembers the interpreter of the titles Tout and Jde t'aime, who had already posed naked for Gala. "We could only touch each other for 15 seconds and then we had to wash ourselves with hydroalcoholic gel".
Lara Fabian "all relaxed" for her nude scene
Questioned by the website Showbizz.net about the participation of the Belgian-Quebec artist, the actress Maripier Morin said she was surprised by the ease of Lara Fabian: "She was so game! I arrived in the morning all stressed out. I put on my little nipple covers. I was flipping out. Lara arrived, all relaxed with nothing. There, I took everything off because I thought I was stupid to want to hide". Before adding: "It was very poetic. It's one of my favorite scenes in the movie, even though you can see my butt."
For her part, the director Mariloup Wolfe says: "We were looking for the French minister. We even approached super famous French actors [like Omar Sy, Jean Dujardin], but it wasn't easy in COVID time". The agent and stylist of the director working with the wife of Gabriel Di Giorgio, she then breathes the idea of proposing the role to Lara Fabian: "I told her that it was really ‘left’ and she had to listen to my pitch. Arguments that seem to have convinced Lara Fabian.
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Then there’s this article, concerning the Star Academy in France (https://www.legossip.net/celine-dion-refroidie-par-lara-fabian-la-vraie-raison-de-son-refus-de-la-star-ac/507050/):
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Celine Dion should still be asked next season to officiate as godmother of the Star Academy. But one element could cool it, the presence of Lara Fabian, who will take up a more important position next year.
Barely the doors of the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys closed, TF1 was already working on a new season of Star Academy. The orders would still be entrusted next year to Nikos Aliagas, faithful to the post, despite a nasty injury.
"The success having been there (between 3.5 and 4 million viewers for each premium), the channel could consider extending the broadcast period of the program by a few weeks", indicated Télé Poche. And this season, the production would already hope to secure the services of Celine Dion as godmother.
“Céline Dion has a history with Star Academy and the French public”, reported the producer in Gala.
“We would have loved to have her there and I think she would have loved it too. We know that she has health concerns and her health comes before the show”, he said.
And from next year, the producers would come back to the charge.
“We will see what is possible,” promised a spokesperson for Endemol.
Her arrival could be cooled by Lara Fabian, whom she would not carry in her heart.
According to Matthieu Delormeau, TPMP People host on C8, says that Lara Fabian could have a separate role next season. The Belgian star could indeed offer a weekly masterclass to future academicians. Her agenda would have lightened in this direction.
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While there is nothing ‘solid’ in this article, as discussed last week, the idea that Lara would offer a masterclass for Star Academicians in France may well be very appealing to her. It would not be surprising were that to occur – it would give her another chance to ‘transmit’ her knowledge, and re-ingratiate herself with a bigger French speaking public. Lara’s interest in this topic was evident in her ON N’EST PAS DE PINGEONS interview.
Covering a more representative aspect of Lara’s career, she was interviewed on ‘Europe 1’, in “Meeting with Lara Fabian, singer, at the Olympia”. As noted, “Every Saturday morning on Europe 1, Naïma Bencheman walks with her guest in a place that has marked her life and career, to retrace her journey and discover, or rediscover, her personality.” It is available at:
www.europe1.fr/emissions/drole-dendroit-pour-une-rencontre/rencontre-avec-lara-fabian-chanteuse-a-lolympia-4151837
Lara summarizes a lot of what she said in the previous interviews on this promotional tour, accompanied by her most famous songs. Another chance to have her European audience re-familiarize themselves with her, after an absence of some five years, at least for the 7 minutes of this interview.
Interesting photo(s)/video(s) of the week: It was a bit odd to see Lara mentioning “I’m Not From Here” in the discussion of her voice as one of her sincere songs, since she absolutely never sings it in concert any more. In honor of when she did, the Lara Fabian America site provided a link to the youtube video of it, from her PBS concert “From Lara With Love”, available at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8XFXKXRLI
As noted on that youtube page, this wonderful concert, which contains Lara singing songs that are often used in ‘reaction’ videos, has never been released on a DVD or been remastered, due to all of the problems Lara had with Sony. [Sony is also why there are none of Lara’s French songs in that program, as they were not licensed to Sony and so were prohibited. The positive aspect was it forced Lara to sing many of the English, Spanish, Italian and other French- songs from her repertoire].
Last week Lara’s duet with Lea on “Je t’aime” came under scrutiny because of the respective contributions of the two singers; there was some evidence that Lara held back to allow Lea to shine. Perhaps in response, Lara the Ring Fabian provided a video of Lara’s singing “Je t’aime” with several other singers over the years, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAGNPa3G-YE
It shows quite clearly that Lara sang similarly with others, displaying the same generosity. And it should be noted that this is true not only for this particular song; in all her duets, Lara keeps the other singer firmly in mind.
The Lara Fabian America FB site also linked to a video of Lara talking about Gabriel, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta7wn4wckU4
and how fate brought them together, helped by her daughter and how much he had in common with her mother. It’s also a reminder of how Gabriel has really not come up often in Lara’s interviews, and how her family is apparently not with her during this time.
Finally, a nice picture of a mature Lara from the Lara Fabian Family page, at
www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=124121847167091&set=a.111099345136008
Eventually, this book promotion will end, but it seems to have had more of an impact in France than her concert tour. The hosts are impressed that Lara has laid out for the public the travails of a person whom they thought of as a ‘diva’, and who they now see as a human being who went through troubles of which they knew nothing about. This is guaranteed to incite interest. Once again, it looks like this book may be a significant part of Lara’s legacy for the French public. [On Amazon.fr there are 115 evaluations, and the book received an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 – and the ones that were less than 5 were because they came damaged). There are only 11 opinions so far on FNAC, but all give the book 5*].
Stay safe, everybody,
David
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z6qvcw4ri0
The interviewer commented on how Lara must have written the book in Quebec, because there were Quebec expressions. Lara, trying to make it more relevant to a broader audience, noted that one tried to fit in with the community where one was living at the moment; but when asked if that was now her home base, she said she had three home bases, Belgium and Sicily being the other two. When the reviewer noted how he remembered when she was ridiculed in France, she said the important thing was not that it happened, but how one responds to it. And he mentioned that he was impressed it was not just her triumphs recounted in the book, but also her failures; Lara responded that it was important to recount the various things that were part of one’s journey. There also was an indication, as we’ve heard before, that there might be another book, with more stories (and recipes) when it was appropriate to tell them.
The Lara Fabian Family FB site posted links to various other interviews Lara did about the book; one was with “ON N’EST PAS DE PINGEONS, on rrtf.be, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYO7aAU9Rgs
It was emphasized that Lara liked to cook to the music of Mozart, but if she had to choose one of her songs, it would be Humana because it embraces the “meaning of what we share”. The interviewer also noted that Lara’s recipes emphasize ingredients that are not expensive, perhaps from her time in Quebec when she didn’t have much money. Lara said it was funny he mentioned it, because she hadn’t paid any attention to that, but it represents her experience that a good meal around the table doesn’t have to be complicated or inaccessible. She was asked about the rumor that she might join the Star Academy in France next season; Lara denied she had any information about that whatsoever, but was interested in whether they knew something she didn’t. They even made Lara’s recipe for osso bucco, both Lara’s way and ‘Carlo’s way. At the end, Lara approved of his version!
Then there was a short interview with leslieencuisine, at
www.facebook.com/100087078295806/videos/602438208548122/
and one at tomatecerise_be,
www.facebook.com/100087078295806/videos/851802632906091
These shows were also actually interested in the cuisine! Her message at the end of the second program was to show moderation and enjoy the little things in life.
Lara was also on ‘Les Bons Vivants on Bel RTL (promo picture at www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=123409313905011&set=a.111099345136008
And she was scheduled to appear for book promotion on Franceinfo, yesterday, and will also be again on France Bleu (see promo at (https://www.facebook.com/100087078295806/videos/661192458943109).
Going further back into her past, she had a comment to make on the show ‘50’ inside’ concerning her appearance with Johnny Hallyday at the Stade de France. As discussed in the site (https://newsactual.fr/50inside-sommaire-et-reportages-diffuses-ce-samedi-3-decembre-sur-tf1-video/): “The Story of the week is dedicated to a cult duet “Requiem pour un fou” with Johnny Hallyday and Lara Fabian. At the dawn of the 5th anniversary of the ‘disappearance’ of the singer, a look back at the secrets of this song which remains anchored in the memories..."
Lara’s comments can be heard at:
www.facebook.com/larafabiancoeurdelumiere/videos/1098013697447261
She said, “Suddenly you are transported, transformed, by this moment of grace, by this palpable human energy, by the unique aspect of the moment.” Unique it was; as with so many of her duets, among them with the most popular of her ‘views’ on youtube, she never sang this song in any of her own concerts (true also of ‘For Always’ with Josh Groban; The Prayer with Michael Bolton; Un Cuore Malato with Gigi D’Alessio; La Solitudine with Laura Pausini; All Alone Am I with Mario Frangoulis; etc. etc.). The comment on the program was “Between them emerges a rage but also a sensuality”.
An in-depth interview with Lara Fabian ‘about her voice’ appears at (https://www.alinejalliet.com/une-voix-a-soi-13-5mn-avec-la-voix-de-lara-fabian/) [thanks to the Lara Fabian Coeur de Lumiere FB site for the link]. Here’s the translation:
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A Voice to Self #13: 5mn with the voice of Lara Fabian
It is the privilege of great voices to leave an unforgettable impression in our ears. Lara Fabian is one of the singing divas who have marked the last 30 years and contributed with their voice to building the memorial fund of our collective sound history. By their power, their staggering range, their variety of colors, shades and expressions, Lara Fabian's vocal performances have fascinated as much as they have been violently denigrated. With humility and lucidity, Lara draws lessons from the fantastic and painful path that has been hers. She told me with touching sincerity what the quest for approval can do to a woman's voice...
To listen to the voice of Lara Fabian it's here
After 30 years of a leading international career, could you tell me what relationship you have today with your voice?
LF: I'm watching. As if I put my voice in a space where I gave myself the right to encounter it differently. To find what I, Lara, would like to hear from that voice. Why? Because for years I needed to be approved by my peers, by my father, and by all those who had a very precise barometer on what would have been the ideal of a voice, on what can be asked of a voice, what can be demanded of a voice. For decades, I made this expectation mine and moved my voice to a place where its performance, its faculties, its deployment reflected this request and the image of the need I had to convince, to shine and to be approved.
The result of everything I have just explained to you – and this will probably surprise you – is that I don't like my voice. I don't like what she did to me, beautiful and less beautiful. And even when it was very beautiful, the price to pay was very expensive. I discover today that it may not be painful to exist through this voice. I think there is a place where the voice can be in perfect harmony with a resonance that brings us joy and that makes it no longer a way of the cross or a sacrifice, but a path towards oneself, towards being-itself.
A path of reconciliation?
LF: I was tyrannical with my voice, and my voice today tells me clearly: "I will no longer allow you to be anything other than yourself, at the cost of taking away your means if you had to ask me again". I remain a soprano who nevertheless has a great vocal range. But the area of my voice which is the most beautiful and in which, when I listen to myself, I have the feeling of rediscovering someone, it is not the one with which I was both praised and sacrificed. It is the one that is perhaps infinitely less impressive, but also infinitely more comforting. And that's where she can finally bring me into a comfort zone that won't destroy who I am. I'm talking about the expression zone which fills the whole spectrum of who you are, but which remains a comfort zone.
And if you had to address your voice, what would you say to it?
LF: After this immense journey which was extraordinary and which I do not regret at all, I want to say to my voice: "I am going to put you there, you, my pretty voice, and I am going to look at you with much, much love by asking yourself a question: how do you want to sing today? How do you want to deploy? What are the sounds you want to produce that will make you feel good?” And I want to say to myself: “when will you also be able to listen to yourself rather than trying to make yourself heard? How are you going to unfold your voice from this comfort zone which will be the whole dimension of who you are, which will allow you to refocus, to reconnect and then to be heard for who you really are?”
Does that mean you're going to love your voice?
LF: I would like to leave this earth having loved it at least once.
I know that you have lived through very difficult moments in your career as a singer. Would you like to tell me about it?
LF: At the beginning, many people said that I had a nice voice and probably a unique gift, but that with my style of voice I would never have a career if I did not meet such and such criteria. So I worked to develop in the spectrum of my voice a dimension which, I believe at the base, did not belong to its color. Intrinsically, my nature was not that of all those huge voice singers of the 90s: less in pure performance than in the ability to portray a character with intense strength. Me, I dreamed of being an actress-singer on Broadway, of going to live in New York or in the West End, and of using my incredible instrument to embody truths, not to disembody my truth for the benefit of an approval... What I do in “Je suis malade”: I no longer use my voice as a circus freak; the two or three extreme notes of which I have the capacity put themselves at the service of what I have to say. The time of a counter-ground, my soul and my heart come into harmony. And there, I get people up, really. Why have some of my songs like "Je suis malade" or "Je t’aime" been so successful? Because these are the songs where the deployment of my voice belonged not to my will to convince, but to my need to say something with honesty.
Do you have any regrets?
LF: The mistake I made was to decide that one day I would demonstrate with my voice to all those who did not believe in me that they were wrong. When your voice is decried as a caricature and the way it expressed the need to be loved so much becomes the worst representation of yourself, it is an immense pain. I believed in the program, I believed that I had to shine for my father and my peers. Then I thought I had to convince my peers that I wasn't a garish caricature, so I completely turned my instrument around 360 degrees: I started to under-sing, to un- to sing. Fatal error since, suddenly, those who had loved me because I was in the deployment of my voice did not understand where I was going. I lost neither more nor less the sense of my voice. But I held on thanks to courage.
How did you get out of this gear?
LF: I went to the end of all the programs I could join, until the day I entered the transmission, 5 years ago [NB: Reality TV programs such as The Voice, La Voix, Star Academie]. There, suddenly, I discovered that I could use my experience of misalignments to allow all those who would voluntarily come into contact with me to benefit from this experience, in order to never reproduce this program. Because it's easy to have such a need to please or convince that we drift away from who we are and end up hating ourselves. We wanted so much to be heard that we ended up not listening to each other.
So it was the transmission that made you access consciousness?
LF: Yes, when young people started to ask me how I made such and such a note, I realized what had brought me to the realization of these surreal notes. In "You're not from here", the end note of the last 40 seconds is staggering. But what did I do then? Was I technical? Did I want to impress someone? No, it was a love song, the first love song I wrote in English for someone who is probably one of those souls you love too much. And I used my voice to tell him how special I saw him as not even being from here, he was so special to me. And there, I unfolded my instrument as if I too were not from here, as if I too were up to it. My voice was put at the service of this authentic expression, honest of what I had in the heart. It was anything but a performance, it was my naked soul, it was my unfolding heart, it was my body thrown into my voice and my voice thrown into my body. It was a perfect match between my feeling, my need for integrity and my ability to say it with absolute authenticity, by putting this instrument that was given to me by someone greater than me at the service of that. And not the other way around. So, when the kids I accompany ask me how I managed to sing this exceptional note, behind the technical question, I hear the one they ask without even knowing it: how do you do it, beyond the performance, to be authentic?
Would you say it was their questions that gave you a mirror for your voice?
LF: Yes, because I realized that my voice was big and beautiful and I only loved it when I heard myself, listened to myself and finally was heard. Certainly not so long as I was in comparison to other great voices whose performances I was looking to replicate. There, of course, I was no longer me. So today, I'm watching this girl who made this trip and she pains me a lot. But at the same time, I find her really courageous and I tell myself that she has nevertheless built up this lucidity.
The lucidity of not getting lost in what your voice does to others?
LF: The effect produced by our voice is a diabolical illusionist. It sends back to us an image of our voice which is so far from what it is for us, that we end up deluding ourselves with this illusion, especially if we have met with success. Today I can no longer do without the truth because I am going to die of having been something other than myself all these years. At the same time, have I been dishonest? Never. Because I used my need to be loved, which was the most honest in the world, to produce a result, to be approved, understood, to be part of the group. But the voice is not that. The voice is a builder of who we are. It can't be a destroyer of who we are. And from the moment we used the voice as a strategy that only aims to be approved, understood or liked, and that we have completely forgotten the creator, builder, healer aspect of the voice for ourselves, we have completely dissociated ourselves from the reason for which we are the carriers of this voice. By moving away from that place and accepting it because of success, we end up completely extinguishing ourselves.
Do you spot in the young women you work with that mirrors what you understood with your voice?
LF: Exactly the same as what I spotted in mine: the need to know that outside of themselves there is approval. They have very, very few benchmarks on the quality of what they do. Very very little positively analytical and linking faculty. It is for example: “oh yes, is it beautiful like that? It's good?". To which I reply: “but do you hear that it's beautiful? Can't you hear it?" I started to propose in real time that they register so that we listen to their performance together. Upon agreeing on the recording, Christelle – who is one of my students who won the Star Ac – said to me: “Did I sing like that last week? My god it's not that bad!" To which I retorted: “Can you rephrase? There is no false humility here, we are in labor, can you rephrase please?". And she exclaimed: “It's good!". So I insisted: “Yes, it's good! It's so good! But it has to come from you, you have to stop waiting for what's beautiful in you to be reflected back to you only through the mirror of others. You must be able to recognize your strength as you must be able to recognize your weakness!". But we are taught when we are little to eat salty yogurt and to say “hum it's good!". And that, the salty yogurt syndrome, I've seen it a lot...
From your point of view, is it really more specific to women? Don't see this trend in men?
LF: Less, otherwise. Men are more: “tell me what to do and I'll do it”. Whereas we are completely insecure, in the great need to please. For some women, as soon as I pointed at something, I could tell it was sensitive, so I was very careful. I used all the love of which I was capable – I mean love, not diplomacy. I think the need for approval creates the need to delude yourself about who you are; this induces a lack of self-knowledge which one day or another produces a kind of backlash, a deep loss of love for who we are. It was my path. And after all that, a vital need to get back in love, who knows, one day find that voice that is finally able to resonate for others and for oneself.
It's very moving what you say. I now feel you are so close to yourself and to this quest for authenticity in your voice...
LF: On the other hand, I would like to tell you that unfortunately, before arriving there, I damaged myself a lot. And that I have no desire right now to go back to coal. To be on stage, I will do everything in my power, but from another space. I have to find the angle. Would there be another strategy, other exercises, other techniques that would allow me in a more playful, lighter way, to disengage from this torture that I feel at the idea of working and that could commit myself to joy in order to re-tame myself? And there, I don't have the answer. This is where I am today with my voice.
What does your voice allow or allow you to be and manifest, that you could not have been and manifested without it?
LF: I couldn't have been the dense, rich girl that I am today, really ready to give everything to others. I couldn't have been the one who shared at that level, if I hadn't had that voice.
Is it your voice that allows you to be so strong, in the presence with the other?
LF: Yes, strong, but in the gift. Not strong in survival. Strong in generosity.
Including your speaking voice?
LF: Yes, a lot my speaking voice. My spoken voice is a bridge to the hearts of others.
For you, is the investment of your speaking voice a little different from that of your singing voice?
LF: Yes, especially since I use my speaking voice which is sometimes harmful for my singing voice. So there too, I will have to understand how to put them in line. However, my speaking voice is much closer to me, to who I really am. My singing voice is something that everyone is waiting for, it's this thing that makes counter-grounds. Me, it tired me this voice. Maybe it's my speaking voice that will bring me to my real singing voice… maybe in a repertoire that will bring them closer. When I'm with my little ones, when I look at them, I observe them, I touch them with my heart, it's certain that I don't speak like when I sing "Adagio"...
What has been wonderful for you to live with your voice?
LF: The encounters that it allowed. The people that it allowed to let into my life, like you for example. This is what my voice allowed, the meeting with somewhat exceptional beings. It also allowed me to travel, to meet cultures that I would never have encountered, to speak languages that I would never have spoken, to write incredible songs. I wouldn't have written “Broken Vow” and “You’re not from here”, or “Je t’aime”, if I hadn't had the voice that I have.
Does all this journey with your voice make you another woman?
LF: Yes, 100%. And today, this other woman, we see her. We see her when I am in communication with the young people, we see her when she expresses herself, we see her when she is simply in silence in a room where she no longer speaks, she listens.
And now, if you had a dream for your voice...
LF: May it be a lantern that enlightens, not only the one who carries it, but also the one who sees it.
-----------------------------------
Very soul-searching interview. One thing it brings to mind is that Lara’s critics were not completely wrong when they said her singing was ‘excessive’; they intuitively felt, though they perhaps could not put it into words, that it wasn’t true to who she was, that she was aiming for an ‘effect’. A point of view she has now come around to. And one that we all can take to heart, in our own lives…
Also… if one listens to Lara at her recent concerts, it’s not necessarily easy to find much that is different from previous live performances of those songs. Perhaps the change is more in her approach and attitude than it is in result, which might imply she could have had the same result with a ‘more healthy’ approach when she was younger.
A small portion of this interview can be heard at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQpdClU3d7o
Lara was on mRadio (https://mradio.fr/news/people/48838/lara-fabian-parle-de-sa-fille-lou-une-petite-nana-incroyable) talking about Lou, as described below:
-----------------------------------
Lara Fabian talks about her daughter Lou, "an incredible little girl"
Lara Fabian recently released an autobiography, "Tout", in which, precisely, she says everything she had to go through during her life. Truths and testimony that surprised even her own daughter, Lou, as the singer explained in the columns of Ciné Télé Revue.
"She told me that she didn't imagine that I had gone through all this. But it made her laugh a lot too, because I tell all this with a touch of humor."
The former juror of "The Voice" then painted a portrait full of love and tenderness of her daughter that she had with the television director Gérard Pullicino which shows a beautiful bond between the two women.
“She's a very rock'n'roll teenager, I love it! She is very natural, introspective . She also loves the table, sharing. She's an amazing little girl."
Lara Fabian hides nothing
It must be said that, in her autobiography, Lara Fabian does not evade any subject.
She talks about her birth, which went very badly, and the fact that she could very well not be alive today.
"Mom is already in a coma, and when asked what he [her father] would do if he had to choose between his wife and his child, he collapses against the double door of the emergency room. I was born at 7:30 p.m. on January 9 1970 and mom will wake up from her heavy sleep nine days later."
But she also returns to her anorexia and her food dysfunctions.
"I will oscillate between weeks where everything is seemingly fine. Weeks where I will eat an apple cut into seven wedges for each day. A green apple on which I will plant little flags with the name of each of the days of the week" .
We understand better why Lou was surprised when she read this book...
------------------------------------
Last week it was mentioned that Lara was on the (Belgian) program “Les visitors du soir”, but not much was said about it. It is now also available on youtube, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=umrzLSHJj7g
The interviewers kept coming back to the divergence between Lara’s great popularity with the public and at the same time the troubles she was undergoing in her life, emotional and physical. Lara, as she has before, said it would be ‘inelegant’ to complain about what was going wrong with her at the same time as she was being given an opportunity to do, and live, what she loved, and to be so welcomed by the public. She said that people need to dream that artists can be idols for them, and it’s the artist's role to maintain that illusion. But revealing it afterwards, as in this case, can be more acceptable (which is what Patrick Sebastien says in the following interview on that show).
All of this led into the discussion of Lara in Russia. She noted that she had met Putin, but that ironically, the person who opened all the doors for her in Russia, Igor Krutoy, is Ukrainian. She distinguished the Russian people from the ‘few men who made wars’, and who are oppress the people. However, this led to the following (https://www.lalibre.be/culture/musique/2022/12/03/lara-fabian-mal-a-laise-face-a-un-journaliste-on-ma-dit-que-le-president-poutine-etait-amoureux-de-vous-4UJREWOIU5FKTK25RXS27623EQ/):
-------------------------------------------
"I was told that President Putin was in love with you": Lara Fabian uncomfortable
The singer was present on the set of "Visitors du soir" on LN24 this Monday, November 28 and was slightly embarrassed by a question.
The famous singer, present on the occasion of the publication of her latest book, was asked about a surprising subject: her relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Preparing the ground, the journalist warns that he has never done that (discuss unsubstantiated rumors) and then launches out: "I was told that President Putin was in love with you". In front of the incomprehension of the singer, the journalist continues: "He would have already told you, is it true?".
Without departing from a certain calm, Lara Fabian replies: "No , at least not in this form, I know he liked what I was doing but no."
The journalist then relaunches her: "You never spoke with him, he didn't tell you precisely to leave Europe because it could blow up in the years to come?", he asks.
The singer does not lose her means and responds by questioning the relationship between this question and the feelings of the Russian president towards her.
The journalist finally asks if Lara Fabian does not "know President Putin a little more than that" and, with a mischievous air, the singer simply replies "not as you express it there, like any artist invited to the Kremlin to sing before 6000".
We will also learn that the singer risked a prison sentence in Russia for having sung a text addressing homosexual themes, a penalty avoided by a very heavy fine paid by Lara Fabian.
---------------------
The video of that portion of the interview is included on that site (as well as in the youtube video)…and Lara does appear to be very careful in how she answers the questions. This topic was covered in various articles, in both France and Belgium – and even in Quebec (https://vedettequebec.com/2022/12/01/lara-fabian-sort-et-fait-taire-la-rumeur-amoureuse-qui-courait-sur-elle/).
With respect to the homosexual issues: Lara defended her right to express her opinions in songs, for a community that she has defended for years, and she believed (as she’s often said) that music is a way to solve disagreements, much better than political discourse. At the end, the questioner said that was why they were proud to have her on the show and to say that they were Belgian, like Lara Fabian!
Also, in association with Lara’s promotional tour for her book, the French press has discovered Lara’s appearance in the movie ‘Arlette’. Here’s the latest article (https://www.gala.fr/l_actu/news_de_stars/lara-fabian-etonne-dans-une-scene-lesbienne-au-cinema-on-est-nues-au-lit-mais-cest-tres-bien-filme_507809):
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THE NEWS OF STARS
Lara Fabian amazes in a lesbian scene in the cinema: "We are naked in bed, but it is very well filmed"
In the columns Ciné Télé Revue, Lara Fabian talks about the naked scene "in bed with a woman" that she had to play for her very first film. A shooting that was not the most obvious for the singer.
At 52 years, she made her first steps as an actress. For her film debut, Lara Fabian does not spare herself. Under the guise of a French minister, in the film Arlette by the Quebecer Mariloup Wolfe, the singer agrees to strip for a love scene with the heroine Arlette de Saint-Amour. "The lead actress, Maripier Morin, who is a superstar in Canada, wanted me to play the French minister," says Lara Fabian in the columns of Ciné Télé Revue.
The director of the Canadian version of Star Academy tells the backstage of this "very pretty scene": "We are naked in bed, but it is very well filmed, the light is very beautiful". If the result seems to please Lou's mom, the shooting was not the most obvious because of the covid rules in force which somewhat complicated the takes. "We had a mask, with the covid police of set who shouted, asking us to separate ourselves", remembers the interpreter of the titles Tout and Jde t'aime, who had already posed naked for Gala. "We could only touch each other for 15 seconds and then we had to wash ourselves with hydroalcoholic gel".
Lara Fabian "all relaxed" for her nude scene
Questioned by the website Showbizz.net about the participation of the Belgian-Quebec artist, the actress Maripier Morin said she was surprised by the ease of Lara Fabian: "She was so game! I arrived in the morning all stressed out. I put on my little nipple covers. I was flipping out. Lara arrived, all relaxed with nothing. There, I took everything off because I thought I was stupid to want to hide". Before adding: "It was very poetic. It's one of my favorite scenes in the movie, even though you can see my butt."
For her part, the director Mariloup Wolfe says: "We were looking for the French minister. We even approached super famous French actors [like Omar Sy, Jean Dujardin], but it wasn't easy in COVID time". The agent and stylist of the director working with the wife of Gabriel Di Giorgio, she then breathes the idea of proposing the role to Lara Fabian: "I told her that it was really ‘left’ and she had to listen to my pitch. Arguments that seem to have convinced Lara Fabian.
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Then there’s this article, concerning the Star Academy in France (https://www.legossip.net/celine-dion-refroidie-par-lara-fabian-la-vraie-raison-de-son-refus-de-la-star-ac/507050/):
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Celine Dion should still be asked next season to officiate as godmother of the Star Academy. But one element could cool it, the presence of Lara Fabian, who will take up a more important position next year.
Barely the doors of the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys closed, TF1 was already working on a new season of Star Academy. The orders would still be entrusted next year to Nikos Aliagas, faithful to the post, despite a nasty injury.
"The success having been there (between 3.5 and 4 million viewers for each premium), the channel could consider extending the broadcast period of the program by a few weeks", indicated Télé Poche. And this season, the production would already hope to secure the services of Celine Dion as godmother.
“Céline Dion has a history with Star Academy and the French public”, reported the producer in Gala.
“We would have loved to have her there and I think she would have loved it too. We know that she has health concerns and her health comes before the show”, he said.
And from next year, the producers would come back to the charge.
“We will see what is possible,” promised a spokesperson for Endemol.
Her arrival could be cooled by Lara Fabian, whom she would not carry in her heart.
According to Matthieu Delormeau, TPMP People host on C8, says that Lara Fabian could have a separate role next season. The Belgian star could indeed offer a weekly masterclass to future academicians. Her agenda would have lightened in this direction.
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While there is nothing ‘solid’ in this article, as discussed last week, the idea that Lara would offer a masterclass for Star Academicians in France may well be very appealing to her. It would not be surprising were that to occur – it would give her another chance to ‘transmit’ her knowledge, and re-ingratiate herself with a bigger French speaking public. Lara’s interest in this topic was evident in her ON N’EST PAS DE PINGEONS interview.
Covering a more representative aspect of Lara’s career, she was interviewed on ‘Europe 1’, in “Meeting with Lara Fabian, singer, at the Olympia”. As noted, “Every Saturday morning on Europe 1, Naïma Bencheman walks with her guest in a place that has marked her life and career, to retrace her journey and discover, or rediscover, her personality.” It is available at:
www.europe1.fr/emissions/drole-dendroit-pour-une-rencontre/rencontre-avec-lara-fabian-chanteuse-a-lolympia-4151837
Lara summarizes a lot of what she said in the previous interviews on this promotional tour, accompanied by her most famous songs. Another chance to have her European audience re-familiarize themselves with her, after an absence of some five years, at least for the 7 minutes of this interview.
Interesting photo(s)/video(s) of the week: It was a bit odd to see Lara mentioning “I’m Not From Here” in the discussion of her voice as one of her sincere songs, since she absolutely never sings it in concert any more. In honor of when she did, the Lara Fabian America site provided a link to the youtube video of it, from her PBS concert “From Lara With Love”, available at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv8XFXKXRLI
As noted on that youtube page, this wonderful concert, which contains Lara singing songs that are often used in ‘reaction’ videos, has never been released on a DVD or been remastered, due to all of the problems Lara had with Sony. [Sony is also why there are none of Lara’s French songs in that program, as they were not licensed to Sony and so were prohibited. The positive aspect was it forced Lara to sing many of the English, Spanish, Italian and other French- songs from her repertoire].
Last week Lara’s duet with Lea on “Je t’aime” came under scrutiny because of the respective contributions of the two singers; there was some evidence that Lara held back to allow Lea to shine. Perhaps in response, Lara the Ring Fabian provided a video of Lara’s singing “Je t’aime” with several other singers over the years, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAGNPa3G-YE
It shows quite clearly that Lara sang similarly with others, displaying the same generosity. And it should be noted that this is true not only for this particular song; in all her duets, Lara keeps the other singer firmly in mind.
The Lara Fabian America FB site also linked to a video of Lara talking about Gabriel, at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta7wn4wckU4
and how fate brought them together, helped by her daughter and how much he had in common with her mother. It’s also a reminder of how Gabriel has really not come up often in Lara’s interviews, and how her family is apparently not with her during this time.
Finally, a nice picture of a mature Lara from the Lara Fabian Family page, at
www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=124121847167091&set=a.111099345136008
Eventually, this book promotion will end, but it seems to have had more of an impact in France than her concert tour. The hosts are impressed that Lara has laid out for the public the travails of a person whom they thought of as a ‘diva’, and who they now see as a human being who went through troubles of which they knew nothing about. This is guaranteed to incite interest. Once again, it looks like this book may be a significant part of Lara’s legacy for the French public. [On Amazon.fr there are 115 evaluations, and the book received an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 – and the ones that were less than 5 were because they came damaged). There are only 11 opinions so far on FNAC, but all give the book 5*].
Stay safe, everybody,
David