Lara Sophie Katy Crokaert (born 9 January 1970), known professionally as Lara Fabian, is a Belgian and Canadian singer and songwriter. Having sold over 12 million records worldwide, she is one of the best-selling Belgian artists of all time.
Born in Brussels to a Belgian father and an Italian mother, she moved to Quebec in 1990 and, since 1995, has held Canadian citizenship alongside her Belgian one.
Early life
Fabian was born in Etterbeek, in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium, the only child of Pierre Crokaert, a Flemish musician who collaborated with Petula Clark, and Maria Luisa Serio, a Sicilian from Acireale. She was raised between the Italian city of Catania, Sicily and the Belgian town of Ruisbroek, Flemish Brabant, speaking Italian as her first language. Fabian's parents recognized her talent early on and enrolled her in the Royal Conservatory of Brussels when she was eight years old; she studied there for 10 years.
Career
1986–1993: Early music career
During the 1980s, Fabian entered a number of European competitions and won several prizes. She released her first single, "L'Aziza est en pleurs" / "Il y avait", in 1986.
In 1988, the RTL TV channel in Luxembourg invited Fabian to represent the country at the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest, held that year in Dublin, Ireland. The song was a composition by Jacques Cardona and Alain Garcia entitled "Croire" (Believe), which reached fourth place (while Celine Dion won the contest representing Switzerland). The single became a hit in Europe, selling nearly 500,000 copies.
In 1990, Fabian and musical collaborator Rick Allison moved to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to embark on a career in North America. They started their own music label and publishing company, Productions Clandestines.
In August 1991, her self-titled French-language debut album, Lara Fabian, was released in Canada and sold over 100,000 copies. The success of upbeat dance-pop singles such as "Le jour où tu partiras", "Les murs", and "Qui pense à l'amour" gave Fabian radio exposure. She received several nominations at the 1993 ADISQ Awards, and a poll published around that time voted her Québec's most promising singer.
1994–1996: Breakthrough album: Carpe diem
Constant touring in Québec helped Fabian's 1994 album Carpe diem become her breakthrough album. The album went gold three weeks after its release, and spawned three hit singles: "Tu t'en vas", "Si tu m'aimes", and "Leïla". The following year, the album went double platinum.
Fabian received two Félix Awards at the 1995 ADISQ gala: Best Show of The Year and Best Female Singer of The Year (a category that is voted for by the public).
In 1996, Walt Disney Studios hired Fabian as the voice of the character of Esmeralda in the Canadian French version of the animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Disney also included "Que Dieu aide les exclus", Fabian's French version of the song "God Help The Outcasts", on the film's English soundtrack album alongside Bette Midler's version.
Since 1996, Lara Fabian has also held Canadian citizenship alongside her original Belgian passport.
1997–1999: Mainstream international success: Pure and Live
After the success of Carpe diem, Fabian signed a contract with the French Polydor label for several albums and Pure was released in June 1997. Pure sold more than two million copies in France; the album went platinum in less than two weeks, and spawned several hit singles: "Tout", "Je t'aime", "Humana", "Si tu m'aimes", and the anti-homophobia anthem "La Différence". The album won a Félix Award for Popular Album of the Year at the 1997 ADISQ gala and was nominated for two Juno Awards in the Best Selling French Album category, and for Fabian as Best Female Singer.
In February 1998, Fabian received the Discovery of the Year award during the Victoires de la Musique Gala. Also in 1998, Polydor released Carpe diem in Europe. In November 1998, she received the Félix Award for Artist with the Most Recognition Outside Quebec at the 'ADISQ Gala'. In December, she was named as Revelation of the Year by Paris Match, which put her on its cover to mark this occasion.
In March 1999, Fabian released her first live album, named Live, which debuted at No. 1 on the French charts. This helped seal an international recording contract with Sony Music. In May 1999, Fabian was honoured at the World Music Awards in Monaco as the best-selling Benelux artist. In July 1999, with over six million records already sold across Europe, Polydor rereleased Fabian's self-titled debut album.
1999–2001: Extension of success to the US and Latin America: Lara Fabian
In the summer of 1999, Fabian recorded her first English-language album, Lara Fabian, in New York and San Francisco for the Sony label. The songs were written and produced with Rick Allison and Dave Pickell, Walter Afanasieff, Glen Ballard and Patrick Leonard.
The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 'Heatseekers' album chart, reached No. 1 on the French album chart, and was No. 2 on the Belgian album chart. For the Asian version of the album, Fabian collaborated with American-Taiwanese pop star Leehom Wang on the song "Light of My Life".
The dance-pop song "I Will Love Again", her first English single, reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, and peaked No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 10 Adult Contemporary, as well as appearing in several international charts. This included the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 63. The follow-up ballad, "Love By Grace", entered the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at No. 24. In February 2001, "Love By Grace" became the theme song of the lead couple in the Brazilian soap opera Laços de Família, broadcast by Rede Globo in Brazil and Portugal. For several weeks, the song was number 1 on most Brazilian and Portuguese radio stations. The third single, the dance-pop song "I Am Who I Am", remixed by Hex Hector, did not chart. In Europe, the single "Adagio" charted at No. 5 on the French singles chart and No. 3 on the Belgian singles chart.
During this period, Fabian recorded songs for several Hollywood motion picture soundtracks, including "The Dream Within" for the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within soundtrack, and "For Always" for the AI:Artificial Intelligence soundtrack, which contained both a solo version and a duet with Josh Groban.
2001–2003: O Canada 2001 and return to French roots: Nue, Live 2002 and En toute intimité
Nue (Naked), Fabian's fourth French album, was released in the Fall of 2001 in both Québec and France. Nue is a documentation of her emotional ride in the years since success of the previous album. The album reached No. 1 in Belgium and No. 2 in France but had little impact in Québec. The album was also released in Portugal and reached the top 10 on the album charts during the Fall of 2001.
The first single, released in the summer of 2001, was the anthem "J'y crois encore," which was a top 20 French hit. Other singles followed, including "Immortelle", "Aimer Déjà," and in 2002 "Tu es mon autre" (a duet with fellow Belgian, Maurane, which was nominated for song of the year and reached the top 5 in France).
Also in 2001, she collaborated with David Foster and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra to record the Canadian national anthem, O Canada, in an English version, a French version, and a bilingual (French/English) version, for a promotion of the Government of Canada.
In 2002, Fabian contributed to the World Soccer Championship CD release, with the song World at Your Feet written and produced by Gary Barlow.
Towards the end of 2002, Fabian released her second live album, Live 2002, from her latest tour, together with a DVD showcasing concerts recorded in December 2001 in Belgium at the Forest National and at Le Zénith in Paris.
Her 2003 stint at the Casino de Paris every Monday night consisted of concerts to small audiences, which were released as a live CD and DVD at the end of 2003, under the title En toute…