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 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 intimité.
2004: Second English language release: A Wonderful Life
In June 2004, Fabian released her second English album, A Wonderful Life.
The project was commercially unsuccessful but critically praised. The more organic sound on the album is attributed to the work of French guitarist Jean-Félix Lalanne, and producers Desmond Child, Anders Bagge and the British team True North (composed of Take That singer Gary Barlow and Elliot John Kennedy). "Review My Kisses", written by Desmond Child, was first recorded by LeAnn Rimes in 2002 for her album Twisted Angel.
The first single released for radio was "The Last Goodbye" in the US and a number of other countries (except France). In France, the song "No Big Deal" was the first single. Neither of the songs achieved success and the album was not promoted; and its release was cancelled in the United States.
In Brazil, the song "I Guess I Loved You" achieved moderate success when included on a soap opera entitled "Senhora do Destino" (Her own Destiny), a well-known Brazilian television series. The song also gained some popularity in Portugal, for the same reason, though it was never officially released or promoted.
In 2004, in the MGM film De-Lovely, Fabian performed the numbers "Another Openin', Another Show" (with chorus) and "So in Love" (with Mario Frangoulis) from the Cole Porter musical Kiss Me, Kate.
2005–2006: A new musical direction: 9 and Un Regard 9
After a sabbatical in 2004, Fabian returned to the music scene spring of 2005 with her fifth French album, 9. The album is performed in a new style, with smoothness, serenity and joy, a departure from the deep, dramatic style of earlier recordings.
9 yielded the hit single "La Lettre", a song co-written with her new partner, Jean-Félix Lalanne, with whom she produced the album's 11 tracks. Other singles released included "Ne lui parlez plus d'elle", "Un Ave Maria", "Il ne manquait que toi" and the gospel-infused "L'homme qui n'avait pas de maison".
In October 2006, Fabian released a CD and DVD of this associated tour, both titled Un regard 9 Live and recorded during the concert of 29 March 2006, at Le Zénith in Paris. The CD presents 15 live performances and a new song, "Aime", recorded in a studio in Montreal, Quebec.
2006–2007: An Italian collaboration and live concerts in Europe In June 2007 Fabian worked in Rome and Los Angeles to record tracks for her next studio album.
In the meantime, the single "Un cuore malato " (with Gigi D'Alessio) reached the top of the Italian charts and No.16 in France.
In Los Angeles, Fabian worked with Dave Stewart on a multilingual album, reputed to include songs in English, Spanish, French, Italian, and a few other languages. This album was planned for release in late 2008.
Also in 2007, Fabian was in Québec to perform a two-night concert at the Olympia de Montreal. In October she was a surprise guest at a concert Gigi D'Alessio gave in France at the Olympia in Paris. Soon after, her daughter was born.
2009: Return to the music scene: Toutes les femmes en moi
A few months after her daughter's birth, Fabian carried out a tour of Ukraine, Russia and Greece. She also made a few TV appearances (such as 60th Anniversary of Israel where Fabian performed a Hebrew song and duetted with Israeli singer Noa).
During 2008, Fabian was in Belgium preparing to record a French album with pianist Mark Herskowitz. The album, Toutes les femmes en moi, was partly recorded in Montreal, and was released in May 2009. The first single, Soleil, Soleil, is a cover of the Nana Mouskouri song. The second single was Toutes les Femmes en moi, the only original song on the album.
2010–2012: "Tour Les Femmes Font Leur Show", Mademoiselle Zhivago