Three years after the release of her first album, which went gold and platinum, she released her second album, Carpe Diem, which launched the career of this singer-songwriter in French-speaking countries, especially in Quebec. Within three weeks, the album went gold. She then took her music on tour, performing to over 150,000 admirers, while her album went three times platinum. She was especially appreciated by the Canadian public and music industry. In 1995, she was awarded two Félix awards by Quebec's association of recording artists (ADISQ), namely Best Female Vocalist of the year (by popular vote), and Best Live Performance of the year.
Then, things began to pick up!
In 1996, Walt Disney Studios immortalized Lara's voice. In addition to incarnating Esmeralda, the heroine of the animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame, she sang the theme song ("Que Dieu aide les exclus") on the film's soundtrack.
In October, her third album "Pure" went platinum in less than two weeks. Thanks to this album, she won the 1997 Félix for Album of the Year. The same year, "Pure" was launched in France where over two million albums were sold within two years. Thanks to this resounding success, which eloquently expressed the affection of her loving and faithful fans, Lara was awarded the prize for New Artist of the Year at the prestigious French gala Les Victoires de la Musique. This was in February 1998, a few months before the concert tour in several French cities that led to the recording of an album (Lara Fabian Live) in March 1999 which went platinum a few months later. Lara Fabian was praised by music lovers and critics alike...
In addition to receiving the Félix for Quebec Artist Having the Most Impact Outside Quebec, she was voted Personality of the Year by the magazine Paris Match, which featured her on its front cover. While her fame grew, she was honored at the World Music Awards for Best Selling Artist for "Pure". Between appearances in Europe, Lara often returned to New York City and San Francisco to record her first album in English. She wrote or co-wrote most of the songs, working with Rick Allison and producers Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey), Pat Leonard (Madonna), Sam Watters (ex-Color Me Badd) and Brian Rawling (Cher's "I Believe").
Produced by Sony Records, the self-titled album was launched in May 2000 on America's most popular morning television show, NBC's Today Show. Invitations poured in, and Lara Fabian appeared on The Tonight Show, The View, Access Hollywood, Craig Kilborn, Entertainment Tonight...
The album's first excerpt, I will Love Again, hit No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Music charts and settled in for 58 weeks! Thanks to this resounding success, she received the Félix for Quebec Artist Having the Most Impact in a Language other than French. The songs on the album thrilled audiences worldwide.
In February 2001, Love By Grace became the theme song of the lead couple in the Brazilian soap opera Laços de Familia, broadcast by TV Globo for millions of viewers in Brazil and Portugal. For several weeks, the song was number 1 on most Brazilian and Portuguese radio stations. Love by Grace generated an incredible frenzy around the artist… You just don't top the billboards of Portuguese speaking countries everyday!
After From Lara with Love, her first American TV special broadcast by PBS, the singer-songwriter participated in the very popular WTKU New York radio special, Miracle on 34th Street, where many popular artists appeared, including Michael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Ricky Martin and Toni Braxton.
Shortly after, when her self-titled English-language album was released in Asia, Lara scored a number one hit on the Taiwanese top ten, a great moment for the artist. Many were particularly impressed with the song Light of my Life (found only on the Asian edition of the album), which she interpreted with Lee-Hom, Asia's top male Chinese-speaking vocalist. This song was included in the movie feature China Strike Force, starring newcomer Lee-Horn along with Aaron Kwok, a box-office idol throughout Asia.
Eagerly awaited in several cities throughout the world, Lara has brilliantly dealt with her growing popularity by frequently appearing abroad. The artist has performed in several European and American capitals, and has enjoyed every minute of her travels. Solid gold in Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Norway, Lara Fabian went platinum in Belgium, Brazil and France and triple platinum in Portugal. She enjoyed the longest number 1 run on Billboard's Heatseeker Chart in 2000.
Last May, Lara was awarded yet another prize at the World Music Awards in Monaco, where she sang Adagio. She also returned to New York and Los Angeles to lend her voice to the original soundtracks of two long-awaited international super productions in July 2001: She interpreted the song The Dreams Within, featured in the movie Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, as well as For Always, the vocal version of the title song of A.I., Steven Spielberg's latest feature.
In addition to a new French-language album in September 2001, Lara Fabian launched the first single on her new album in May, "J'y crois encore", which can be heard on radio stations in Quebec and Europe.
From France to Brazil, in Italy, Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, Germany, Portugal, Japan and the United States, Lara Fabian has established her reputation as a determined singer-songwriter. Barely 10 years after the release of her first album, Lara has conquered the hearts of millions of fans throughout the world, whose fervor is equaled only by their affection for this talented and authentic artist. Eight million records sold worldwide to this day testify to her achievement.
Her best-selling European DVD and CD, En Toute Intimité, released in October 2003, was an intimate, acoustic piano-based collection showcasing Ms. Fabian performing songs in English, Italian and French.
After En Toute Intimité Lara Fabian released her 2nd English language album called "A wonderful life". Lara Fabian's latest release is an album in the French language with the title "Toutes Les Femmes en Moi", released in May 2009.
2010: "Tour Les Femmes Font Leur Show", Mademoiselle Zhivago
Throughout the first half of 2010, Fabian embarked on a European tour of concerts, throughout France, Switzerland, and Belgium, incorporating the main repertoire of her last album "Toutes Les Femmes En Moi" along with some classic and fan favorites. She also performed again in Eastern Europe, with a more acoustic set (piano-voice), and included English recordings from the album Every Woman in Me. In September 2010, she finally released her 2009 album "Toutes Les Femmes En Moi" in Québec. She also recorded the album "Nuit Magique" with Canadian singer Coral Egan.
Later in 2010, Fabian released a concept album in Russia and Ukraine called Mademoiselle Zhivago which has sold over 800.000 copies in Russia. It features 11 songs in different languages by Russian composer Igor Krutoy. It features stories about a woman who experiences several lives over the years and centuries. Eleven music videos, one each song, were combined to create a full-length film, produced and directed by Ukrainian film producer Alan Badoev. The album itself, containing a CD and a DVD, was first released in Ukraine in October 2010 and in Russia in November.
2020–present: Lockdown Sessions
On December 16, 2020, Lara Fabian discreetly unveiled a collection of 12 experimental musical tracks, the fruit of her introspection and her isolation during confinement. Lockdown Sessions came out in a limited edition without a label, and offers a unique journey of the singer accompanied again by Moh Denebi.
Fabian is a full lyric soprano with a vocal range that spans three octaves from C3 to G5 in live performances.
She is multilingual, she speaks Italian, French, Spanish, Sicilian, English and some Flemish.[citation needed] She has also sung in Azerbaijani, German, Greek, Hebrew, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and Turkish
Leila
Lara Fabian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le parfum des fleurs d'oranger si doux
Le thé au jasmin parfume la peau
Des milliers de diamants roulent
Assise comme une image au bord de l'eau
Sa peau cuivrée attire même les bateaux
Elle est bien trop belle, ces murs bien trop hauts
Même si elle est fidèle à leurs désirs
De vivre comme une reine
Ou d'être une sirène
Quand le jour se lève
La nuit tombe à genoux
Le plus fou des rêves brille à son cou
Sur le toit du palais elle cueille des étoiles
Leïla les anges ont des voiles
Elle a appris à parler cette langue
Que seul les sultans ont le droit d'apprendre
Les yeux voilés, le corps à moitié nu
Elle danse et sans aucune retenue
Sourit mais pense à partir
Pour vivre mais comme une reine
Ou être une sirène
Elle se sent comme un oiseau
Partirait mais reviendrait bientôt
Elle pourrait enfin choisir
De vivre plus libre, Leïla
Elle va enfin choisir de vivre comme une reine
Ou être une sirène
The song Leila by Lara Fabian is about a woman named Leila who lives in a luxurious palace in the East. The lyrics describe the beauty of the environment around her, with luxurious gold and fragrant flowers. Despite the luxurious palace she lives in, Leila feels trapped and unfulfilled. The walls of the palace are too high, and she cannot choose how to live her life. She is faithful to the desires of those around her, but she wishes she had more control over her own life. She dreams of living like a queen or being a mermaid, expressing her longing for freedom and independence.
Leila has learned to speak the language of the sultans and dances with abandon, but her mind is always on leaving her current life. She wants more than just being a beautiful object to be desired; she longs to be free like a bird and be able to choose how she lives her life. The song ends with Leila choosing to live her life as a queen or as a mermaid, finally reaching a point where she can make her own choices and live her life on her own terms.
Overall, the song explores themes of longing and freedom, the desire for control over one's own life, and the struggle to balance societal expectations with personal desires.
Line by Line Meaning
L'or d'une nuit d'Orient coule à flots
There is an abundance of gold in a night in the East
Le parfum des fleurs d'oranger si doux
The scent of orange blossoms is very sweet
Le thé au jasmin parfume la peau
The jasmine tea perfumes the skin
Des milliers de diamants roulent
Thousands of diamonds roll
Assise comme une image au bord de l'eau
She sits like an image by the water
Sa peau cuivrée attire même les bateaux
Her coppery skin even attracts boats
Elle est bien trop belle, ces murs bien trop hauts
She is much too beautiful, these walls much too high
Même si elle est fidèle à leurs désirs
Even if she is faithful to their desires
Elle voudrait au moins choisir
She wants to at least choose
De vivre comme une reine
To live like a queen
Ou d'être une sirène
Or to be a mermaid
Quand le jour se lève
When the day breaks
La nuit tombe à genoux
The night falls to its knees
Le plus fou des rêves brille à son cou
The craziest of dreams shines at her neck
Sur le toit du palais elle cueille des étoiles
On the palace roof she picks stars
Leïla les anges ont des voiles
Leïla, the angels have veils
Elle a appris à parler cette langue
She has learned to speak this language
Que seul les sultans ont le droit d'apprendre
That only sultans have the right to learn
Les yeux voilés, le corps à moitié nu
Veiled eyes, body half-naked
Elle danse et sans aucune retenue
She dances without any restraint
Sourit mais pense à partir
She smiles but thinks of leaving
Pour vivre mais comme une reine
To live like a queen
Ou être une sirène
Or to be a mermaid
Elle se sent comme un oiseau
She feels like a bird
Partirait mais reviendrait bientôt
She would leave but come back soon
Elle pourrait enfin choisir
She could finally choose
De vivre plus libre, Leïla
To live more freely, Leïla
Elle va enfin choisir de vivre comme une reine
She will finally choose to live like a queen
Ou être une sirène
Or to be a mermaid
Lyrics © Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LARA FABIAN, STAN MEISSNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@camajespa
S'il y avait eu Youtube à l'époque, cette chanson aurait déjà plusieurs M de views!
@leilasamadi844
Je découvre cette belle chanson en 2020... Lara Fabian a une super voix.
@ClarissaAyres
Une chanson que me fait voyager dans le temps et le space. J'aime beaucoup. ❤️🗝️📖
@danarduynna6761
Exotisme et chaleur... des images magnifiques avec poésie et sensualité.
@ostcyr
Quelle belle chanson. Ça me retourne dans mon adolescence des années 90. 😍
@colettemachado6226
J ai tjrs adoré cette chanson entre autres. Je l ai écouté en boucle des que l album est sorti nous ne voyions plus bcp lara
@steveee1972
J'ai nommé ma fille Leïla grâce à cette chanson! :)
@emmapolignone4722
Larafabian
@guilhermep8414
Joli nom !!
@user-nk4ul7tt6d
Ma mère s'appelle Leila