PERSONE LAURA PAUSINI

56 May-June 2014 italianicious.com.au 57

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Following sold out concerts in Europe, South America and North America, Laura Pausini prepares to make her way to Australia as part of her Greatest Hits World Tour. In her very first Australian interview, Italianicious speaks with the much-loved Italian superstar.

LAURA HAS A SUCCESSFUL career that spans 20 years. She has recorded 12 studio albums, with sales in excess of 50 million worldwide. But despite her profound success, she remains humble and gracious, revealing her excitement at the chance to visit Australia for the first time. Laura’s trip down under is one that has been a long time coming. “I have been wanting to come to Australia for the past five years and finally I can realise my dream of being there. I think now is the right moment for me to visit and discover the people that listen to my music in Australia,” she says.

Born in a town called Solarolo, in the Ravenna province of Emilia Romagna, Laura’s love of music is something that was passed on by her father Fabrizio. “I think I was born to love singing – my parents taught me how to love music. My father was a musician and he would play in piano bars. I have had music in my life since I was a little child.”

She grew up listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, George Michael and Eros Ramazzotti and had

a desire to sing from the time she was just eight years old.

But Laura’s dream was not one of fame and fortune; she just wanted to do what she loved – to sing. Laura aspired to follow in the footsteps of her father

by pursuing a singing career in piano bars. Recognising Laura’s natural talent, her father encouraged her to strive for something more.

“When you sing in a club or piano bar, there is always a different audience, so you learn jazz, pop, rock as well

as traditional music. It can be tricky because you have to learn to interpret the audience. When I asked my father to help me create a group so that I could pursue a piano bar career, he told me that my voice was peculiar and said I should try to have a different career. Because of this, something strange and wonderful happened in my life,” Laura reflects.

Afraid of being judged, it took some convincing from her father before Laura entered a singing competition. This move was one that helped to secure Laura’s place in the 1993 Sanremo Music Festival, which in turn launched her international singing career. Little did she know of the success that would follow. Laura performed in the New Artists category, with the song La Solitudine – and she won.

Soon after, she released her first album, the self-titled Laura Pausini. It remained in the top 10 charts in Italy for an entire year. Before the year’s end, it had also topped the charts in Benelux and was later released worldwide.

“When I started singing, I didn’t want to be famous, but then all of a sudden

debutAustralian

“I think I was born to love singing – my parents taught me how to love music. My father was a musician and he would play in piano bars. I have had music in my life since I was a little child.”

PERSONE LAURA PAUSINI

58 May-June 2014 italianicious.com.au 59

I became well known in Italy, Europe and America. I was only 19 when I first appeared on Sanremo and when you are as young as I was, you don’t always think about or understand where your career could take you. Instead I was looking more at was happening at that moment,” Laura explains.

In 1994, Laura again took part in Sanremo – this time in the Established Artists category, where she finished in third place with her song Strani Amori. That same year, she released her second

album, titled Laura and a third album recorded in Spanish called Laura Pausini, which featured a compilation of hits from her first two albums.

Throughout her career, Laura has received many awards. She is the only Italian female ever to have won a Grammy award. Her list of accolades also includes three Latin Grammy awards, a Billboard Latin Music award and four World Music awards. Yet Laura describes Sanremo as the single most vital step she has had in her career. “It is the most important

award I have ever received internationally – for me as a person, even more than as a singer. Sanremo really changed my life and helped shape the destiny of my family life,” she says.

Despite the advent of more and more television singing contests in Italy and around the world, Laura believes that Sanremo remains an extremely significant music event for Italy. “It really represents something special and cultural. Sanremo is the right singing competition for Italy.”

By 1995, Laura had released Laura Pausini for the English speaking markets, featuring the English version of La Solitudine – titled Loneliness. She was named Best Selling Italian Artist at the World Music Awards, received the award for Best New Spanish Language Artist on the American Market at the Lo Nuestro Awards, and was honoured at the Institute of Italian Culture in Madrid by the Italian ambassador in Spain for her “contribution to spreading Italian popular culture in Spain” and for being the “all-time best selling international artist in Spain”.

In the Billboard Chart, she also ranked second, behind Mariah Carey, in the list for best new female artists of 1994.

As the albums kept coming, Laura’s success continued. She released Le Cose Che Vivi and its Spanish counterpart Las

Cosas Que Vivas in 1996. The following year, Laura embarked on her first world tour and also took part in the Christmas at the Vatican concert, where she sang before Pope John Paul II.

In 1998, Laura released the albums La Mia Risposta and the Spanish version Mi Respuesta, featuring the song Looking For An Angel – which was written for her by Phil Collins.

The list of studio albums features Tra Te E Il Mare (2000), The Best Of – E Ritorno Da Te (2001), From The Inside (2002), Resta In Ascolto (2004), Io Canto (2006), Primavera In Anticipo (2008), Inedito and Inedito Deluxe Edition (2011), and 20 The Greatest Hits (2013).

Laura has sung in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portugese. “In Italy, there isn’t always the possibility to have such a long career. And this is why I chose to celebrate by singing in different languages. It is such a privilege to be able to sing to different audiences from around the world. It’s very emotional and very touching,” she explains.

Her most recent album, 20 The Greatest Hits, was released in November 2013, featuring Laura’s most memorable songs. It is her second greatest hits album and includes duets with Ennio Morricone (La Solitudine), Marc Anthony (Non C’è/Se Fué), Ray Charles (Surrender To Love), Andrea Bocelli (Dare To Live – Vivere), and Michael Bublé (You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine).

“When I sung with Michael Bublé, who sings music that is very different to mine, I discovered that I could sing in a crooner style. From then on, I started to write some different types of songs – he taught me a new way,” adds Laura.

The new album also features a duet with our very own Kylie Minogue, titled Limpido. “Kylie flew to Rome to record the video clip with me and she was really lovely,” Laura adds.

For ‘The Greatest Hits World Tour’, Laura has performed in many countries throughout Europe, North America and South America. She will now make her way to Australia for two concerts. The first will be held in Melbourne on 12 June at Rod Laver Arena, followed by a second show in Sydney on 14 June at Qantas Credit Union Arena. In Melbourne, she will be supported by Anthony Callea; while Mark Vincent will open the show in Sydney.

Laura’s current world tour is a celebration of her 20th anniversary in the music business and she will sing the first song released on each of her albums. “My songs are about people in my life and the things that have happened to me.

For people who have followed my career, it will be like a walk through my personal life,” she adds.

Although her career has spanned two decades and she has achieved such phenomenal success, Laura admits that she still gets nervous before she goes on stage. “People come to see me and hear my music, so I don’t want to upset them by not meeting their expectations,” she says. “I am always trying to do my best and give it my all. I think I will be very nervous to be on stage in Melbourne and Sydney because I will be performing to an entirely new audience. It is exciting to be able to discover a new country and meet new people I can share my music with.”

“My songs are about people in my life and the things that have happened to me. For people who have followed my career, it will be like a walk through my personal life.”

Laura recently teamed up with Kylie Minogue for a duet titiled Limpido.