Childhood & Early Life
Lara Crokaert was born to Pierre and Maria, on January 9, 1970, in Etterbeek municipality of Brussels, Belgium. The young girl was raised in Catania, Sicily, after which her family settled down in Ruisbroek, a Belgian village.
A child prodigy, she not only played the piano exceptionally well, but also sang, danced and wrote her own lyrics. The major influences on her work as an artist were the performances of the band, 'Queen', and American singer, Barbra Streisand. As a young performer, she soon adopted the stage name of Lara Fabian.
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Career
In 1986, Lara's debut track, 'L'Aziza est en pleurs/ Il y avait' was released, consisting of two different songs written by musician Marc Lerchs.
Two years later, the young singer represented Belgium and competed in the '33rd Eurovision Song Contest', singing 'Croire' ('Trust'). She finished in fourth place at the competition, which was won by Celine Dion, who sang for Switzerland.
Fabian soon settled down in Montreal, Canada, in order to kick-start her musical career. Along with fellow musician, Rick Allison, Lara established the recording company, 'Productions Clandestines'.
In August, 1991, she released her first album, titled, 'Lara Fabian', which became an instant hit, with its top tracks, 'Le jour où tu partira', 'Qui pense à l'amour', and 'Les murs'.
This talented singer brought out her next album, 'Carpe diem' in 1994, with singles like 'Leïla', 'Si tu m'aimes', and 'Tu t'en vas'. Within two years, she was signed on by 'Walt Disney Studios', to lend her voice to 'Esmeralda', a character in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame', released in French.
From 1996-99, Fabian released her new album 'Pure', in Canada, France, Belgium, and Switzerland. Her earlier album 'Carpe diem' was introduced in Europe, and during the same time, she also produced the album, 'Live'.
In 2001, Lara brought out a new album, titled, 'Nue' ('Naked'), this too in French, with the extremely popular single, 'J'y crois encore', and other tracks like 'Tu es mon autre', 'Immortelle', and 'Aimer Déjà'.
The same year, she also sang 'O Canada', the nation's anthem, in languages like English and French, in collaboration with the 'Vancouver Symphony Orchestra', and musician David Foster.
In 2002, she sang 'World at Your Feet', for the 'World Soccer Championship CD', with the words penned by English singer-songwriter, Gary Barlow. The next year, she released a compilation of her performances at the 'Casino de Paris', in an album titled 'En toute intimité'.
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The exceptional musician also appeared in 2004 film, 'De-Lovely', starring Ashley Judd and Kevin Kline, performing tracks like 'So in Love' and 'Another Openin', Another Show'.
In 2005, this brilliant singer produced the fifth album sung in French, named '9'. The style of singing portrayed in tracks, like Ne lui parlez plus d'elle', 'Il ne manquait que toi', 'La Lettre', and 'L'homme qui n'avait pas de maison', deflect from her usual tone and soon became highly popular.
During 2006-11, a concert album was released, titled, 'Un regard 9 Live' by this accomplished singer. She also brought out studio productions including 'Toutes Les Femmes En Moi', 'Nuit Magique', 'Best of Lara Fabian', 'Mademoiselle Zhivago', and ‘Je me souviens’.
From 2012-14, Fabian released the album, 'Le Secret ', which contained seventeen tracks, including 'Deux ils, Deux elles'. The song advocates that being a part of the LGBT section of society is a personal choice, and condemns the practice of discrimination against them.
During the same time, she also collaborated with Greek musician, George Perris, and Turkish performer, Mustafa Ceceli, to work on the songs, 'Ma Solitude', and 'Make Me Yours Tonight' respectively.
Lara has also worked as a songwriter for French artistes like Myriam Abel, Chimène Badi, and Nolwenn Leroy.
