LARA FABIAN RATING

OVERALL RATING*: 79 Lara Fabian is the kind of singer we like to feature. Talented, beautiful and with a voice to boot. Her current song, "I Will Love Again" was last week's top mover on the Billboard charts and leads the SoundScan charts for new artists. Not only does she write most of her material, but she can sing it in Spanish and French just as easily as she can in English giving her music label, Sony Music, a solid shot of having another cross-over sensation in the mold of Celine Dion, their previous multi-language chart topper. TALENT: 89 She claims to be a "songwriter with a voice", that doesn't do justice to her voice. We were so impressed by her music we even listened to her French CD (before a grouchy staffer "accidentally" set it on fire). ATTRACTIVENESS: 83 It's unlikely that you'll ever see Lara Fabian becoming the kind of sex symbol that Madonna is, but one Madonna is enough for us. We like the vibe Lara gives, it's a very natural sexiness. PERSONALITY: 82 Despite international success, she remains humble, which only makes her more beautiful in our eyes. She speaks 5 languages fluently, which is about 4 more than the rest of us (pig-latin doesn't count). BEAUTY: 79 With eyes that would make Lauren Bacall proud, she's certainly able to turn heads. CAREER STATUS: 72 She's making her US (and English language) debut right now, but has already sold more than 6 million albums internationally. Not bad at all for a songwriter. PERSONAL STYLE: 78 Her upbringing on the Old Continent and in Montreal(one of the trendiest cities in North America), gave her a unique, sophisticated, urban cool look that Lil' Kim could learn from. WHY WE CHOSE HER? We appreciate talent and she has buckets full. Sure, she's not as fresh as the latest teen sensations, but at least her voice can stand up to anyone's challenge. She's a pro in a business that needs more people like her and less amateurs. BIOGRAPHY:

It's not about sitting with your butt on the sofa and going 'I wanna be a star.' No way. You've got to know how to bake the bread before eating it and there's just so much you need to know and I knew I had to learn it all.
-Lara Fabian

On her self-titled album, Lara Fabian, Lara takes the credit of having written 90 percent of the songs, a feat not many artists can boast. With singles such as "Till I Get Over You" and "Broken Vow," Lara shows that she can break into the North American audience the same way she has taken the rest of the world by storm. Sounds familiarly like fellow Quebec native Celine Dion, but Lara will undoubtedly break out of the pop diva's shadow soon enough. French pop singer Lara Fabian was born in January, 1970, in Etterbeek, Belgium. Raised in north Belgium and Italy by her Flemish father and Sicilian mother, the French, English, Italian and Spanish speaking Lara knew that she wanted to be a performer at an early age. With singing, dancing, piano, and music lessons to boot, Lara had already begun taking lessons at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels by the age of 8 and continued taking them for the next 10 years. By age 14, Lara had begun performing and writing songs, while her father, a former guitarist and backup vocalist, would accompany her on the guitar. All the music lessons in the world cannot take all the credit for Lara's musical formation. Lara listened to the radio and was fascinated by such artists as Barbra Streisand and the late Freddie Mercury of Queen. Listening to this diversity of music influenced Lara's style, who claims that although she is a pop singer, her music is not purely pop -- it varies from classical and rock, to country. In the years that followed, Lara entered European singing competitions, winning several prizes. She won fourth prize in a prestigious European competition for singing her single "Croire". Beginning to achieve success and fame in Europe with the release of several hit singles on a French label, Lara felt that she had to leave what she refers to as "conservative" Europe, so that she could be herself and explore who she really is. When she crossed the Atlantic and moved to Montreal, Quebec right after high school, she simply fell in love with the city and knew that this was to be her next home. Now motivated to work and start her career in North America, Lara established an independent record label and publishing company. Under the umbrella of an existing production company, and with the help of her old friend, producer/songwriter Rick Allison, Lara was ready to begin her creative process.

In 1991, Lara released her first album, co-written by Rick Allison and featuring Lara singing in French, and it was a hit. Selling 100,000 copies, it led to Lara touring Quebec in support of her album. 3 years later, Lara followed up her debut album with a second musical effort, entitled Carpe Diem. This album equally did not disappoint. It has sold more than 800,000 copies and was a hit in both Quebec and France. Lara's 2 previous albums were only an inkling of the success that Lara was yet to achieve. Her third album, 1997's Pure, sold 2 million copies in France alone, and spawned several hit singles. Among them was the song "La Difference", which was an attempt to end intolerance of other's differences, specifically an end to homophobia. In Europe, the song became an anthem for tolerance. After extensive touring following the release of each album, Lara released a compilation of her live performances in Quebec and Europe, entitled Lara Fabian Live. The double album landed the number one spot on the French album chart the week it was released. Disney also asked Lara to sing as the voice of Esmerelda in the French version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Other recognition she has received includes: a wax effigy of Lara at the Grevin Wax Museum of Paris and the Best Selling Benelux Artist at the 1999 World Music Awards. Sony Music, who got word of Lara's tremendous success in Europe and Quebec, wanted to sign the singer/songwriter to their record label. She headed for the United States, and recorded her first English album, working with big league producers such as Walter Afanadieff (who has worked with Mariah Carey), Pat Leonard (Madonna) and Brian Rawling (Cher). Lara doesn't consider herself to be a singer, nor a diva -- she refers to herself as "a songwriter with a voice" -- and with her soulful voice and diverse style, Lara has definitely proven to have crossed many international boundaries. What else do you need to know? OUR SECRET WISH: Success, because it's nice when an underdog beats the odds.