Saturday, November 24, 2007

Breaktrough in 1994-1996


Her constant touring in Quebec helped her 1994 album Carpe Diem to be her breakthrough album. The album went gold in less than three weeks of its release, and had three hit singles:Tu t'en vas, Si tu m'aimes, and Leïla. The following year, the album went triple platinum and Lara’s SRO tour attracted more than 150,000 fans. This success was recognized at the 1995 ADISQ gala in which Lara received two Félix awards: Best Show Of The Year and Best Female Singer Of The Year, a category that is voted upon by the public).

In January 1995, Serge Lama requested for Lara to join himself on the stage of the Paris venue Palais des Congrès to perform "Je suis malade", which she renewed on her Carpe Diem album. Impressed by the audience's response to his and Lara's duet, Serge right away asked Lara to sing the song once more on her own, which again delighted the audience.

In 1996, Walt Disney Studios immortalized Lara's voice when they asked her to do the voice for the character Esmeralda and sing a song for the animated feature The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Disney also included Lara's French version of the song on the film’s (English) soundtrack album beside that of Bette Midler's version, which was a unique move for the company.

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