Lara's 1997 album Pure, was a two million-selling album in France from which came the anti-homophobia anthem "La Difference." The album went platinum in less than two weeks. Lara again was bestowed with awards, being awarded a Félix for Popular Album Of The Year at the 1997 ADISQ gala and was also nominated for two Juno Awards in the Best Female Singer and Best Selling French Album categories.
This recognition once again attracted the attention of movie studios. The producer of Daylight, (starring Sylvester Stallone), asked Lara and Rick Allison to write a song for the movie. The song they created is Tant Qu'Il y Aura de l'Amour, the French version of the song performed by Donna Summer and Bruce Roberts.
Lara then signed a contract with the French Polydor label for several albums, and Pure was released in June 1997. Upon its release, Lara's European career skyrocketed. Sales of Pure hit the 2 million mark, while the singles Tout, Je T'Aime, and Humana each sold more than 1 million copies. In January 1998, Lara sang a duet with Johnny Hallyday at a benefit concert given for the Restos du Coeur in France. Lara's own tour during this time had two sold-out shows at L'Olympia (France). A month later, on that very same stage, Lara was given the Discovery Of The Year award during the Victoires de la Musique Gala. Soon after, Polydor released "Carpe Diem" in Europe.
After a sold-out two-night stint at the Paris Palais des Sports in April, Lara was even more in demand. Once again she was invited to perform with Johnny Hallyday during several concerts given at the Stade de France in front of 240,000 fans. The following fall, Lara undertook a European tour that reached audiences of more than 100,000.
Lara's popularity is perhaps exemplified by the famous Grévin Wax Museum's decision to unveil her wax effigy, as a Quebec City museum had already done. She thus became the first female Canadian singer ever to be honoured by the Paris institution.
In November 1998, Lara received the Félix Award for Artist With The Most Recognition Outside Quebec at the ADISQ Gala. In December, Lara was chosen Revelation Of The Year by the magazine Paris Match, which put her on its cover to mark this occasion.
Lara spent most of fall 1998 in France, where she embarked on an extensive tour of 24 cities including Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Geneva and Monaco. During this sold-out concert tour, Lara performed for audiences of more than 150,000. In May 1999, Lara was honoured at the World Music Awards in Monaco, where she was given the award for Best Selling Record for the Year 1998 for her album Pure.
In July 1999, with over 6 million records sold across Europe, Polydor released Lara’s eponymous (her self-titled debut from 1991) album. The European version of this early album contained slight modifications, such as a new album cover and the addition of the song Croire.
Lara released a live album, Lara Fabian Live, which debuted at #1 on the France charts in 1998. This helped solidified the international buzz around her and she received an international recording contract from Sony Music, which released her self-titled, English-language album, "Lara Fabian", in 2000
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