Recently, esctoday.com reported about the success in Russia of international recording artist Lara Fabian. The Belgian singer, who represented Luxembourg at the Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin in 1988, had kind of disappeared from the French music scene for about three years, privileging her career in Eastern Europe since the failure of her latest effort Toutes les femmes en moi and its English version All the women in me, both tribute albums to the female singers she admires.

The French media are usually not very kind to Lara Fabian, regularly mocking her, whatever she says or sings. This is why the influent newspapers Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France decided to investigate about her international success. Considering her lack of exposure in France, many doubted about her being a star abroad but the conclusions of the newspapers’ investigation are clear enough.

The project album Madame Zhivago, recorded together with the prestigious Russian composer Igor Krutoy, did not sale at all in France as it could barely be found in some supermarkets only. However, the album has sold more than 800,000 copies in Eastern Europe since its release, including 400,000 copies in Russia. From a French point of view, these figures are indeed very impressive since only a few artists can achieve such record sales in France nowadays and largely compensate the disappointing sales (40,000 copies only) of her best-of album.

Lara Fabian does not only sell a lot of albums in Eastern Europe but a lot of tickets for her concerts as well. The Belgian diva has performed more than 60 concerts in the region since 2008, including the opening ceremony of the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Astana, Kazakhstan. In Russia only, Lara Fabian has given 21 concerts in Moscow so far, including 7 sold-out performances at the prestigious Kremlin which can seat up to 6,000 spectators. 25 more dates are already announced in Russia in 2013, including 3 more at the Kremlin.

The French newspapers also report the statement of famous NTV presenter Vadim Takmenev about the reasons why the Russians love Lara Fabian so much : « The Russians admire her for her beauty, her voice of course, but also because they feel they share with her a lot of emotions. Her song Je t’aime is very popular in Moscow’s karaoke clubs. She is part of our culture.».

When asked about her success in Eastern Europe and Russia, Lara Fabian ensures it is not an easy way she found not to face her difficulties on the French music scene. She states: “When an artist decides to give it a try in Eastern Europe, it is not because he or she is not successful in France anymore. It is not that easy to have success in those countries. It requires a lot of work, demand, patience, investing a lot of time and energy. Since 2008, I have spent over 6 months every year in those countries and I sing and perform wherevere I am invited, up to the remote areas of Siberia”.

The singer is however very eager to be back under the spotlights in France. In 2013, Lara Fabian will release her first original album since her last album back in 2005. Titled Le secret, the new album is due in April and is said to explore another genre: rock music. The singer has also announced a huge 150-date world tour as from next autumn and will appear as a coach during the battle sessions of the second season of popular TV talent show The Voice in France in the coming weeks.