I started singing when I was eight years old in my parish church. Singing has always been very important to me. It informs my whole life, love and attitudes.
I was not an ambitious child, so my father encouraged me to enter competitions and contests, which became very much a part of my life. I was not typical of teenagers. I was rather shy and withdrawn, with overprotective parents so I didn’t hangout much with friends at discos.
Gradually, singing came to take up my whole life, and it also compelled me to travel a lot, so my job became my dream.
Your latest album, Early Spring, is poised to become another big hit. Were you expecting it?
Well, I was certainly hoping for it. As a child I never would have imagined that I’d become a famous singer. Now that it’s actually happening I am thrilled to find that people are identifying and connecting with my songs and lyrics. The words I write come out of me instinctively and reflect my personality, so I’m always interested in seeing if I manage to touch chords in people’s hearts.
My artistic output depends to a large extent on my mood and feelings, on how I wake up in the morning, on whether its sunny or raining, or on what’s going to happen during the day.
Are the songs from Early Spring autobiographical in some way?
All of my songs spring from events that have actually happened to me, or to people very close to me. I can safely say that in my 16 years as a singer there are perhaps only two or three songs that are not, in some way, personal. All of the others, and in particular those of the last two albums, are strongly autobiographic.
Which song from that album is most personal?
Then Again No. This song is not only the most personal, it’s also the one that scares me the most of all the songs I’ve written so far; at the same time, it’s also the one I find most soothing.
The lyrics were inspired by the loss of my grandmother who was a fundamental presence in my life. It made me think of the pain people go through because they might not have been able to say all they wanted to when there was still time. This is a very important thought for me.
How did your duet with James Blunt come about?
Early Spring is the name of the album, and also the last song I wrote for the album. I was lacking a point of arrival, a final message, and I eventually found it in the idea of an early Spring.
Initially I hadn’t considered doing a duet with anyone. Then I saw James Blunt on Storytellers and, right after the end of the show, I ran to his dressing room and told him I wanted to sing with him.
When I got home I thought of this song and sent it to him by email, and he immediately said yes. I take that as a great compliment from one of the most gifted young singer-songwriters around.
What surprises does your 2009 world tour have in store?
For us who are performing on the stage, the biggest surprise is always the public. It is the public that actually ‘makes’ the concert, that gives it its particular connotation and unique flavour. To perform with crowds of people in front of you by sharing your feelings with them is an unforgettable experience. And I am looking forward to a lot of these surprises this year. I’ll do my level best to make my fans as happy as possible at the concerts.
Name the artists who have most influenced your musical career.
I have been influenced by the greatest professionals of all types of music, in particular jazz, pop, reggae, traditional ballads, and pop. I have taken from each type of music what was most suitable for my personality. In particular, I have learned from Whitney Houston, George Michael, Sade, Phil Collins, and many others. I have also taken a lot from Italian singers like Lucio Battisti, Claudio Baglioni, Ornella Vanoni, and Mina.
One of your first hits, Loneliness, is about a teenager’s first experience of romantic love. Were you happy as a teenager?
The theme to the song is not romantic love as such, but the loneliness one feels when love breaks down and two people separate. As I have just said, all my songs are strongly autobiographical, and this one is so in particular. I got my first taste of loneliness following a break up when I was in senior high. Apart from these disappointments, I was happy and studied hard at school, even though I had trouble with some subjects.
Were you able to form close friendships in high school?
I was on good terms with everyone at school, and I enjoyed the company of all my school friends. I only started to have problems when I began working for the music industry. Unfortunately, at the beginning I placed my trust in the wrong people.
Who were your role models?
My parents, both of them. In particular, my father, Fabrizio, who is a professional musician and singer himself, was instrumental in my career. On my 8th birthday, he asked me what I wanted as a gift. No doll or toy for me! I told him, “I want to sing onstage with you!” From that day I knew I wanted to be a singer with my father, and I sang with him for ten years.
At 13 I recorded my first album I sogni di Laura (Laura’s Dreams) with my father’s help; he was the producer.
Is it difficult to combine family commitments with this job which takes you around the world touring for most of the year?
It was hard at the beginning, but I was fortunate to have my father beside me a lot of the times. Now that I am a mature woman travelling with collaborators, I look back with appreciation at my father’s invaluable presence and advice in the first years of my career, and also at the confidence my mother had in me.
You made your all-English debut in 2002 with the album From the Inside. How does an Italian singer like you relate to the English language?
English took me two years to learn. It’s strange because when I’m singing in English, I lose a little bit of the Italian accent, and my record company [Atlantic] was very happy about that.
The album’s first single, Surrender, is very much about who I am.
What place does God have in your daily life?
God is continually present in my life.
How important is a spiritual dimension to life for somebody who makes a living out of a pop singer’s image?
The spiritual dimension is of extreme importance. Because the image must not exist as a concept of life. The image is something which one may experiment with; it is something which one also needs to groom and improve with education, but it cannot exist as a concept of life. This has always been my opinion because I believe that, as far as the spirit is concerned, other things are of importance.
I know that you are emotionally involved with guitarist Paolo Carta. Is your love for him something that leads to God or something that tends to exclude Him.
A relationship based on true authentic love includes God. God is love, always.
You’ve had the privilege to sing in front of Pope John Paul II. What memories do you have of that experience?
I never believed it could be possible to meet anyone whose aura is visible to the naked eye. It was a most moving experience to meet him personally. Naturally he had already given me a lot before I actually met him, but, still, to have him in front of me was an unforgettable experience.
Pope John Paul has left a positive mark on everyone, even on unbelievers.
You were also friends with Luciano Pavarotti. What are your memories of him?
Luciano is still very much alive in my mind. He was very nice and had real affection for me. He protected me through his friendship. His daughter Alice has his same intensity in her eyes. I saw her and Nicoletta Pavarotti not long ago, and it was a moving experience to meet Luciano again through them.
You are now an acclaimed star. Do you have other ambitions besides singing?
I’d like to become an aunt and a mother. However, this is not something I can programme into my life… I can only hope for it. But I have always relied on hope!
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WITH MORE THAN 30 million records sold worldwide, Laura Pausini started singing in local piano bars with her father Fabrizio, a musician and singer, when she was only 8. Her career was launched in 1993 when she won the prestigious Italian Sanremo Music Festival with one of her best known songs, Loneliness.
She then signed a contract with Warner Music Italy to release her first professional album, Laura Pausini (1993), which was a big success in Italy, France, as well as in The Netherlands. Her second album, Laura, was released in 1994 and was such a big hit that her recording company offered her a deal to record in Spanish.
At the end of 1994, Pausini released her first Spanish album, which was so successful that made her a household name in the Spanish-speaking world.
In 1999 she participated in the soundtrack of the Hollywood movie Message In A Bottle (with Kevin Costner and Paul Newman) with a soulful ballad titled One More Time, written by Richard Marx and recorded with David Foster on piano. Also in 1999, and again in 2003, famed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti invited Laura to sing with him in his annual Pavarotti and Friends concert.
In 2002 Pausini released her first English album, From the Inside, with Atlantic Records. Her first single Surrender peaked at #1 in Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart and fared well on the Dance Radio Airplay chart. Her second single If That’s Love was also a #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart.
The Spanish album, Escucha, was awarded the American Grammy for ‘Best Latin Pop Album’ in 2006. This made her the first Italian female to receive such honours. In 2005 and 2007, Laura won a Latin Grammy Award for best female album.
Her new album called Early Spring was released on December 1, 2008, in 42 countries worldwide.
Updated on October 06 2016