Because she knew how to transform trials into strength, then translate them into opportunities, Lara Fabian manages to offer her fans songs that have a deep resonance with their own experiences. Whatever the challenge, she knows that it is always possible to emerge stronger. This message of hope and resilience resonates at the heart of Je suis là, his most recent album, where great melodies sit alongside hard-hitting lyrics. An introspective album that calls upon inner strength and invites redemption.
• Also read: Lara Fabian opens up about her eating disorders
Lara, you present to us your new album, Je suis là. What is he saying?
I am here, it is the vibrant testimony of a space where everything is possible, where the trials of a life can be perceived as opportunities. It’s an album where we put an end to what’s left unsaid. It is not a testimony of pain, but of liberation. I don’t know anyone interesting who hasn’t suffered. And on this level, I want to say that I am completely normal.
So in some ways it would be an album about resilience…
Certainly. It’s an album that has no pretensions other than to lay things down and say, “I’m here. I am that.” I say this from a space where I am healed, at peace. So the album can be a meeting space for everyone who feels that way. When we are free from suffering, we no longer need the gaze of others, the friendship of others, the love of others. I want to say that we are more complete.
I would like to say a word about your collaborators, in particular Slimane and Vianney…
Slimane and I found each other. He is a creative soul mate. We ended up writing most of this album together. With Vianney was born the song Je suis de toi, which is one of my favorites on the album. She says that you are the child of, but when you become a parent yourself, you can understand how difficult it is to be the parent of someone who one day will say: “I am the child of.” It allows us to gain perspective from the conflicts or misunderstandings that have created, strengthened and defined us. When we come out of it, when we become completely ourselves and when we become a parent in turn, we face the same challenge. We can finally understand that it’s OK to be the child of. Far beyond conflicts or impasses. At that point, the gaps are no longer handicaps, but opportunities.
The song about love, I looked for youis it autobiographical?
It could be, but it’s not just my song. She talks about matching time and love. For my part, I am in my 13th year of relationship with my husband. I wanted to talk about him as an ally, as is the case in any love story that has benefited from time. So, yes, I probably drew on certain moments of my own life to create this song, but it could also be the story of my parents or of any love which, by making time its ally, finds itself transformed in the most incredible sense of the word. Choosing to stay means understanding that we can add up these moments of life and that they are infinitely richer when we can add them up than when we abandon the relationship. What do we do with a great love when we understand that time is its greatest ally? I was looking for you, that’s it.
In this album, it is often about resilience. There have been several trials in your life journey, haven’t there?
That’s all I got. That’s it! Trials are my destiny. I must make these tests material that helps others. I would never have been able to write words that have meaning in the lives of others if I had not experienced everything I experienced myself. So, I bless this subject because it allows me today to be of service to others and to give meaning to my existence.
How did you transform suffering? How did you manage to get past her?
By choosing to do so. It takes a certain amount of unconsciousness and, at times, a real desire to get through it. When you can’t take it anymore, you choose to stop suffering. But we really have to go to the end. So at times I chose to continue to suffer, as many of us do. And other times, I decided enough was enough.
Would you be able to identify what was most useful for you?
The first thing was to understand how I function psychically and biochemically. I have a Latin temperament. What can I do to counter this biochemical state? For me, eating is vital. Take long walks too. Play sports. It’s something I’ve come to understand over time: in perimenopause, in menopause, in postmenopause. I went through all these stages. I am 54 years old. It took me a while to realize that I needed to do certain things because, biochemically, it works for me and it makes me feel good.
I am here is available on all platforms. To learn more about his projects, go to larafabian.ca. On the way to Star Academyfrom January 13 to 16, at 7:30 p.m., on TVA. The Varietyfrom Sunday January 19 at 7 p.m., on TVA. The dailyMonday to Thursday at 7:30 p.m., from January 20, on TVA. The Lara effectto be seen in 2025, at VAT and VAT+.
