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Italian diva hopes U.S. will surrender to her sound
(CNN) -- For Laura Pausini, world domination is an appealing concept. The 28-year-old Italian-born singer has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide since winning top prize at the prestigious San Remo Festival in Italy a decade ago. And having had success with albums sung in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, she's now taking on the English-speaking world with her latest pop record, "From the Inside" (Atlantic), released in November. Pausini is hoping it will help raise her profile in the United States, the world's biggest music market. Pausini dropped into "The Music Room" to tell us more about the album and its catchy first single, "Surrender." TMR: What music did you listen to when you were growing up in Italy? Pausini: Because my father was a singer and a piano bar player, he taught me songs that were very strange for a little girl. I listened to Ella Fitzgerald and Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and James Brown. I listened to a lot of soul and jazz, and of course, Italian pop music. TMR: You were unknown when you did your famous performance at San Remo. How did that performance affect you? Pausini: San Remo was the most important award I ever won in my life. I was 18 and I didn't expect to win. I cried all night. I feel very emotional when I think about that [night]. It changed everything: my life, my parent's life, my future. Everything. I now live with music, and that's amazing. TMR: Was it difficult for you to sing in English on this album? Pausini: Wow! English took me two years to learn. Singing in Spanish and Portuguese was easier for me because these languages are Latin [based] and very similar to mine. But English is very important [in Italy]. Every Italian studies English at school. It's strange, because while I'm singing in English, I lose a little bit of the Italian accent, and my record company is very happy about that. It's nice to understand a lot of languages, because it means you know a lot about different cultures and the personalities of people around the world. My next goal is to learn French. I want to sing and speak in French very soon. TMR: Are you happy with "From the Inside?" Pausini: Yes. But in the beginning [making the album] was a little bit difficult for me. I am a songwriter, and I used to share my ideas with Italian songwriters for my Italian, Spanish and Portuguese albums. But this time I felt a little bit weak because I needed someone to write the music for me [because of my limited English]. I didn't want to change my style for the album, so I met a lot of fabulous producers who helped me find the best songwriters for me. It was strange, because sometimes I had to say no to some songs that came from idols of mine. I can't say who! TMR: Tell us about the first single released from the album. Pausini: "Surrender" is the name of the first single and there's a bit of a strange story surrounding it. It was the last song that I did. I was sure the album was finished when my record company called me and said, "We've found a smash. You have to listen to this song called 'Surrender.'" I said, "'Surrender'? Are you serious? I don't want to sing any song about surrendering to anyone!" But when I listened to that song, I felt that not only was the song a smash, but the song was about who I am. I have to admit, in the end, I like to surrender to someone; the person I love. TMR: How difficult do you think it will be to break into the American market with this album? Pausini: Very difficult and very strange. [There are] no keys and no secrets. This is my third crossover album and because [I've had success] in South America with the Spanish market and in Brazil, I thought why not [give it a try]? To me it's possible. TMR: What singers and musicians do you admire? Pausini: I like Whitney Houston, Bryan McKnight and George Michael. I like Oasis and India.Arie. I like so many! Back to The Music Room main page.
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