«I don’t like to stay on my couch. I need to be running, always. But after all, you know that I’m the singer “más loca”, don’t you?», says Laura Pausini jokingly on the stage of Madrid’s Gran Estación Musical during the second concert of the live marathon celebrating 30 years of career. Everything started with her victory at Sanremo 1993 with La Solitudine. You got to be a bit “loca”, indeed, to perform in three different cities (one of which in another continent) in 24 hours. But such a global career must be celebrated properly.

Laura Pausini started at 6 pm EST (midnight in Italy) on Sunday, Feb. 26 at New York’s Apollo Theater. On stage, she sported a replica of the iconic blazer that she wore during Sanremo 1993, revisited for her by Giorgio Armani. Then she took the plane and reached Madrid, Spain, were Billboard Italia joined her. The show took place at 3 pm CET in a gorgeous station of the early 20^th century. Then with another flight she went to Milan, Italy, to perform at 11 pm CET at Teatro Carcano. All the shows included her new single, Un Buon Inizio, written by Riccardo Zanotti (frontman of Pinguini Tattici Nucleari), Marco Paganelli, and Giorgio Pesenti – the same songwriting pool that signed Leo Gassmann’s Terzo Cuore, competing at Sanremo 2023.

The three concerts of Laura 30

Each concert was dedicated to a different decade of Pausini’s career. The New York show included her early hits La Solitudine, Non C’è, and Strani Amori. Madrid saw songs of the 2000s such as Io Canto and Resta in Ascolto. Milan was focused on the last decade of her career, from Benvenuto to Io Sì and Scatola. She ended the show with an acapella medley of many classics of hers, before closing with La Solitudine played by the full band.

Laura Pausini was in good shape, showing an impeccable voice despite the few hours of sleep and the several flights. She sang some songs in three languages (English, Spanish, Italian) and even five (Io Sì included also Portuguese and French). She really wanted to give herself to the audience to thank them for 30 years of unconditional love.

Pausini’s crisis after the Golden Globes

Still, Laura Pausini had to face a crisis. She tells about it during the flight from Madrid to Milan. It was something that made her think a lot and challenge herself. It was the victory at the Golden Globes in 2021. That was and incredible achievement, but it gave her the feeling of having reached everything she could. «I asked myself what more I could achieve», she told the journalists. «It wasn’t nice. Over the last two years, I often felt trapped. My previous management wouldn’t push me further. I wasn’t feeling supported. That’s why I had to get curious again, like when I was little!».

The months spent listening to demos

«I asked Jacopo Pesce and Max Brigante (founders of the management firm Double Trouble, ed.) to tell me how they saw me», she says. «Jacopo made me listen to a bunch of demos but I didn’t like them. I didn’t even like the music on the radio. So I experimented a bit. I started singing the songs of other artists, like Mahmood, but I didn’t find my way. Then he made me listen to Riccardo Zanotti’s demo and I loved it. I changed the sense of the lyrics but he didn’t bother. I liked the fact that we’re so different: he’s a man, and much younger than me, with a different sensitivity».

Sanremo is not an option

A journalist asks her whether she would like to host the Sanremo Festival in the future, given her experience both in music and television. «I couldn’t judge the work of my colleagues, many of them are friends of mine. I couldn’t stand that», she says. Also, she states that she does not judge who participates in Sanremo as a contestant but that is not in her plans. «Sanremo is different from everything else. I don’t have the courage to go and compete, also out of respect for the fans who have been following me for 30 years. Sanremo is where I sang the worst in my entire life…».

The party is over but Laura Pausini is ready for a new start

After some hectic 24 hours, the celebrations of #Laura30 are over. Pausini’s near future includes the new single, out on March 10^th, the concerts in Venice and Seville, even a museum exhibiting dresses and memorabilia, and maybe a new album and a tour in autumn.

«The concerts in Venice and Seville are projects I worked on with several different professional figures. I want to run, to jump into the future. I couldn’t be laying on my couch and just wait».

QUI LA VERSIONE ITALIANA

The photos of Laura Pausini in New York

© Francesco Prandoni

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