Laura Pausini

The Italian pop singer Laura Pausini was born in 1974. She is best known in Europe and Latin America for her soulful vocal delivery. Throughout her career Pausini has sold more than 30 million albums.

Pausini started young, releasing her debut album at the age of thirteen. The album, I Sogoli di Laura (Laura's dreams), was produced by her father Fabrizio Pausini, who had his own successful singing career. In 1993 her career was given a boost when she won the Sanremo Music Festival (in Italy), with her song "La Solitudine", her Spanish version of the record released in 1994 made No. 22 on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks chart.

The Sanremo Festival win secured her a deal with Warner Music Italy and she released her self-titled major label debut in 1993. The album was successful in Europe. The follow-up Laura was also successful and prompted her to record in Spanish to expand her fanbase. Her debut Spanish album was a compilation of previously released tracks, the album secured her reputation in Spain and Latin America.

She made her English singing debut in 2002, From the Inside, the tracks "Surrender" and "If That's Love" made it to No.1 in Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart, but the album itself was not as successful partly, it has been suggested, because of a misplaced promotional strategy.

In 2005 Pausini won a Latin Grammy for her Spanish language album Escucha, which went on to win a Grammy in 2005.

Pausini provided music for the films Message in a Bottle and Pokémon 2000: The Power of One