Since her debut at the 1993 Italian Song Festival, Laura Pausini has sold 16 million copies world-wide of her previous five records: LAURA PAUSINI (1994), LAURA (1995), LE COSE CHE VIVI /LAS COSAS QUE VIVES (1996), LA MIA REPOSTA/MI RESPUESTA (1998) AND TRA TE IL MARE/ ENTRE TU Y MIL MARES (2000).

Although Italian born, she has been embraced internationally. At the end of 1994, she received The World Music Award as the Best Selling Italian Artist, and in May 1995 she won the Lo Nuestro award as the most promising Latin Artist Present on the U.S. market.

In the last few years Laura has collaborated with prominent artists on the international scene, including Elton John, Santana, Michael Jackson and Celine Dion.

She has recently released her BEST OF album and is currently working on her album of English language songs, due out in March 2002.

Link to her official page

A household name in her native Italy and a cult figure in what she refers to as her "adopted Latin America," Laura Pausini is a remarkable vocalist. Yet her albums, which cast her as a glossy, lite-operatic pop songstress, have failed to deliver another side of her talent: the sweet, tender singer capable of turning plain, unadorned lyrics into homey, comfortable memories. Lo mejor de Laura Pausini has a bit of both the Pausini of raw energy and the sunny, folkish girl.

Most of the songs belong to her concert repertory ("La soledad," "Se fue," "Amores extraños," "Las cosas que vives"), while others are relatively unknown ("Energia de amor," "Un error de los grandes"). The beauty of this recording, however, is that these songs have been reworked to fit a supple voice that now favors nuances and detailed delivery rather than the usual high pitch and pyrotechnics approach of previous albums.

The powerful multilingual interpreter shines through on "Cuando se ama," a gorgeous duo with Brazilian pop star Gilberto Gil, and turns into an impressive storyteller on "Dos historias iguales." This is the Laura Pausini that makes for sheer listening pleasure. - Eliseo Cardona CDNOW Senior Editor, Latin