Ms. Shapplin's début album, "Carmine meo" (released on EMI Music France on 5 December 1997) has proved to be the surprise hit of the year. After all, who could have predicted that nine songs written in Latin and 14th century Italian - a language not spoken since the days of Dante and Petrarch! - would prove to have such enormous commercial potential. Yet, performed by the divine Ms. Shapplin, "Favola breve", "Lucifero, quel giorno", "Ira di dio" and the other songs on the album "Carmine meo" have attracted a huge following of fans. It has to be said that the tracks are all superbly arranged - 19th century classical music fusing smoothly with modern rhythmic loops, bass, drums and a full operatic chorus. However, as several discerning critics have already pointed out, Emma Shapplin's lyrical voice and her shapely figure, have also played a major role in the French diva's lightning rise to international fame.

International Success

No-one foresaw the phenomenal success of "Carmine meo" - least of all, Emma Shapplin herself! Just 10 months after its release, the singer's début album has rocketed to the top of the charts worldwide, selling 700,000 copies in 40 different countries. And the success of "Carmine meo" appears to know no bounds - the album has already gone platinum in Belgium and Turkey, gold in Canada, Israel, Lebanon, New Zealand and the Netherlands, and silver in Portugal! Meanwhile, "Carmine meo" has continued to enjoy incredible success back home, selling over 200,000 copies in France and earning the delighted Ms. Shapplin two gold discs. And the success story is far from over …

While no-one would deny that Ms. Shapplin's vocal talent has played a major role in her lightning rise to fame, it has to be said that EMI's intensive marketing campaign has also done much to help the company's new protégée. EMI cunningly staggered the international release of "Carmine meo", giving Emma Shapplin several weeks to assure the promotion of her album in each new country. The young French diva spent the spring of 98 rushing from one TV music show to another, winning audiences over with her original classical/variété fusion. In Spain Emma appeared on no less than four prime time TV shows ("Musica si", "Risas y estrellas", "Dia a dia", and "Sorpreza sorpreza"). After jetting off to Holland to perform on another seven shows, Emma continued her promotional tour with a round of TV appearances in Portugal and the U.K.

In Poland Emma was the only foreign guest star to take part in "Teraz Polska", where she was given the honour of performing two songs in the presence of the Polish president Alexander Kwasniewski, his Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek and a large majority of the Polish government. And today the young French diva's promotional tour is far from over. Emma's hectic schedule is set to include appearances in Germany, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Finland, Greece, Italy, Sweden, Portugal, Poland and the Netherlands - dates which all have to be squeezed in before Christmas!

Emma's Career

This superstar lifestyle is a long way from Emma's humble birth in a suburb south of Paris (on 19 May 1974). It must be said that there was little in Emma's immediate background, which appeared to destine her for a career as an international diva. Her family was not great classical music fans, so there were no odd Mozart records lying around at home for Emma to discover by chance. Fortunately, there was a TV set and one day, at the tender age of 11, Emma received musical inspiration ... listening to the music for an advertisement for 'Taureau Ailé' rice! ).

Emma could not get the 'Taureau Ailé' melody out of her head for days - indeed, she was so inspired by the jingle that she auditioned for the school choir a few days later, and was promptly chosen as a soloist! From that moment on music became Emma's life, and she went on to devote all her precious time and energy to training her voice. Emma's parents encouraged their daughter's musical vocation at first, paying for singing lessons with a private teacher whenever they could spare a bit from their household account. (They had two sons to bring up apart from Emma).

Emma cherished dreams of becoming a famous opera star, but in the end she had to settle for something a little less grand. When she was 19 a local hard rock band offered to take her on as lead singer, and Emma accepted. During her stint with the band North Wind, Emma decided to leave home and move into her own flat in Paris. She continued to devote all her spare time and energy to training her voice, financing her singing lessons through a series of odd jobs (working as a bilingual receptionist, photographic model and switchboard operator).

This period of alternating between her day job and singing lessons in the evening lasted two years. Emma continued to harbour dreams of auditioning for the Paris Opera or the 'Conservatoire supérieur de musique', but her career would take a different direction after she met Jean-Patrick Capdevielle - a journalist, photographer, video-maker and part-time painter who had made a name for himself on the French music scene in the 80's as a rock singer. Emma and Jean-Patrick hit it off immediately, and spent hours talking together, discovering a shared passion for Verdi, Maria Callas, grunge, New Age, ambient music and crossover sounds. Impressed by Emma's vocal talent, Capdevielle offered to produce the young singer's début album. The pair spent just two months mixing and recording "Carmine meo" - but they had previously spent over 18 months writing, composing and planning the album.

But all that hard work certainly paid off in the end! And, after selling 700,000 copies, the album "Carmine meo" now looks set to continue its world conquest. Emma's album is due to be released in Indonesia in October, and the following month "Carmine meo" will arrive in record shops in Colombia and Brazil. Meanwhile, Hispanic music fans will be happy to learn that a couple of special bonus tracks have been included on the album released in Spanish-speaking countries. (The Spanish "Carmine meo" features Spanish versions of Emma Shapplin's best-selling singles "Spente le stelle" and "Cuor senza sangue").

And last - but definitely not least! - Emma Shapplin will be appearing live in concert, performing for two weeks at the famous "Nights of the Proms" festival held in Rotterdam (20 November - 2 December). Those who can't make it to Rotterdam should not despair - rumour has it that Ms. Shapplin will be embarking on a major tour in the course of 1999. Meanwhile, the prodigious sales of "Carmine meo" continue. Thanks to the amazing success story of Emma Shapplin, France now has its own "classical crossover" export - and one which is surely set to rival the likes of André Rieu, Andrea Boccelli, Vanessa Mae and even the Three Tenors in the very near future!

Gilles Rio