Pagny's new album, C’est comme ça, is blatantly aimed at the hundreds of millions of Spanish speakers in the world, particularly those in South America. The French music star could easily have transposed his existing repertoire into Spanish, but instead he chose to work like a local, coming up with original material for his new album. Interestingly enough, Pagny has developed close ties with the Latin world over the past twelve years, spending at least half of his time in Patagonia. " I guess the fact I'm French makes me a bit exotic over there," says Pagny, "What I really wanted to do with this album, though, was to pay tribute to Latin music in all its forms. People in France aren't necessarily aware of the diversity of Latin sounds. Music fans in Puerto Rico don't listen to the same thing as people in Colombia. And pop music in Argentina is a million miles from pop music in Mexico!"

Pagny admits that in the course of the past decade he has often been tempted to try and make his mark on the Argentine music scene. But he admits that the idea of starting his career over again from scratch in a foreign land while continuing to take risks with his albums in France was daunting. So the singer decided to bide his time and his patience eventually paid off. When the chief executive of his label, Universal France, was made CEO of Universal in Latin America, Pagny immediately picked up the phone and suggested making an album in Spanish. Record company bigwigs encouraged him to make a 'Greatest Hits' album, translating his French chart-toppers into Spanish. But Pagny had other ideas. "I don't think there's anything in my repertoire which would appeal to Latin American tastes," he says, "except maybe 'Ma liberté de penser' because that song lets the guitar go a bit wild at times."

Pagny stuck to his guns and insisted on basing himself in Miami, renowned for attracting the 'crème de la crème' of Latin music stars who flock there to work in the best studios with the best producers. Pagny got what he wanted and in September 2007 he flew off to Miami with his family. Here, he hooked up with local Colombian whizzkid Julio Reyes, renowned for his studio collaboration with Emilio Estefan (Gloria Estefan's husband producer.) Reyes recently produced albums for Jenifer Lopez and Marc Anthony as well as a Spanish album for Nelly Furtado and Pagny knew he had found his man. "Julio knows everything!" Pagny enthuses, "He trained as a classical musician. He's a concert pianist, in fact. But he understands everything there is to understand about pop and he's amazingly knowledgeable about different folk music, too. He immediately made me think of Yvan Cassar. Julio and Yvan feel music differently to other people!"

When it came to choosing material for C'est comme ça, Pagny says he enjoyed the different way of working in Miami. "In France, word gets out that I want to make a new album and suddenly I'm inundated with demos," he complains, "Then I have to spend the next two months listening to 300 new songs! But working over there was different. Even if I'd gone round shouting my head off in the street about my new album, I didn't know anyone!" Taking his new challenge to its logical conclusion, Pagny chose to tackle a broad range of moods and musical styles. He also decided to work with Hispanic guest stars. Diego Torres, the hottest sensation on the Argentine pop scene, not only sings a duet with Pagny. He also penned the lyrics to Te Puedo Acompañar. Chenoa, one of the fastest-rising stars on the Spanish music scene, also joined Pagny in the studio to duet on No Pasa Nada.

Meanwhile, back in Paris, Pagny had met Raul Paz, a Cuban singer living in exile in France. "We spent an afternoon together and that same evening Raul sat down and wrote 'C’est comme ça," Pagny says, impressed. The song, chosen as the first single release from the album, works as a brilliant portrait of Pagny. Pagny also insisted on including Amor de Mis Amores. "That has to be the only song that's as famous in France as it is in Latin America!" he says, explaining why he chose to alternate the Spanish version of the song with the lyrics of La Foule (the French adaptation that became an international hit for Edith Piaf.) Pagny is equally enthusiastic about his cover of Vuelvo el Sur, a classic written in France by the great tango maestro Astor Piazzolla.

The French star admits that singing in Spanish on his new album opened up new vistas for him. "I got to use vocal frequencies that I never use singing in French," Pagny enthuses, "Working in Spanish and experimenting with different musical styles meant I ended up doing things that would never have been possible in France." Questioned about whether he is nervous about releasing an album for the Hispanic market, Pagny simply replies, "I've never really sung in Spanish before, apart from 'Solo le Pido a Dios' and 'Una Nube Blanca' but those songs were for French audiences who know me… So in March of this year I headed off to join Raul Paz in Havana. Raul invited me up on stage with him to sing 'C’est comme ça' and suddenly I found myself in front of one of the most demanding audiences in Latin America. But as soon as I started singing it went down really well!"