I love you Malta – grazzi, says Laura

Italian star who has sold over 45million albums across the world performs some of her greatest hits at a sparkling concert in Ta’ Qali where she got a warm welcome

Italian singer Laura Pausini returned to the Maltese islands to give yet another show-stopping performance on Wednesday night.

Numerous fans packed the open-air grounds at the MFCC, in Ta’ Qali, to welcome back the artist who had given a successful concert here in 2009.

The singer performed some of her most popular hits such as La solitudine and Strani amori and numbers from her latest album, Inedito.

Video projections and costume changes complemented the performances.

The artiste showed her warmer side as she interacted with the audience continuously during the one-and-a-half-hour show. She also dabbled in Maltese, telling the crowd “inħobbokom” (I love you) on a number of occasions and “grazzi ħafna” (thanks a lot), among other phrases.

“It was a fantastic show,” said one fan, “despite some minor hitches”. The concert began about half an hour late because of some lighting problems. “This left the stage somehow dark,” according to the concert-goer.

Ever since winning the 1993 edition of the Sanremo festival with La Solitudine, Pausini has sold over 45 million albums throughout the world, winning three Latin Grammy Awards.

She is not only loved in Italy but also Spain, France, The Netherlands and as far away as South America.

Her latest world tour, titled Inedito like her latest release, is directed by Marco Balich, creator of the Winter Olympics’ ceremonies in Turin in 2006 and the inauguration of the Juventus stadium last summer.

The set was designed by Mark Fisher, who has worked with Pink Floyd and U2.