Miami's Best Concert of the Week: Laura Pausini at the American Airlines Arena

Italian singer/songwriter Laura Pausini is, for lack of a better word, a phenomenon. The world renowned pop star made her professional debut in the late '80s at the age of 12 and made a name for herself in the '90s with top-charting hits across Europe and Latin America.

Over the course of her thirty-plus-year career, Pausini has sold more than 35 million records, gone platinum countless times, and won a hearty handful of awards — all while never quite breaking through the English-speaking market. One large part of her global success has been her penchant for recording Spanish versions of her songs and even producing records exclusively in Spanish, a move that won her a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album with 2004’s Escucha.

In fact, it was that album that marked her second coming after the failure of From the Inside, an attempt to appeal to Anglos in 2002. Escucha provided one of her best known singles, “Viveme,” and launched her back into superstardom. Not that there was ever any doubt she’d be back on top with her passionate, bigger-than-life voice, considerable talent, and power to belt out soaring romantic ballads that have won her audiences with both Barbra Streisand and the pope.

Catch Laura Pausini on her current Pausini Stadi Tour when she makes a stop at the Waterfront Theatre inside American Airlines Arena this Saturday.

Laura Pausini. 8 p.m. Saturday, July 30, at the American Airlines Arena, 601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 786-777-1000; aaarena.com. Tickets cost $30 to $195 via ticketmaster.com.