Carla Bruni Announces U.S. Tour, Hopes People will Come

Carla Bruni, former first lady of France, has a new album out called "Little French Songs" which marks her full-time return to the world of music. The pop album hit the number two spot on the music charts in France a week after its release in March. The 45-year-old has also announced a tour in the US that will take place early next year.

"It's fantastic! I never did a tour in the United States, I never even toured in Europe," she told Huffington Post. "I hope people will come. For a French artist or Italian artist it's really rare and it's lucky."

The intimacy that Bruni has been able to create in the new album has been praised in some reviews. Asked about how her music has become more assured and stronger over the course of a decade, Bruni told W magazine that the reason is because she herself got older. "I was really shy when I was young, even though I wasn't all that young when I made my first album. I was 35. There are people who are very talented very young. I'm not one of them. But you have to go at your own pace," she said.

While the album does have a tribute to her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, in a song called "Mon Raymond", Bruni said that ode is to "her man" rather than his role as former president. "I never thought of that when I wrote, because I only write from emotion - love, sadness, anxiety," she revealed.

Bruni performed songs from her album at Royalton Hotel in Manhattan, New York, on Wednesday, June 26. The former model, who is the new face of Bulgari, wore a vintage Yves Saint Laurent blazer and Zara Jeans for that gig, and is already contemplating her wardrobe for her upcoming tours in Europe and the US. "I'm thinking a suit. A dark, classic, sexy suit, with flat men's shoes. No heels, no complication. I want to be comfortable, but still elegant. And I don't like to have my arms out on stage, because you never know with the light. I have so many good designer friends, but I haven't decided yet who I'll ask," she said.