The First Lady sings

For some it’ll be a date to note in their diaries and one on which they’ll rush out in anticipation to the record stores. For others it’ll be time to clap their hands over their ears in an attempt to protect their hearing.

July 21 has been confirmed as the release date for Carla Bruni-Sarkozy’s new album – her first since she took up residence alongside her husband, Nicolas Sarkozy, at the president’s official residence, the Elysée Palace.

Bruni-Sarkozy launched herself musically on an unsuspecting public back in 2002 with the release of her first album "Quelqu'un m'a dit,” which received both critical and commercial acclaim. It sold 1.2 million copies in France alone and a further 800.000 abroad.

Her follow-up in 2007, “No promises” in which she set music to English-language poems was something of a flop by comparison, notching up sales of around 80,000 here in France.

Perhaps she has learned her lesson by only including one track on her new album where she sets a poem to music – this time by the French writer, Michel Houellebecq.

According to her agent – as if Bruni-Sarkozy actually needed one - the as yet untitled new album will include 14 songs, many of them penned by the singer herself. There’ll also be a remake of a Bob Dylan number as well as a song in her native Italian, proving that she remains ever the polyglot with an eye on the international market.

The album will be released simultaneously in France, Italy, Germany and Britain

It’ll be the third offering from the former model-turned singer-turned president’s wife, and music lovers won’t be the only ones curious to find out whether her new life as France’s First lady has had any influence on her artistic output or direction.

But those expecting some sort of presidential revelation or behind-the-scenes surprise could well be in for a disappointment as apparently 95 per cent of the material on the album was written before she first met Sarkozy.

Leaving little to chance and definitely not relying on the presidential stamp of approval, Bruni-Sarkozy is also rumoured to be negotiating a number of television talk show appearances on both of France’s main channels to coincide with the album’s release

One thing’s for certain, whether you relish the chance to hear her folksy ditties or consider her recordings as nothing more than unwelcome warbling, it’ll be hard to ignore her.