Friday's French music break - Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, "Chez Keith et Anita"

It's without doubt the music event of the year in France - well unless, of course, you're counting on the country finishing as an also ran in May's Eurovision Song Contest in the Swedish city of Malmö.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy's new album is set for release in April, and already French radio stations are playing an acoustic version of the first track to be taken as a single.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (screenshot from video clip of "Chez Keith et Anita")

Bruni-Sarkozy is back in fine form as she murmurs her way through "Chez Keith et Anita", a charming little tune "with a Cuban rhythm" about Rolling Stone Keith Richards and his former partner Anita Pallenberg.

Heck, at one point Bruni-Sarkozy even breaks into a rap...of sorts...although that might be putting it a little strongly perhaps. So let's settle for "talking in tune".

The single is from the former-top model, cum actress and one-term first lady's fourth studio album "Little French songs", the long-anticipated (by some) follow-up to her best-selling (really?) "Comme si de rien n'était" in 2008

Among the treats in store on the new album apparently is a homage to her other half - the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, just in case you needed reminding.

"Mon Raymond," she sings in the track entitled "Raymond". "Il a tout bon, c'est d'la valeur authentique, pour franchir le Rubicon on peut pas dire qu'il hésite / (...) Mon Raymond, il est canon, c'est d'la bombe atomique." (You can do the Google translate if you need to).

Cough, cough.

And there's a swipe at that much revered/reviled profession of journalism in "Les diseurs" with, "Il faut dire que c'est pas drôle, non, d'faire diseurs, ce n'est pas le beau rôle, non. Toutes ces heures passées à causer pour finir oubliés".

Strong stuff.

Sadly you'll have to wait until April 1 (and no, apparently that's not an April Fool) until you can get your mitts on "Little French songs" and treat your ears to the breathless dulcets of the 45-year-old.

But just in case you're impatient to hear what all the pre-release fuss is (or will be) about, here's the acoustic version of that first single, "Chez Keith and Anita".



Now if all that hasn't made you prick up your ears in absolute delight, there's also a tour in the offing.

The head of Barclay, the lucky record label releasing "Little French songs", Olivier Caillart, confirmed Bruni-Sarkozy would be taking her show on the road later in the year.

"A tour is planned in the autumn," he said, adding how delighted he was that Bruni-Sarkozy had "shown confidence in the label by signing".

"The quality of her writing, the unique timbre of her voice and its charm make her one on the major French singing artists," he added, not exaggerating in the slightest.

Ah.