Friday's French music break - Keen'V, "Saltimbanque"

Friday's French music break this week has more than a feel of Bollywood about it.

It's "Saltimbanque" by Kevin Bonnet, better known by his stage name,  Keen'V.

Quite frankly, the 32-year-old might not be among the greatest singers around but that hasn't detracted from his popular appeal and he has had a string of hits over the years including most notably "J'aimerais trop" in 2009, "La vie du bon côté" in 2012 and "Dis Moi Oui (Marina)" in 2013.

Keen'V (screenshot from appearance on "Comment ça va bien", France 2 - September 2014)

From the very beginning (in 2008 when he decided to take to the Net by posting on YouTube), Keen'V's style has most definitely been dancefloor inspired mixing elements of ragga(muffin), raggae, zouk, French "varieté", electro and simple pop to come up with a sound that most certainly makes you want to...er...strut your stuff.

Probably most popular with a teenage audience (evidence of that, perhaps, is that he picked up an NRJ music award in 2012 as Révélation francophone de l'année) but has taken steps recently to broaden his appeal to the whole family with appearances in celebrity reality TV programmes such as the French versions of "Splash", le grand plongeon (season one) and "Strictly come dancing" ("Danse avec les stars" - season four).

"Saltimbanque" is the title track from Keen'v's chart-topping fifth studio album released in 2014

True to his dance music style and that of being an acrobat or "saltimbanque" (albeit a vocal one) the song is definitely one made for...well, dancing.

Its lyrics (let's not get too deep here) come across as almost autobiographic with Keen'V "proud to be an acrobat" and having chosen music because "he prefers the nightclub atmosphere".

The song might sound a little too studio over-produced, but that doesn't really matter because its real pull lies in the electro-Bollywood feel and beat.

Take a listen. The official video only features a still of Keen'V and the lyrics, which is a bit of a shame because their a real dance performance would have been a bonus.

And if you want to catch Keen'V live, you're in luck because he'll be embarking on a two-month nationwide tour of France from April with dates scheduled in a number of Zeniths including those in Amiens, Caen, Paris, Toulouse and his home city of Rouen.

Bon week-end and enjoy.

Are French viewers ready to see a same-sex couple appear on "Danse avec les Stars"?

Sticking by the principle that you can never have too much of a "good" thing, it's another post on the French television programme "Danse avec les Stars," - this country's version of the British show "Strictly Come Dancing".

You might have read here earlier this week that it's shortly due to hit French screens for a third season, and although that was a political special, this is about the real thing.

And apparently prime time TV isn't yet ready for two people of the same sex men to be shown dancing together.

That's surely the conclusion to be drawn from the news that the programme's producers have rejected the request by one of the celebrity candidates that he be allowed to dance with another man.

The show will of course feature a number of French singers and actors wanting to give their careers a boost, sporting personalities whose presence might seem more than a little incongruous with the apparent energetic elegance required  to hoof it across the dancefloor and the odd television "star" with the physique and co-ordination skills set to "amuse".

As per the format of the competition, they'll all be paired with a professional dancer and put through their paces every week before dancing live in front of an expert jury in the studio and millions more at home in front of the small screen.

It's entertainment - and very successful.

Emmanuel Moire
(screenshot "Adulte & Sexy" video)

One of the participants in the third season is singer and actor Emmanuel Moire.

For those of you not familiar with Moire, he first came to prominence in the 2005 musical "Le Roi de Soleil", playing - and singing of course - the part, with much longer hair, of Louis XIV.

Most recently he has been starring in the role of the Emcee in the French production of "Cabaret".

The 33-year-old has released two albums and had several hit singles over the years - although nothing along the lines in terms of success of another member of the original cast of "Le Roi de Soleil", Christophe Maé.

Oh yes - and he's openly gay.

No big thing, or at least it shouldn't be for his taking part in "Danse avec les Stars", except Moire reportedly asked programme makers whether he could be paired with a professional male dancer rather than a female one.

His request has apparently been turned down and so Moire will have to "make do" with a female partner unlike a participant in Austria during the country's equivalent 'Dancing Stars" (notice the subtle change in name?) in 2011.

Alfons Haider, who had himself presented the first three seasons of the show, was coupled with professional dancer Vadim Garbuzov, managing to take fourth place overall in spite of calls from the like of former racing driver Niki Lauda for the show to be cancelled because "two men dancing together was not something he wanted his children to see."

Incomplete dancing faction - "Danse avec les Stars" goes politicial

Hey folks, it's time to dig out your tutu, reach for your ballet slippers or pull on your tights, because the producers of TF1's "Danse avec les Stars", the French equivalent of that oh-so excellent (cough, splutter) British show "Strictly Come Dancing", have apparently finalised the line-up of the jury and competitors for next season's extravaganza.

Shy'm winner of "Danse avec les Stars" season 2 (screenshot from TF1 video)

Yes, the programme which has celebrities twirling and whirling, pirouetting and gyrating, while audiences for some reason trip the light fantastic in their millions from their armchairs will be back shortly for its third season.

And that supposedly serious weekly news magazine Nouvel Observateur has proudly divulged nine of the 10 contestants and they include singers Chimène Badi, Amel Bent, Lorie and Emmanuel Moire.

But hang about. Take a closer look at the source of Nouvel Obs' revelations and it turns out to be none other than the weekly celebrity gossip magazine, Voici.

Could something be awry here in the veracity of the "reporting"?

The truth will out, of course, and after some very basic shoe leather pavement pounding, your intrepid provider of the (sur)real story behind the headlines can disclose what TF1 actually has planned for viewers in a few weeks time.

Yes "Danse avec les stars" will be back on the screens and the format will be similar to that of the previous two seasons with "celebrities" looking to give a boost to their careers with a healthy dose of prime time TV exposure.

But - and here's where it gets interesting the competitors this time around will be different.
And how.

Because TF1 has decided to put politicians past and present (but mainly past) through their steps in a special "Shuffle avec les Stars" edition.

Yes, so now you're probably desperate to know who has already agreed to strut their stuff for our entertainment pleasure.

Ready?

Here goes.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was apparently the first to agree.

Now Anne Sinclair-less, the former head of the International Monetary Fund has been looking around for some way of breaking the sex scandal cycle of news ever since that infamous Sofitel incident.

Plus apparently he has always had a bit of a thing about lycra tights.

Not surprisingly perhaps, producers have decided to team him up with a professional male partner.

Also appearing will be Ségolène Royal, who of course has absolutely nothing better to do at the moment.  In an interesting twist - yes the production team has really pulled out all the stops - Seggers will be paired, not with a professional dancer but with...Valérie Trierweiler.

It should be intriguing to see who tries to lead as the couple spin each other in all directions around the floor, stiletto (heels) at the ready.

Seggers-Trierweiler aren't the only "couple" appearing on the show though.

The leader of the far right Front National, Marine Le Pen, will be partnered by the man to whom she once not-so-jokingly offered honorary party membership, former interior minister  Claude Guéant.

Indeed, the first indication from the bookmakers is that Le Pen-Guéant could be favourites to win as they're so obviously already in step with one another.

Where you'll find Guéant, you would also expect to spot the man for whom he so eloquently wrote for so many years, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sure enough, the former president has also agreed to take part, seemingly bored of riding his tricycle around the Cap Nègre estate of his wife's family and desperate to do anything to keep himself occupied during his self-imposed political retirement.

One condition he apparently made before signing on the dotted line was that he would be allowed to wear platform shoes throughout the series.

Although she also announced on her Twitter account that she would be happy to dance, former minister Nadine Morano faces one huge challenge and the programme makers are not quite sure how to handle it. Apparently Morano wants to take part, but nobody is willing to dance with her.

And finally of course former justice minister and current member of the European parliament Rachida Dati has agreed to waft in and out of the show whenever the mood takes her accompanied by Chanel, Gucci, Prada and a whole host of other fashion houses

You'll notice that not all of the 10 slots have been filled, so there are still some surprises to come.

Sadly rumours that François Hollande might be able to find time in between his tanning sessions for fandango or two have been "normally" denied by one of his spokesmen who insisted that the "president had been flattered by the invitation," but also "thought he should look as though he were running the country even if he were not."

With several weeks still to go until the show hits the small screen, stay tuned to this post to discover who else will be hoofing it across the dancefloor.