Friday's French music break - Yseult Onguenet, "Roar" and "Ne me quitte pas"

Friday's French music break this week is a double whammy from a singer who is just beginning her career.

It's Yseult Onguenet with her version of Katy Perry's "Roar" and Jacques Brel's "Ne me quitte pas".

Onguenet is one of the contestants this year in the TV talent show Nouvelle Star (the French equivalent of Pop Idol) currently being broadcast weekly on D8.

Now before you start groaning, give the format - and in particular Onguenet a chance.

Yseult Onguenet singing "Roar" (screenshot from D8 Nouvelle Star)

The 19-year-old is probably one of the favourites to win and she certainly seems to be the judges' pick.

But they've got it wrong before (and so has the viewing and voting public come to that).

Because the "collected works" of Star Academy, Nouvelle Star, X  Factor (which only ran for two seasons in France) Popstars and most recently The Voice have allowed some complete non-entities their proverbial 15 minutes and plus of fame.

But they've also provided the launching pad for some successful singers. Jenifer, Nolwenn Leroy, Élodie Frégé and the late Grégory Lemarchal from Star Academy.

While Nouvelle Star has, down the years, given us Christophe Willem, Julien Doré (both winners) as well as Amel Bent.

And Matt Pakora (winner) and Chimène Badi (eliminated because the producers thought her voice unsuitable to be part of the group they were looking to form) both owe their initial exposure to Popstars

Anyway back to Nouvelle Star, now down to the last five...including Onguenet

And it's not difficult to see why.

She opened the first prime time show with a rather rushed and not totally inspired version of Stromae's "Papaoutai". But that could perhaps be put down to nerves.

Since then though, Onguenet has blossomed, putting in one stunning performance after another

Sure, her choice of songs has sometimes been more than audacious, maybe even conceited, with renditions of Brel's "Ne me quitte pas" and "Comme d'habitude" by Claude François.

But it has also been varied with her tackling Lana del Rey's "Summertime sadness", Radiohead's "Creep" and Benjamin Biolay's "Ton héritage".

Yseult Onguenet singing "Ne me quitte pas" (screenshot from D8 Nouvelle Star)

Yes, this is a young woman who seems able to turn her vocal cords in whatever direction she chooses.

Her voice is distinctive. She has a great timbre and range and there's also the flavour of her Cameroonian roots (yes that sounds ridiculous, but listen) in some of her interpretations.

And each performance (even if it has been enhanced and produced for TV in spite of being live) has been a revelation.

Anyway put away any preconceived ideas you might have about TV talent shows and judge for yourselves.

Here are those two performances which (so far) stand out.

First up Katy Perry's 2013 hit "Roar" - which is exactly the full throttle approach Onguenet takes in her interpretation

And then Jacques Brel's much-(over) covered "Ne me quitte pas", into which she breathes ...well take a listen.

Un très bon week-end à toutes et tous!

René la Taupe tops the French charts

René la Taupe (or René the mole) first hit the top of the French singles charts in September.

And now, five weeks later, the "virtual singing character" is still there, keeping off the likes of international stars (and real human beings) such as Shakira and Katy Perry.

Ah yes, from the country that has brought the world singers that include Edith Piaf to Charles Aznavour, or Serge Gainsbourg to Vanessa Paradis and not forgetting Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (Italian by birth, French by marriage) along the way, comes a little fellow that is...well "annoying" might be an appropriate world.

"Mignon mignon" is the critter's second hit single and, according to the entry on Wikipedia, took lyricist Séverine Thomazo all of seven minutes to write.

And the result of all that hard work has brought France and the world the following (first verse)

"Ce qui me plait chez toi
C’est ton petit bidon
Tes petites poignées d’amour
Je trouve ça trop mignon
Même si les autres dans la rue
Te trouvent un peu trop gras
Pour moi c’est confortable
Quand tu me prends dans tes bras"

Translated as:

"What I like about you
Is your little tummy,
I find your little love handles
Just too cute
Even if others in the street
Find you a little tubby
For me it's really snug
When you take me in your arms"

Ahem. All right.

Perhaps not Grammy award-winning material, but a commercial success nevertheless.

You want more?

Well there's the accompanying video of course available on YouTube and Dailymotion.

Wander over to Facebook and you'll find thousands of "friends" on both the pro and anti René la Taupe pages

And naturally there's a blog which tells you how to download the remixed ringtone.

That's right - ringtone.

Move over Myspace, the mobile 'phone is now clearly THE place to launch a perhaps short-lived but all-the-same lucrative singing career.

Because France's top-selling song is from an "artist" created to help promote and market a mobile 'phone content provider.

A Christmas song is rumoured to be in the works.

Hooray!

René la Taupe - Mignon Mignon (Version longue) Vidéo ambrase13 sélectionnée dans Humour