Friday's French music break - Julien Doré, "Chou Wasabi"

Friday's French music break puts paid to the myth that contestants, let alone winners, of TV  talent shows have a limited appeal after their 15-minutes of small screen fame, lack originality and are simply a product of prime time television.

That might well be the case of the vast majority of wannabe warblers, but there are exceptions to the rule.

When Julien Doré won the fifth edition of the once-defunct but since-revived "Nouvelle Star" (the French version of Pop Idol) in 2007 he had spent a season interpreting other people's songs and doing so with a refreshing touch of creativity.

Julien Doré (screenshot TV5 Monde "Acoustic" - September 2014)

Few, who followed his progress through the competition, will forget his rocked-up rendition of Alizée's "Moi...Lolita", the debut single in 2000 from the then Mylène Farmer managed 15-year-old. .

Doré went further later in the competition with another unlikely rocked-up (but this time acoustic) version of a pop giant when he transformed Britney Spear's quintessential international Disney break-out teen hit "Baby One More Time" into...well, something else.

OK OK so most definitely not his genre, but it got Doré noticed and it was clear that he had a talent, was prepared to take risks  and didn't appear to take the whole talent show experience too seriously.

Plus he had stage presence, charm, charisma and his very distinctive style and musicality.

And that has served him well ever since, with each of his three albums - "Ersatz" in 2008, "Bichon" in 2011 and most recently the critically acclaimed "Love" (guess the theme) in 2013 - reflecting his musical eclecticism

Just as important, in interviews, Doré doesn't appear to come across as having been bitten by the star bug, his concerts (see a list here for upcoming dates) are a treat for fans as the "master of the ukele" (the instrument with which he auditioned for "Nouvelle Star") draws in a crowd of all ages.

If the excellent "Paris-Seychelles" - the first track to be lifted from "Love" as a single - whetted your appetite, then ""Chou Wasabi" si probably its natural successor - lyrically and melodically - as well as the video which features the same "young Doré double".

Australian-born Micky Green joins Doré for the duet which "evokes a relationship reaching its end"

And its quite simply hauntingly beautiful.

Enjoy.

Friday's French music break - Ornette, "Crazy"

Friday's French music break this week is "hot off the press" so-to-speak.

It's the single "Crazy" from the yet-to-be-released debut album by Ornette.

Ornette (screenshot from YouTube video of live performance during Disquaire day)

Never heard of her?

Don't be surprised, as she's not exactly a household name here in France - yet.

All the same, the 28-year-old Bettina Kee (her real name) has some pretty impressive credentials and is very much the new darling of the French public radio channel France Inter at the moment.

And with reason.

Because Ornette's "Crazy (sea me)" is quite simply delightful, delicious and different.

She has worked with the likes of the Australian-born singer Micky Green, French musician Arthur H and the late, great Alain Bashung and her sound is...well...unique.

Interviewing Ornette on France Inter, the presenter Augustin Trapenard, who is clearly a fan, described her as, "A musician, pianist and singer with more than one identity and an eclecticism that comes across on the album."

And the woman who apparently likes both Dido and Lady Gaga explained how she chose her stage name.

It's in honour of the American saxophonist, violinist, trumpeter and composer, described as one of the "major innovators of the free jazz movement in the 1960s" Ornette Coleman.

"One of his songs is called 'Lonely woman' and that was what I wanted to call myself when I first started performing alone," she said.

"But I found that a bit 'heavy' and redundant, so instead I plumped for 'Ornette' which I also found a very pretty name and it's also appropriate because even if I don't exactly play the same sort of music, I also like improvising when I play."

Anyway, if you want to catch Ornette at one of her upcoming concerts, scoot along to her official site for a full listing.

In the meantime, kick back those heels and enjoy both the France Inter interview and the single "Crazy" - the teaser...and far too short.


CRAZY SEA ME TEASER par LadyKeettie

And just for the hell of it, the full version performed live during Disquaire day in April 2011