France has found its Voice

Well at least it has chosen the winner of the first edition in this country of  “The Voice” or perhaps that should be “Ze Voice” as that’s the way many involved with the show seems to have been pronouncing it.
 

It is of course the latest prime time fast food show masquerading as a search for singing talent and uses a formula that seems to be working well in every country in which it has been adapted.

In France apparently seven million plus tuned in regularly to watch a show which many remarked “exuded positive vibes” with the judges – sorry coaches – praising their chosen protégés and sad to see them eliminated over the course of the weeks.

Oh yes it was really different from the backstabbing criticisms of the now defunct Star Academy or Nouvelle Star both of which had been the launching pad for innumerable short-lived careers among the very few that managed to build up a real following.

“Se Voice” only had participants who could really sing and was based on the premise that, at the auditions, coaches didn’t get to see who was singing and “chose” based on voice alone.

That meant a frump or freak could win the whole shebang as long as they had stunning vocal cords – right?

Quality would win out over image.

Except that didn’t appear to be the case for the final as one slightly off key performance followed another and the two favourites (both teenagers) had a distinctive visual appeal apart from their youth; ie they looked like stars in the making.

Anyway Stéphan Rizon the man with the big voice was the unexpected winner on Saturday even though some sort of wailing woman with a silly name Al Hy had widely been expected to walk it Or squawk it. She finished third.

Each finalist got the chance to sing solo twice and a duet with an internationally acclaimed star – well world famous in France at least.

There was Johnny Hallyday who obviously needed the money, Véronique Sanson, Yannick Noah (yes he of tennis fame) and Lenny Kravitz – heavens,  someone known outside of France.

They provided some of those typically cheesy TV moments  with Hallyday “doing battle” with Rizon or Sanson warblingly accompanying another contestant to one of her songs

All the “stars” were either signed to Universal Music (of which TF1 is part) or just happened to have a new album to promote present  – or both.  Yep the channel really takes the proverbial biscuit for imagining viewers are that dumb.

Not content with the yawnathon nature of the show, the producers decided there had to be one last song from each of the four contestants before the votes were tallied.

And guess who was dragged up on stage to perform alongside  their acolytes. Whoops, that rather gives the game away doesn't it, as of course it was the turn of the judges, coaches, call them what you will.

Well at least it gave viewers a laugh and the chance to see just how far Jenifer hadn’t progressed since winning Star Academy a decade ago and how out of place ex-Téléphone member Louis Bertignac was in the whole set up.

Results time – surprise all round as Rizon was announced the winner and presenter Nikos Aliagas rounding everything off by saying the France had chosen its “best singer”.

What exactly does that mean – that the rest were pants?  Of course not, just that Rizon was the crème de la crème (snort) at least until The Voice 2 begins airing.

On that note doesn’t it all seem a bit rich and something of an insult to try calling the latest non-entity “The Voice “when that has been  a label deservedly earned used to describe the likes of real singers such as Frank Sinatra and Whitney Houston.

Just a thought.

Friday's French music break - Christophe Willem, "I will always love you"

Friday's French music break this week is a tribute of sorts with Christophe Willem tackling the late Whitney Houston's signature song, "I will always love you."

Christophe Willem (screenshot from Europe 1 performance)

Actually it's not an official single, but a version of the song Willem has performed several times in concert over the years.

Willem first shot to fame in France in 2006 during season four of the TV talent show Nouvelle Star (the equivalent in this country of Pop Idol).

When he auditioned in Toulouse he appeared to be the most unlikely of eventual winners, dressed as he was in the ugliest of stripey pullovers and an old pair of jeans, and with a posture that earned him the nickname of "La Tortue" (The Turtle) from Marianne James, one of the judges.

Christophe Willem - audition for Nouvelle Star (screenshot from video clip)

It was an epithet that was to stick with a title of the same name by French songwriter Philip Katerine appearing on Willem's first album.

With, in the words of André Manoukian, another of the judges, his "voice of a diva and excellent swing" Willem charmed the jury and public alike, turning in one startling performance after another as the weeks passed and topping the whole shebang off by winning, of course.

Fans had to wait the best part of a year before Willem released his excellent debut album "Inventaire" with tracks written by the likes of Katerine, Zazie and Olivier Schultheis, and there followed concert dates and TV appearances as Willem firmly established himself on the French music scene.

Since then, Willem has released two further studio albums, "Caféine" in 2009 and "Prismophonic" in 2011; in both cases his music has taken a distinct electro-pop music turn.

And that's a shame, because one of the 28-year-old's strengths is the purity and clarity he brings to acoustic versions of songs.

The excellent "Jacques a dit" from the "Inventaire" album is probably the best example, "I will always love you" which he performs in concert, is another.

But - and it's a massive but - in his rendition of the song written by Dolly Parton but made famous by Houston, Willem is walking the proverbial fine line of turning an already over-sentimental song into pure and simple schmaltz.

Arguably, Houston got away with it because of who she was, her voice and her star stature.

Willem, however good he is when performing simple piano and voice (and he is good) sounds like someone putting in a not-quite-as-good performance of a song that probably irritated and moved in equal proportions when sung by Houston, who had made it her own.

Anyway, take a listen - if you dare.

The Europe 1 version is an extract and thankfully lasts little over a minute.



If you're a real glutton for an aural drubbing, you can listen to the one of the live performances available on YouTube such as this one on television a couple of years ago.

Bon courage et bon week-end!

Friday's French music break - Sinclair, "Ça tourne dans ma tête"

Friday's French music break this week is from singer-songwriter Sinclair, who perhaps hasn't quite lived up to winning the best newcomer award (confusingly in the category "group") at the 1995 Victoires de la musique (the French equivalent of the Grammys).

Sinclair (screenshot from YouTube video)

Sinclair (real name Mathieu Blanc-Francard) is very much now a solo act and one whose musical influences, according to his official site, include Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone.

Yes, the 41-year-old has groove, soul and funk in his blood, as you can hear from his latest single "Ça tourne dans ma tête".

But there's a problem with the sound and his undeniable talent at writing songs with rhythm.

First up he hasn't got a great deal of it when he moves - well not if the video is anything to go by.

Secondly his voice isn't that great and the sound is just a little dated.

It might have shades of Mika to it and although it's definitely something to bop around to, that's it really.

Nothing more. Nothing really fresh and innovative.

And that surely just has to be a little embarrassing as Sinclair was a judge during two seasons of the now defunct TV talent show Nouvelle Star (the French version of Pop Idol) before stepping down in 2009 because he hadn't been satisfied with the musical and artistic level of the candidates during season seven.

Anyway, this is his latest single, taken from the imaginatively titled album "Sinclair" (must have taken a long time to come up with that, as it's only his tenth).

Take a listen and see what you think.

And if you like it, perhaps you want to check him out live.

For a full list of tour dates (march and April 2012) check out his website or go to his Facebook page.

Friday's French music break - Melissa Nkonda, "Nouveaux horizons"

Friday's French music break this week is proof - if it were needed - that there's occasionally life after TV talent shows - even for those who don't win.

It comes from Melissa Nkonda - an "also ran" in the now defunct Nouvelle Star, the French version of Pop Idol.

Melissa Nkonda (screenshot from "Nouveaux horizons" video)

Nkonda took part in season seven of Nouvelle Star in 2009, making it through to the final 15 and then the top 10 but being but eliminated just three weeks into the show's run.

That obviously didn't stop her though and a year later she entered the (non-televised) search for talent launched in 2010 by the French record label AZ, which belongs to the Universal group.

The 20-year-old ran out one of the joint winners of "Je veux signer chez AZ", landing a contract with the label and the chance to record an album.



Since then Nkonda has been on roll.

The album, "Nouveaux horizons", was released earlier this year and includes a track, "J'ai fait tout ça pour vous" featuring one of the most recently rising stars of the British music scene VV Brown and a version of Nkondo's first hit single also entitled "Nouveaux horizons" with the critically acclaimed French rapper, Soprano.

The original of that first single is a catchy, funky uptempo number with an infectious beat and sung in a mixture of English and French which has already been a Top 30 hit in France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Not bad going from a singer who was all but overlooked by the voting public during Nouvelle Star.

Melissa Nkonda (screenshot from Je veux signer chez AZ video)

Oh yes the winner that year - Soan.

Now that was a triumph of audience power in determining a commercially successful artist.

Oh well, Nkonda, along with a fellow contestant from the same season - Camélia Jordana - is proof that TV talent shows certainly don't always get it right.

Here's "Nouveaux horizons".

Try not to tap you foot as you listen.



Bet you enjoyed that.

If you want to catch her in concert, check out the dates on her official website.

French X Factor, the finale...yawn

Tuesday sees the final of France's X factor with the last two contestants doing battle to determine who'll pick up the contract for an album with a major record company.

But when Marina D'Amico and Matthew Raymond-Barker have finished singing their hearts out and await the viewers' votes, it's highly unlikely that millions will be glued to the box in anticipation.

Because quite simply viewing figures for the show have been consistently appalling.

Since it hit the screens in April with the recorded auditions, ratings for the show have had a hard time climbing above 10 per cent audience share or around two million viewers.

Even the first live show only clocked up a 12.4 per cent share or 2.5 million viewers, and it has been downhill ever since.

So how come a format that has worked so well - and continues to do so - in other countries, fails to capture the imagination of the French public?

After all the show, now in its second season, has had a prime time slot on one of the country's major broadcasters, M6, having switched from the smaller sister channel W9 which aired the first X Factor back in 2009 (yes there was a one year gap).

Oh yes, and let's not forget the guests that have appeared live on the show: The Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Enrique Iglesias and Nicole Scherzinger to name just some of the international acts.

And it's not as though M6 hasn't promoted the programme - ad nauseam and over-ambitiously perhaps given that it was billed as "The musical event of the year" before it began.

The reasons for the show's "failure" are probably manifold, but two stand out; the calibre of the candidates and the overkill of the TV talent search format in France.

The so-called "X factor" is surely some inexplicable quality a singer or a group has once they appear on stage and open their mouths: that "je ne sais quoi" if you like, that you just can't put your finger on, but it's obvious it's there.

Marina D'Amico (screenshot from M6 video)

Those two finalists, Marina D'Amico and Matthew Raymond-Barker, are supposed to be the cream of the crop but quite frankly there's little "X" and more "Y" factor about them than anything else - as in "Why are they in the final?"

Sure the 17-year-old D'Amico can sing - very well. But that just ain't enough.

She's simply boring to listen to, worse to watch and lacking in personality.

Think block of wood on stage and you just about have her level of charisma.

That's not being "woodist", just stating the obvious.

Then there's Raymond-Barker.

Doesn't sound very French does it?

Not surprising really st the 22-year-old is from the suburbs of London and - get this - failed to make it through to the final stages of the UK equivalent.

Yes that's right, he a British X Factor reject!

Say no more.

Matthew Raymond-Barker (screenshot from M6 video)

Then there's the obvious viewer fatigue the French must surely have with the TV talent show format.

There have been eight seasons of Star Academy (2001-2008) on TF1 and the same number of Nouvelle Star - the French equivalent of Pop Idol - on M6 (2003-2010) and four of Popstars (2001-2003 and 2007) also on M6.

Enough you would think to throw up some real talent with proven staying power.

Sadly that just hasn't been the case.

If you take a look at the number of acts who've managed to establish themselves in the hearts of the French public and record labels in terms of sales - you would be hard-pushed to come up with that many.

Yes there have been exceptions - among the winners of the various shows perhaps Jenifer, Nolwenn Leroy, Matt Pakora, Julien Doré and Christophe Willem and a few "also appeared" that have managed to carve out careers such as Amel Bent and Chimène Badi.

But equally there have been an awful lot of "what on earth happened to them?" winners, such as Magalie Vaé, Cyril Cinélu, Mickels Réa, Steeve Estatof, Myriam Abel and Soan Faya, let alone those instantly forgettable "also appeared"

Don't worry if you haven't heard of, or can't remember, half of those "winners with a record deal". Chances are, neither can most French.

So D'Amico or Raymond-Barker on Tuesday evening?

Well to paraphrase Rhett Butler most French probably "don't give a damn."


Here are the two protagonists in full voice during the semi-final.

Matthew Raymond-Barker murders Coldplay's "Viva la vida"

Marina D'Amico proving she ain't no Bjork and don't you just wish she would stay "Oh so quiet"

X Factor à la française "The musical event of the year" - apparently

Just when the French must have thought they were safe from television talent shows, up pops the latest offering - X Factor.

X Factor judges left to right Henry Padovani, Véronic DiCaire, Christophe Willem and Olivier Schultheis (screenshot from YouTube trailer)

On Tuesday the commercial broadcaster M6 will launch the revamped, prime-time search for France's next...er...Sébastien Agius.

Don't worry if you've never heard of him. The chances are, neither have a majority of the French.

Agius was the winner of the first French X Factor in 2009 broadcast on M6's sister channel W9 and although he has released both a single and an album since picking up the title, and played concerts, the 28-year-old has hardly set the French musical scene alight.

Whatever.

The Powers That Be at M6 have obviously decided there's life in the format and, after shelving Nouvelle Star (France's version of Pop Idol) last year at the end of its eighth season, are ready to (re)launch what they proudly and presumably without hyperbolic intent, announce on the show's website will be, "The musical event of the year".

The programme hits the screens on Tuesday evening with an "all-star" line-up of judges that includes - hold your breath - Henry Padovani.

He, M6 proudly informs us, was a "founding member of the British rock group 'The Police'" and is "one of the few French musicians to have had a successful career in Britain."

Apparently he's still "very close" to Sting et al, even though he left barely a year after the group was formed and before it hit the Big Time.

Rest assured though, he has apparently had plenty of success since and brings "with his 360 degrees experience from the world of music as a musician and manager, vision and wisdom to the X Factor candidates."

Ah. There's nothing like laying it on thick.

Joining Padovani is another "heavyweight" from the (French) music scene, Christophe Willem.

Now his is a name with which many French should be familiar and he's very much on tried and tested territory.

The 27-year-old will doubtless be able to give invaluable inside as he's been there, done that and bought the tee-shirt so-to-speak after winning Nouvelle Star back in 2006.

A couple of best-selling albums, several singles, concerts tours and regular television appearances under his belt, Willem says of X Factor that it's a "competition that can clearly change someone's life. I know: I lived it myself."

There's no messing with the musical pedigree of the show's third judge Olivier Schultheis.

He's a musician, lyricist, composer and conductor, son of singer-songwriter Jean and a former student at the prestigious Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris.

Schultheis apparently has "perfect pitch" and has worked with a host of French stars as well as helping launch the careers of several - including Willem.

Completing the line-up of judges, and presumably proving that France's X Factor knows no international boundaries, is Canadian singer and impersonator Véronic Dicaire.

It's not a bad move on the part of the talented 34-year-old who is already a star within the French-speaking community in Canada and fairly blew audiences away in Paris early last year during an extended run at the capital's Théâtre de la Gaîté and returned to play extra dates in November.

Dicaire has a European tour scheduled from this month taking in cities in France, Switzerland and Belgium and an appearance on national telly will surely only boost her appeal to a wider audience.

"By nature sincere and energetic, Dicaire will bring the jury freshness and authenticity," according to M6.

That and, "Anglo-Saxon artistic standards," apparently - whatever that entails.

The whole shebang, including all the stages that have been completed to "discover" the 12 finalists, will begin airing Tuesday March 15 on M6 at 8.45pm local time.

Can you wait?

France chooses Amaury Vassili to sing at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest

It might well be more than three months away, but France has already chosen who will be representing it at this year's Eurovision Song Contest; Amaury Vassili.

Amaury Vassili (screenshot from France 3 video)

None of the leaving-it-up-to-the-public to choose an act and/or song as far as France is concerned.

It goes about things in quite a different way to many other countries.

France Television decides who'll be singing what - and basta.

Of course there were plenty of rumours before the weekend's decision was announced.

Names of past winners and participants of one of the country's talent shows such as the now defunct Star Academy (although French television has a tendency to live by the principle of "what goes around, comes around" so perhaps it'll be back on the small screen at a later date - but that's quite another story) or Nouvelle Star (the French version of "Pop Idol" and equally no longer with us) were mooted, but in the end the powers-that-be plumped for Vassili.



"In choosing the 21-year-old Amaury Vassili, France 3 wants to honour for the first time a great lyric tenor," Pierre Sled, the director of programming for France 3 - the channel which will broadcast Eurovision live in France - told the national daily Aujourd'hui en France - Le Parisien.

"He will also best represent French excellence."

As an added bonus, and in keeping with a somewhat on-off tradition in the choice of language in which the song will be sung, the channel also announced that it'll be in the Corsican dialect, "To use one of the largest stages in Europe to promote one of the many regional dialects for which France is famous."

A novel twist which well certainly ensure that even a majority of the domestic audience won't know what the blazes he's singing about.

Since it first began participating in the contest, France has only twice entered a song sung in a regional dialect.

It last won the competition back in 1977 when Marie Myriam sang "L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant".

France, along with the other so-called Big Five financial contributors to the jamboree (Germany, Italy - which is back in the contest after a 13-year absence - Spain and the United Kingdom) automatically qualify for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which will this year be held in the German city of Düsseldorf on May 14.

The 38 other countries that have confirmed their participation will battle it out in two semi-finals to be held in the same city on May 10 and May 12 to determine which 20 will qualify alongside the Big Five for the final showdown, which goes on and on and on and on.

Place your bets now for "France nul points" as it chooses a pap (sic) classical singer for Eurovision.


The Good Old Days

Chimène Badi proves there's life after Popstars

French singer Chimène Badi is currently in the middle of a national tour.

And this week sees her returning to her roots so-to-speak with two dates lined up in the southwest of France - Toulouse and Bordeaux - not far from the town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot where the 28-year-old spent much of her childhood.

Chimène Badi (screenshot from Tellement Beau video)

Badi first rose to fame in the second edition of the French version of Popstars back in 2003.

The jury was looking to "create" a new band in what was then a popular format for "discovering" talent in many European countries.

Badi's "Rolls Royce of a voice" made an immediate impression with all three of the show's judges and although she made it through to the later stages of the competition there was, in the words of the chairman Valéry Zeitoun,"An enormous difference between the potential of her voice and her ability to dance (a requirement to be part of the band)."

Thankfully perhaps, because the quartet that went on to make up WhatFor (or perhaps more appropriately they should have been called Whatever for) managed just two minor hit singles and one album before disbanding and disappearing whence they came.


WhatFor - the group Badi was too good for


Not so Badi.

If Badi didn't correspond to what the jury was looking for to be part of the eventual group, she certainly caught the attention of Zeitoun, who just happened to be a producer and director at Universal Music.

"If you really want to sing, I'll help you," he told the then 20-year-old, and that's precisely what he did and later and later the same year Badi released her first album"Entre nous" and a single of the same name.

Since then Badi has become a regular on the French music scene able to tackle modern French standards and gain fans with her own brand of soulful singing.

Now, seven years later and with four studio albums and a clutch of hit singles under her belt, she's back on tour pulling them in and proving that she has one heck of a voice.



Even though she perhaps doesn't exactly set the audience alight with the same sort of onstage charisma as one of her contemporaries Amel Bent (who incidentally is also a product of reality TV - Nouvelle Star, and a singer who has also built her success on not winning the title) her voice is something to relish and there's a fragility in her onstage persona which belies the power of that voice.

A voice whose timbre is exquisite and one that allows her to caress a melody and boom a refrain with what appears to be consummate ease.

Badi's story is proof, if needed, that appearing in a reality show is no guarantee of success if the talent is lacking and, just importantly, losing isn't always a bad thing.

Her current tour continues until June 2011.

And her latest album, "Laisse-les dire" was released in May this year.

Christophe Willem at Eurovision Song Contest 2010?

It's one of those rumours that has been doing the rounds on the Net over the past week, and just like any speculation, once it's out there it seems that it won't go away - even though it has been denied.

Christophe Willem, the winner of the fourth edition of Nouvelle Star (the French version of Pop Idol) back in 2006, will represent France at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in May.

"Not so," said those responsible at France Television which will broadcast the show here live when contacted shortly after the "news" broke.

"Several websites have been saying this for several hours to create a buzz but the problem is it's completely untrue."

Right, that's clear then. One of those categorical denials that cannot be disputed.

Except some might remember what happened last year when similar rumours circulated that Patricia Kaas would be singing her heart out for this country in Moscow, the host of the 2009 contest.

Both Kaas and her management started out by trying to scotch them, only to end up announcing officially that she would indeed be singing France's entry.

And there she was in Russia

For those of you out there who have no idea what the Eurovision Song Contest is, it's an annual "musical" jamboree (very heavy on the inverted commas) which many music aficionados dread but the viewing public seems to love.

From humble beginnings in 1956 when just seven countries entered, it has under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) become something of an institution with millions tuning in to watch the very best and worst of what Europe has to offer - musically speaking.

In fact it has become so big that semi-finals take place to determine which countries will be allowed to take part.

Only the so-called Big Four - France, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany - qualify automatically for the final as they're the biggest financial contributors to the EBU and without them the production costs would be prohibitive.

This year it'll be coming from Oslo as Norway won the competition last time around and with it the honours to play host.

Alexander Rybak - Fairytale HD
par Uncensored-production

Since last winning the contest way back in 1977 when Marie Myriam sung the unforgettable "L'oiseau Et L'enfant", France has had a pretty dismal record, and not even the presence of a "big gun" such as Kaas in Moscow last year could woo enough support. She eventually finished eighth.

Anyway, back to the "yes he will, no he won't" rumour that Willem has been chosen to represent France.

The 26-year-old is arguably one of the most successful winners of a television talent show here in France, has had a clutch of hit singles and has released two albums.

There's a Facebook group (isn't there always in such cases?) that has been set up to gather support for him to represent France in Oslo, and when interviewed on whether the rumours were true or false he said the idea had been run past him and he had been in touch with some writers who could perhaps make the idea a reality.

"They're working on other projects at the moment," he said.

"So apparently it won't be me even though I too have read everywhere that it has been confirmed, but that's not the case," he added.

As to what he thought about the idea of singing at the Eurovision Song Contest, Willem admitted that it did have an appeal and he was in no way opposed to it.

"It's certainly a bit old fashioned in its concept" he said.

"But at the same time I find it quite interesting as we are constantly talking about Europe, and this is a concrete way of seeing what Europe is all about," he continued.

"It's a way of sharing music with each other and it could be a cool idea."



So there you have it. The Net helping add life to a rumour that has been denied but by the same token appears to have taken on a life of its own.

Soan Faya's debut album - more than a pleasant surprise

Just five months after winning the 2009 edition of Nouvelle Star (the French version of Pop Idol), Soan Faya has released his debut album, "Tant pis".

lire la news

Even though he was undoubtedly the "enfant terrible" of the TV talent contest and the target of plenty of criticism throughout and after its run for his perceived arrogance, the album and first single will surely have many rethinking their initial impressions.

And perhaps even finding themselves liking his music.

Because it ain't half bad, and what's more is a somewhat refreshing departure from the kind of album some winners of similar talent shows in France have served up.

Soan - Putain de ballerine
par Soan-officiel

It's no syrupy, candy-coated sure-fire commercial hit, but instead autobiographical and one for which most of the tracks were written before his "adventure" and he was "full of ideas."

"If I had told my life as it is, it could have given the impression of wanting to evoke pity," he says

"I opted for a more ironic angle."

Oh yes, you might have noticed, contrary to his behaviour immediately following his win, when he refused to give interviews or cancelled them at the last moment, Soan is in full promotional mode for his album and he has been talking to the media, answering in particular criticisms that he was (and remains) big headed.

"They can say what they want," he says, adding that as far as he can tell it's mainly some within the media who haven't liked him.

"In the streets, most of the people I've met since the programme finished have always been friendly," he continues

"There are of course those who want to make me appear like an idiot, but now I try to have confidence in myself and I'm concentrating on the upcoming tour."

Apropos tour dates. After cancelled concerts immediately following his win because he "preferred not to give them just for their own sake and perhaps performing badly," the 28-year-old will be following up he release of his album and the first single, "Next Time" with a number of appearances, including Le Bataclan in Paris on February 17 next year.

Soan- Next Time HD from Mon Pauvre Ami on Vimeo.

French soulstress, Miss Dominique, is back

France might well have a new star in the making after Soan Faya walked away with this country's Nouvelle Star (Pop Idol) earlier this week, but another former contestant from a previous edition of the show has recently been making the music headlines.

This week saw the release of the album "Si je n'étais pas moi" from Miss Dominique or Dominique Michalon to give her her real name, the runner-up in season four of the talent show.

But it's not just her voice and music that have been creating a buzz. It's also her new look.

Physically speaking, Michalon is quite literally a shadow of her former self, having lost around 50kgs (or 110 lbs) since starting a strict diet and exercise regime.

Michalon is a singer with a huge voice able to tackle pop, soul and gospel classics.

When she appeared on la Nouvelle Star she blew away both the show's jury and viewers week after week with powerful and rousing renditions of songs such as "I'm every woman," "I feel good" or "I will survive".

But in the tradition of all great singers, Michalon was also able to do more than justice to ballads including "Calling you" or Edith Piaf's "L'Hymne de l'amour".

It was the sort of voice that probably hadn't been heard on the small screen regularly in France since the days of the late (US) singer Carole Fredericks.

Her appearance in the final couldn't have come as a surprise to anyone watching, and she would more than likely have won had she been up against anyone else other than Christophe Willem, a contestant whose voice and look was equally quite unlike anything the French had seen and heard for quite a while.

Ah the good old days when la Nouvelle Star actually lived up to its name!

Michalon might not have won, but she certainly wasn't forgotten. A record deal saw the release of her first (solo) album, "Une femme battante", which went double gold, several singles and a series of concerts and television appearances.

Then, as often appears to be the case, she seemed to disappear from the spotlight.

Until, that is, a couple of months ago when she first revealed what has been described by many in the media as her "physical metamorphosis".

"I always accepted my size," she said in an interview in April.

"I had 'zero complexes' about it and in fact in a way I was actually proud (of my size). But then my doctor sounded the alarm and said my weight was a health risk and I had to do something about it."

And so she began to diet and exercise; always under careful medical supervision dropping from a size 58 to 32.

While health reasons were undoubtedly in her words at the root of the decision, it probably won't have done her musical career any harm either, as the weekly French tabloid Gala points out.

"The record company must be rubbing its hands," says the magazine.

"Miss Dominique now fits into the mould of (looking like) a much more commercial product."



Whatever the case, Michalon might have lost the weight but she hasn't lost the voice, and this new album, for which she penned most of the tracks herself, is a humdinger.

Soul and groove à la française, if you will.

And she's not afraid to offer up explanations in some of the lyrics as to how she feels about the new look especially in the track "Le poids de ma différence".

"What's difficult to take is not the (physical) weight per se, but the burden of how others look at you," she says.

"When I say that 'I weigh the weight of all my differences', it's a way of saying that I'm aware of the way others might have seen me.

"I don't realise I've lost weight, rather that I was once 'rounder'".

France has a "Nouvelle Star" - really?

Soan Faya must be pinching himself this morning.

The 28-year-old is France's "Nouvelle Star" (Pop Idol) after winning the final in the traditional televised head-to-head on Tuesday evening.

It was the climax to a programme which started with 25,000 hopefuls attending auditions and ended with Soan (pronounced Swarn), the former busker, beating the 18-year-old Leïla to clinch a recording contract with one of this country's major labels.

This year's final - a dismal affair - attracted only 3.8 million viewers, down from four million last year.

But that hasn't stopped the private channel M6 from announcing plans for a 2010 edition.

Ah - la Nouvelle Star - a long and often, for the viewer, tortuous journey through the supposed landscape of fresh French musical talent.

A word or two maybe on how the show functions.

Even though the Pop Idol format is a familiar one to many television viewers around the world, the French version has its own peculiarities.

For starters of course, the repertoire of songs from which the contestants have to choose is on the whole based on French "standards".

It makes sense really as it means that most viewers are at least familiar with many of the tunes each singer is taking a stab at "making their own".

There are also a fair number of attempts at interpreting popular English language songs, but more often than not the results are less than convincing (and that's putting it politely).

What perhaps doesn't make sense though is the system of voting, which opens immediately the show starts, and thus isn't really a judgement on the performances, but from the outset a popularity contest based on....well who knows?

In any case, one thing's for sure, it's not necessarily on musical talent.

This year was the seventh edition of la Nouvelle Star, and it has in the past thrown up some real surprises and introduced some singers who would probably have made it anyway, but were given the extra push by appearing on the show.

Amel Bent (season two, third place), Christophe Willem (season four, winner) and Julian Doré (season five, winner) have all been successful in the French-speaking world, and probably have the talent, voices and following to stick around for a while longer.

But many of the past winners, such as Jonatan Cerrada (season one), Steeve Estatof (season two) and Myriam Abel (season three, winner) after the initial "15 minutes of fame" seem to have slipped into relative obscurity, or at least haven't exactly taken the music world by storm.

The show of course has a jury of four "heavyweights" (a serious clearing of the throat) from the music industry.

The longest-serving member is André Manoukian, a jazz songwriter who has been with the programme since it started and makes rather wild and off the wall statements.

His most famous this year came after being subjected to one performance which he described as being evidence that there has been "An ETC - un erreur terrible de casting"

Then there's Lio, (real name Wanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos), a Belgian singer of Portuguese origin who had several (forgettable) hits in France in the 1980s.

Philippe Manœuvre spent the series hidden behind his trademark sunglasses and bringing yonks of experience as a rock journalist to the show.

Finally there was Sinclair (real name Mathieu Blanc-Francard) who is another singer-songwriter although most French would probably be hard pushed to name one of his hits.

Their initial task was to hold auditions up and down France for hopefuls from this country (of course) as well as Switzerland, Belgium and Canada, before whittling the choice down to the final 15.

There then followed the seemingly interminable and, often for the viewer, painful rigmarole of live weekly televised broadcasts as the finalists took to the stage.

The first show of the season, back in April, saw the voting public choose nine contestants to go through to the second round, with the jury picking one of the remaining six to join them.

After that of course the judges had a purely advisory role, assessing each performance, squabbling among themselves and generally putting on a show that at times was far more entertaining than that offered by those hoping to become la Nouvelle Star.

You know the score. It's not exactly original TV.

So back to this year's winner, Soan. A singer who, over the past couple of months has apparently built up enough of a following in spite of often forgetting the lyrics.

In fact "not singing" the whole song became something of a trademark as he relied on the admittedly excellent musicians to help him through each show.

So what exactly did he have going for him that has made him la Nouvelle Star?

It certainly can't have been his voice - one which sounded like something in between a groan and a shout as week in, week out he monotonously but relentlessly warbled his way to victory.

Well maybe it was the innovative use of far too much make-up as, eyes heavily blackened, he glared into the camera.

Or perhaps it was the Gothic garb he wore, including his "favourite dress" and Doc Marten type boots that wowed the viewers.

There again it could have been his successful attempts to ruin Edith Piaf's "L'accordéoniste", ridiculously "punk up" France Gall's "Poupée de cire, poupée de son," or attack Georges Brassens' "La mauvaise réputation".

Oh but wait, there was also the non-too original rendition of the Sid Vicious version of "My way", The Cure's "Boys don't cry", and U2's "One"...and many, far too many, dated and clichéd interpretations of songs in both English and French that left the viewer wanting "more".

Whatever the case, Soan is la Nouvelle Star, and next up is the real test as to whether he's able to come up with an album that anyone actually wants to buy.

Are the French weather-obsessed?

Well if a survey published in the national daily, Le Parisien, on Thursday is anything to go by, then the answer could quite possibly be a "yes". At least in terms of their preferred television-viewing habits.

The country’s most popular (in all senses of the word) TV channel - the privately owned TF1 - commissioned TNS Sofres to carry out a poll to find out which programmes the French preferred watching.

And according to the results - which compared like with like so are open to interpretation - weather bulletins, and more specifically those of TF1 (surprise, surprise) scored the highest individual rankings in their particular category.

Of those questioned 52 per cent said they preferred TF1’s weather forecasts over the 20 per cent that plumped for the bulletins on the national public channel France 2 and 3.1 per cent on France 3.

And there was some pretty grim news in terms of the efforts of the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to try to get the French watching more home-grown TV (by doing away with advertising on the nation’s public channels....yes there’s a link there somewhere, but it has never been made quite clear as to how) with US imported series scoring well on all the private channels.

They make up the backbone of most channels’ broadcasting it seems, and in that particular category TF1 once again came out on top. It outranked its main national commercial competitor, M6 with 48 per cent to 35 per cent respectively.

Canal + - the main satellite telly provider came in third in the category at 20 per cent, with France 2 having to make do with just seven per cent.

When the category was broken down by series, the most popular was Dr House on TF1 (13 per cent) followed closely by Desperate Housewives (12 per cent) on M6.

Moving along to Reality TV - yes the French have that too, and by the bucket load - it was neck-and-neck between the two private channels TF1 and M6 once again - 44 per cent to 43 per cent.

No great shock perhaps as both rely heavily on it for pulling in the viewers (and the advertisers) with public telly seemingly still taking the moral high ground.

Topping the Reality TV preferences then were TF1’s Koh Lanta (a French version of Survivors) with 28 per cent followed by Pékin Express (A Dutch-inspired hitchhiking series which doesn’t yet have a US or British equivalent - 18 per cent) and Nouvelle Star (Pop Idol - 15 per cent) over on M6.

Finally, before the proverbial pants are completely bored off you, and your head is sent spinning with statistics, the home-produced programming.

And guess what? In that category it was TF1 (40 per cent) once again coming out ahead of M6 (24 per cent) with France 3 (16 per cent) and France 2 (15 per cent) trailing some way behind.

So the moral of the tale and the conclusions to be drawn?

Well threefold perhaps.

Statistics and surveys don’t lie - ahem - especially when you’ve commissioned a poll in your own interests and it comes up with the information you want to read.

The French love US imports and Reality TV as much as the rest of the world.

And the weather is as important in France as it is anywhere else.

Britain has got talent (apparently) but has France?

Have you ever tried making a tarte tartin?

It's a French speciality, much the same thing as an upside-down apple tart with the fruit being caramelised in sugar and butter before being baked. Delicious.

Well it acts as an admittedly rather tortured culinary metaphor for this country's version of Pop Idol, called la Nouvelle Star - although unfortunately it's far from being as appetising.

Because although all the ingredients are apparently there, somehow the oven has been set at too high a temperature and the whole thing looks as though it's going to be seriously burnt.

For those of you who might not have understood what the blazes I'm on about and think that perhaps I've been popping too many of those little green pills, rest assured I'm fine.

Although after an evening last week spent listening to the caterwauling that was supposed to pass for this country's "next big thing", I'm none too certain.

At the same time as Britain (and the world) was "discovering" Susan Boyle, France was unleashing the very best of the worst on viewers - and it's set to continue.

So if your ears are prepared to endure an excruciating assault (you can click on the links provided to hear what I mean).

A word of warning. Some of the "performances" (inverted commas absolutely vital) were horrible.

There are two alternatives. If you're really brave enough (or should that be masochistic?) then you hotfoot it over to the show's official website and can click on each of the candidates. All the videos are available, so they shouldn't have been deleted yet (although perhaps on reflection they should be).

Alternatively you can take a listen here to the so-called "highlights". Ahem. Just three minutes worth and you'll get more than a fair picture of what viewers had to suffer.

A word or two on la Nouvelle Star and how it functions.

It's now in its sixth season and has in the past thrown up some real surprises and introduced some singers who would probably have made it anyway, but were given the extra push by appearing on the show.

Amel Bent (season two, third place), Christophe Willem (season four, winner) and Julian Doré (season five, winner) have all been successful in the French-speaking world, and probably have the talent, voices and following to stick around for a while longer.

Many of the past winners seem to have slipped into obscurity such as Jonatan Cerrada (season one, winner - although to give him his due, he did represent France one year at the Eurovision Song Contest), Steeve Estatof (season two, winner) and Myriam Abel (season three, winner).

The jury is out on last year's Nouvelle Star, Amandine Bourgeois as she has yet to release an album.

And that provides a segué into the jury. Yes there is one, comprised of four "heavyweights" from the music industry.

Another serious clearing of the throat.

They spend several weeks holding auditions held up and down France for hopefuls from this country (of course) as well as Switzerland, Belgium and Canada, before whittling the choice down to the finalists - who then....well you probably know the rest of it.

There were 15 who made it through to the last stage in Paris. With one being eliminated by the voting public each week, Tuesday saw them down to the last eight.

The current make-up of the jury is André Manoukian, a jazz songwriter who has been with the programme since it started and makes rather wild and off the wall statements.

His most famous this year has been - quite rightly - after being subjected to one of the finalist's performances a couple of weeks ago he came up with the expression, "I have to admit that there has been an ETC - un erreur terrible de casting"

Then there's Lio, (real name Wanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos), a Belgian singer of Portuguese origin who had several (forgettable) hits in France in the 1980s.

Philippe Manœuvre hides behind his trademark sunglasses come rain or shine and brings yonks of experience as a rock journalist to the show.

Finally there's Sinclair (real name Mathieu Blanc-Francard) who is another singer-songwriter although most French would probably be hard pushed to name one of his hits.

The four have more or less done their job in choosing the finalists and have little say in what happens now as the voting is purely up to the public, although of course after each song they get to "rate" the performance with a "red" (bad) or "blue" thumbs up and are not averse to having a handbags at dawn moment or two when they disagree.

Anyway, here's that promised selection of contestants who last week were still in with a chance of becoming the next Nouvelle Star - in the order in which they appeared.

First up Mahdi - a favourite of the jury, who was actually a contestant last year but dropped out before the finals for personal reasons. Sadly he didn't make that decision this year and last week decided to "murder" a Jean-Jacques Goldman number, Aicha.

Mélissa then karaoked her way through one of her favourite songs, the Pointer Sister's "Im so exicted.

"Doing the job of three," said Philippe Manœuvre, giving her the thumbs up. Maybe he should have taken his glasses off. I always find it helps me hear better.

Then it was the turn of the 17-year-old hairdresser Thomas - we know that's his profession because we're reminded of it at every available opportunity.

He can sing (now there's a surprise) but is terribly camp and insisted on wiggling and strutting his way through a song - this time "Onde Sensuelle".

"More Marlène Dietrich, less Liza Minelli next time," was the helpful advice of the jury afterwards. Huh?

Dalé sang what we were told was a Claude François song but in reality was in fact just the French version of a song written and performed by Johnny Nash back in the 1970s "I can see clearly".

Next up was Soan (pronounce that Swarn), who took to the stage in a dress and Doc Marten-type boots with the obligatory over-made eyes to give us his rendition of The Cure's "Boy's don't cry".

"Uh sorry - this was done way back when, and you'll never be a Robert Smith, so stop trying." That was the should-have-been fifth member of the jury - me - in case you were wondering.

There was momentary relief as Lary put in the performance of the evening with 10CC's "I'm not in love". Still it was hard to get past the hair.

Leila was next, and after a catastrophic wail the previous week, she "had to improve".

Her solution was to rework "Dès que je te vois" by the sublime Vanessa Paradis.

All right so she looked a little like Vanessa on steroids as she stomped around the stage, but you could tell the jury wanted her to perform well, and she was different enough to get my vote - no I didn't ring in - even if she was as nervous as the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof.

Damien - he of the face made for radio and a voice for the dustbin - then massacred the Corgis "Everybody has gotta learn some time" which brought us finally (hooray) to Camélia Jordana (yes she has two first names).

She's only 16 and clearly the pick of the bunch as far as the jury is concerned, although this time around her rendition of Marilyn Monroe's "I wanna be loved by you" was not a wise choice.

The warbling was over and all that was left was the result of the vote with the show's presenter, Virginie Guilhaume, calling out each of the successful candidates one by one until there were just two remaining - Thomas and Mélissa.

"And the candidate who will be joining us here once again to continue the adventure," Guilhaime paused for the dramatic effect. "Is Thomas".

So Mélissa out, plenty of hugging and tears - and a huge sigh of relief that it was over for another week.

"Just seven candidates left," Guilhaume reminded us as the she hurriedly wrapped the programme up.

"Join us next week for another exceptional show."

What?

Will I?

It's on this evening and even though I know I shouldn't, I'm still wondering whether I will.