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!

Star Academy's Manika Auxire - the voice that could sink a thousand ships

A couple of familiar formats have returned to French TV screens recently and both of them are searching, or supposedly acting as launching pads, for musical "talent".

Star Academy, the show that "discovered" Jenifer, Nolwenn Leroy and Magalie Vaé (who?) during its nine seasons on TF1, and the Pop Idol-inspired Nouvelle Star which over eight years on M6 gave France the likes of Christophe Willem, Julien Doré, Amel Bent and Jonatan Cerrada (another "who"?) are back after an unregrettable absence.

Manika Auxire (screenshot profile on Star Academy)

You might have a little difficulty finding either of them as there was a reason why TF1 and M6 cancelled the shows.

But that hasn't stopped two of the country's digital terrestrial television (TNT) channels, repackaging clapped-out concepts in an effort to attract viewers.

While Nouvelle Star is still in the audition phase on the newly-relaunched D8, owned by the Canal + Group, Star Academy is well underway on NRJ 12.

There have already been two live prime time shows: the first to introduce the contestants to the viewing public, and the second to begin the process of weekly elimination.

And on the evidence so far, the least that can be said is there's far from being a bottomless pit of musical talent in France.

Well, that can surely be the only conclusion to be drawn by the inclusion among the 14 Star Academy competitors of a certain Manika Auxire.

The 22-year-old put in a show-stopping performance of the Carly-Rae Jepsen smash hit "Call me maybe" (Jepsen was herself the product of a TV talent show in Canada) during the opening programme.

Obviously not content with brutalising Jepsen's song, the former Miss Poitou-Charentes (aha...the real reason for her inclusion - to add "une touche de glamour" to the proceedings?) found herself among the three nominees threatened with elimination the following week and promptly massacred another tune...Zaz's 2010 hit, "Je veux".

Now for those of you with strong constitutions, you can hear just how talentless Auxire really is - well at least when it comes to singing.

Here's her version of "Call me maybe" followed by Jepsen's just for comparison.





And if you're a real glutton for punishment, speed through the whole of the second programme to discover her - thankfully - last TV warbling performance (for now) at one hour 21 minutes and 47 seconds - almost two minutes of aural torture.

Or you could always listen to Zaz.



A word of warning. Dowloading the full replay programme will take a while, so you've more than enough time to peel the spuds, wash the kitchen floor or wrap some Christmas presents.

But if you have both the patience and the masochistic tendency to hear how awful she is, you might want to dull the pain with a very stiff something-or-other beforehand.

The woman can't sing - in tune at least - and perhaps it's not surprising the French have the expression "chante comme une casserole", although that's being a little unkind to saucepans.

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.

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"

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

More Trash TV hits French screens

French television viewers love reality TV programmes.

Uh hang about a moment, perhaps that should read that French television channels think that those tuning in are fans of the genre.

At least that's what could be concluded from the number of "variations on the same theme" and amount of airtime given over to them in the scheduling.

No sooner is one about to come to an end, and another is happily entertaining audiences daily, than a third makes its reappearance on the small screen.

The latest addition to the ranks is "Mon Incroyable Fiancé 2", on TF1, the country's largest private channel. It's is a gay variant of the first series from four years ago, "Mon Incroyable Fiancé" based on the US show "My Big Fat Obnoxious Fiance".

Meanwhile over on the other main private channel, M6, "L'amour est dans le pré" ("Farmer wants a wife") is coming to the climax of its fourth season.

And currently running of course on TF1, is Secret Story 3 (for more on that gem click here), which is in fine fettle, midway through its planned summer-long run.

Yep France has been awash with reality shows for several years now and there seems to be no end in sight.

You might have noticed that the main providers of such cultural delights are the country's two main national private terrestrial channels, TF1 and M6.

Public television in the shape of France 2 so far seems to have avoided producing such shows.

It all started back in 2001 with "Loft Story" (M6), which ran for two seasons and made instant stars of its contestants, most of whom enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame and then slipped back into everyday life.

There followed a slew of shows, most notoriously perhaps seven seasons of the admirable "L'isle de la tentation" (TF1), before it was cancelled, where couples' fidelity was put to the test against the flirting onslaught of a bevvy of buxom beauties and handsome hunks.

The same reality TV formula was used in the talent show "Star Academy" (TF1), which is threatening a return for a ninth year in the autumn.

It, of course, has given France and the world a handful of "stars" (to be counted on the fingers of one hand) and a whole heap of non-entities who presumably returned whence they came, or at the very least succeeded only in disappearing from the public eye once eliminated or after the show was over.

"Pékin Express" on M6 and TF1's "Koh Lanta" ("Survivor") have both attracted viewers by combining reality TV with a game show, and so-called personalities have also been dragged in to the act with a host of minor stars taking part in "Je suis une célébrité, sortez-moi de là!" ("I'm a Celebrity…Get Me out of Here!") and "La ferme célébrités", both on TF1. The latter is due for a return to screen in the autumn after a gap of four years.

The list could go on of course, as France hasn't escaped what seems to have become a worldwide trend in relatively inexpensive-to-produce Trash TV.

But for the moment, back to "Mon Incroyable Fiancé 2".

Just as the first edition of the show four years ago, it's full of clichés as it tries apparently to entertain viewers with "humour".

The overweight and overloud actor who played the role of the intended in the last series has been replaced by one pretending to be gay.

Back in 2005, the "contestant" Adeline, was trying to fool her family into believing that she was marrying a vulgar oaf, played by Laurent Ournac. What she didn't know was that Ournac, and his equally objectionable family, were all actors.

Similarly the new series has heterosexual Christopher trying to convince his family that he has suddenly found love with another man, Emeric Dumont, and the two are planning to tie the knot in Spain, where same-sex couples may marry.

What Christopher doesn't know of course is that Emeric and the rest of the Dumont family are once again actors who have been coached, even though he must surely have been aware of the "concept" of the show (yes there is such a thing apparently) when it first aired in 2005.

Or perhaps he didn't have a television.

At stake is €100,000 worth of prize money.

Ah well, never mind that the programme relies on, and reinforces stereotypes.

It's all in the name of entertainment...and money of course.

Happy viewing.

Olivia Ruiz - taking charge of her destiny

April 15, 2009

Monday saw the release in France of the much-anticipated third album from Olivia Ruiz, Miss Météores.

It's the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed and million-selling 2005 La Femme chocolat, which took this country by storm, helped earn Ruiz two prestigious Victoires de la musique awards in 2007 and become one of the year's most successful female French singers in 2008.

After a break from the limelight the 29-year-old is back, promoting her latest album and the first single from it and has a schedule of concerts lined up.

This time around though she is being careful not to get too caught up in the marketing machine which she says somewhat roller-coastered out of control after the success of her second album.

"When I first became successful I wasn't particularly well-advised," she says.

"I wanted to stop the round of promotion, but after every concert (she gave more than 200 at the time) my management wanted me to go to Paris for interviews in the morning and the afternoon, and then I took a car back to wherever I was performing in the evening."

Ruiz first came to the attention of the general public in one of this country's reality talent TV programmes.

In her case it was the first edition of Star Academy back in 2001.

She didn't win, being knocked out in the semi-finals to the eventual winner, Jenifer, but her voice was distinctive enough for her to secure a recording contract.

Her first album, J'aime pas l'Amour, in 2003 sold moderately well, racking up sales of 75,000 copies.

But it was the release of La Femme chocolat, a mammoth concert tour and the subsequent singles that allowed her to stamp her mark on the French music scene.

With the release of Miss Météores, Ruiz is much more in control of which interviews and promotional tours she does.

She has already refused to appear on one weekly national television programme infamous for its "grilling" of guests by two of its interviewers.

But on Tuesday she was at the microphone of the early morning programme on Europe 1 national radio admitting that after the success of her previous album she felt a certain pressure this time around, particularly as she had penned most of the tracks herself.

"It's normal to feel like that when a record is just coming out," she said.

"And especially as there's a lot of emotion put into this album, of course I hope people will like it."

Ruiz might have moved on from the first glimpse much of the French public had of her in Star Academy, but of course it still doesn't stop her being asked about how she felt at the time and what effect she feels it has had on her career.

"I was assigned a role and a sound that wasn't exactly mine," she said.

"It's a programme in which there is a lot of talent, and in a way it's a shame I spent over two months until I was eliminated. I would like to have come out earlier," she continued.

"But of course it gave me a push at the time although since then we have gone our separate ways and I've had the chance to really do what I wanted to do."

You can see and hear Elle Panique, the first single to be released from the latest album here.

It's in French (of course) although Ruiz will probably also be releasing the album in Spanish as she did her previous ones.

YouTube Video

Britney's back in France - Spears that is

After a four-year absence from these shores, US pop singer, Britney Spears has made it across the Pond, and will be appearing live on French prime time telly on Friday evening.

She'll be the guest of honour on the reality talent show Star Academy, on the national channel TF1, in an appearance that coincides with the launch of her latest album in this country "Circus".

It's all part of a whistle-stop European promotional tour and comes hot on the heels of an awards ceremony in Germany.

But back to France, and forget for a moment that this is a country with a proud and rich cultural tradition, and that next month the writer, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio will receive the Nobel prize for literature at a ceremony in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

Cast aside thoughts of all those famous names throughout the centuries that have left their mark in one way or another, such as Voltaire, Claude Debussy, Paul Cézanne, Arthur Rimbaud, Simone de Beauvoir, Jean-Paul Sartre....ah the list could go on and on.

Or even perhaps those currently famed in their respective fields such as Jean-Paul Gaultier, Philippe Starck, Natalie Dessay or Roberto Alagna.

Don't dwell on any of those names - past or present.

Friday is Britney (does her surname really need spelling out) night as far as many television viewers will be concerned.

Well at least that's what TF1 and the producers of Star Ac' (as it's "affectionately" known here) Endemol will be hoping.

The programme - now in its eighth and final season has been floundering in the ratings, and Britney's inclusion in Friday night's line-up is a much-hoped for last push to salvage some of the ground the show has lost over the years, before in winds up in a few weeks time.

TF1 has taken out full page advertisements in many of the country's weekly magazines and has been trumpeting Britney's appearance as "the television event not to be missed."

For those of you unfamiliar with what all the fuss is about - in other words what on earth Star Academy is - here's a brief round-up.

The concept of the show is simple, and is one that, although it was dreamt up by a Spanish production company, was actually first broadcast in France in 2001.

It has also been copied and adapted in more than 50 countries worldwide.

In France, each new season has 16 contestants "holed up" in a chateau on the outskirts of Paris, under the watchful eye of a director and a number of teachers who coach them in dancing, singing, acting and sport.

Just as watchful an eye, if you like, has been that of the viewing public, as the students' progress can be caught live virtually 24/7 on the Net, and each evening for a resumé of the previous day's "highlights".

It's a sort of musical Big Brother, indeed produced by exactly the same company, the hugely successful Endemol.

Every week there's a prime time special, and the contestants get the chance to sing with some of the biggest names in the music industry - both French and international stars. And each show ends of course with one of students being voted off by the public.

Past winners have included Jenifer, Nolwenn Leroy and Elodie Frégé during the first three seasons of the show.

Never heard of them? Doesn't matter - they've all had reasonably good careers here in France.

In its fourth season the winner was Gregory Lemarchal, the "voice of an angel" who had numerous hits, but sadly died last year at the age of 23 of cystic fibrosis.

Seasons five and six brought us Magalie Vaé and Cyril Cinélu as winners - now you could be more than forgiven for not having a clue as to who they are - nor do most French. Their albums bombed, and little more has been heard from them.

And last year was the turn of Quentin Mosimann - the jury's still out on whether he'll make it big time here.

For this, the last season of the show, the students have been living in the centre of Paris rather than the chateau, and are now down to the final five.

They're the lucky ones who will get, in the words of the show's presenter, Nikos Aliagas, "the chance of their lives" to share the stage tonight with Britney.

They include (first names only, as is the tradition while the show is on air) Alice, Gautier, Mickels, Solène and Joanna - each with their "own universe" as the teachers continually insist on telling viewers, and all five over-excited at the thought of rubbing musical shoulders (or vocal cords) with Britney.

"It's just crazy to think that I'll be on stage with Britney," says Alice, the 19-year-old "pretty and graceful beauty" from Marseille.

"I've sat through all her videos and have learned many of her dance moves, "says 21-yearold R 'n B singer, Joanna.

"Mad," says 20-year-old wannabe rocker Gautier.

The last few months and indeed weeks have been a bit of a nail-biting time for the show's co-ordinator of guest appearances, Nathalie André.

In an interview with the weekly TV guide, Télé 7 Jours, André said that it had taken months of negotiations to secure the US singer's agreement to appear on the show.

"Every time we book an international star, we never have any 'legal' guarantee that they'll actually turn up," she said.

"We've been negotiating with Britney for the last seven months," she added.

"And we experienced the same kind of stress we had before Madonna agreed to come on the show."

Incidentally that appearance by Madonna was back in 2005 - the fifth season, and pulled in more than eight million viewers.

With the programme nearing the end of its run, and an average audience of just over three million tuning in each week, TF1 and Endemol are hoping that "Brit Brit" will work her star magic not just with the five left in the competition, but just as importantly with viewers.