Friday's French music break - Louane, "Jour 1"

If ever you've had the misfortune of catching the French version of (what must surely be an oxymoron) "The Voice, la plus belle voix" you might remember the young women (or girl) who sings this week's Friday's French music break.

Louane (real name Anne Peichert) appeared in the second series, making it all the way through to the semi-finals and apparently leaving her mark as a singer of "talent and sensitivity".

In other words she didn't really have that much of a voice, but was able to put in a performance which charmed the public (but not enough) and the coaches alike.

Louane (screenshot from official video "Jour 1")

All right, that's being a little unfair perhaps.

Louane is just 17 years old and her participation in "The Voice" secured her a recording contract with Universal Music/Mercury and the release of her first single "Jour 1".

It's a pretty (love) song (what else?) with a catchy enough melody, and Louane has voice that's delicate in the tradition of, say, Cœur de pirate or Joyce Jonathan.

It doesn't exactly knock your socks off, but it's not unpleasant to listen to either.

"The Voice" wasn't Louane's first stab at trying to make it in showbiz.

Back in 2009, she appeared in the now defunct talent show for children aged 8-12 on D8 "L'École des stars" making it through to the final, won by (the then) nine-year-old Léo Rispal.

What's the betting he makes an appearance at the auditions of a future "The Voice"?

Anyway, here's Louane with "Jour 1" - plenty of airplay but not many sales.

"1789 : Les Amants de la Bastille" a revolutionary love story set to music

I'm not a great fan of musicals at the best of times, and even less so of French ones.

But occasionally I allow myself to be dragged along to one.

"You'll enjoy it, you'll see," friends who had seen the production of "1789 : Les Amants de la Bastille" during its first run in Paris, assured me.

"There's some great music, fine voices and the set is sumptuous. Plus you'll brush up your knowledge of French history," they insisted.

"Besides, you shouldn't be so snooty about these sort of things."

Moi? Snooty (and pretentious)? I hardly think so.

After all, I was the person who had recently seen the French version of "Mamma Mia"... and liked it.

Plus in recent years I've enjoyed the "Sound of Music", "West Side Story" and "Carousel" at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

All right, already so they were all transfers of original productions from Broadway or the West End.

And they weren't exactly in the mould of that 1998 gem "Notre Dame de Paris" described by The Independent when it opened in London as "a load of old bells" and which must surely have set the trend for the glut of French musicals that were to follow over the next decade or so.

Anyway, 1789-bound I was, even if somewhat sceptical.

Having heard some of the sound track on the radio and knowing that Louis Delort, a finalist in the first season of The Voice, had been cast in one of the lead roles, I didn't hold out much faith in my friends' first two assertions.

Louis Delort and Camille Lou (screenshot from "Tomber dans ses yeux " official video, 1789 Les Amants de la Bastille)

As for helping me make sense of a period in French history. I had my doubts.

On that count at least, I wasn't disappointed.

It was a French Disneyfying of events made palatable for everyone and accompanied by some frenzied dancing and uptempo but nonetheless uninspiring songs.

The run-up to the French revolution serves as a backdrop to a love story (what else?).

Robespierre, Danton, Marie Antoinette Louis XVI et al are all present and correct as are two fictional characters from both sides of the divide: Ronan Mazurier (Delort) for the "revolting peasants" and Olympe du Puget (Camille Lou) an under-governess at the royal court.

Delort is good, as is Lou. And... oh and look, there's another TV talent show contestant in the form of Sébastien Agius (Robespierre) who apparently won the inaugural season of the French X Factor in 2009.

They and the others belt out the tunes, helped by microphones cranked up to the max to overcome the pre-recorded intrumentals.

The music is...well, it seems as though Dove Attilla and Albert Cohen (the duo responsible for bringing us "Les 10 Commandements", "Le Roi Soleil" and most recently "Mozart l’opéra rock") have cobbled together the tracks that didn't quite make it into "Mozart".

Still, the audience seemed enthralled. Well at least those who weren't "watching" the whole thing through their smart 'phones while filming.

"Please don't use flash photography," the announcer had requested before the performance began.

"It's dangerous for the performers (huh?) and besides the stage lighting is sufficiently bright," he added, thereby making a nonsense of the sign at the entry to the venue which said "no cameras allowed".

Curtain up. Flash, flash, flash went the smartphones in a pattern which was to repeat itself every time there was a scene change.

Every song was roundly applauded. Children and adults alike texted furiously as they scoffed their popcorn and guzzled their soft drinks and I sighed, looking at my watch and wondering whether I could leave before the end.

It was...well a real treat for those who enjoy their French (musical) history served up Camembert-style.

Me? I think I'm musical-ed-out for the moment.

But if you're really keen to see what has, after all, been a huge success in France, "Les Amants" continues its nationwide tour with stopovers in Montpellier, Nice and Marseille before returning to Paris in November.

And then at the beginning of 2014 it'll be on the road again.

Friday's French music break - Vigon Bamy Jay, "Feelings"

Take a couple of old geezers who've both had long careers but not ones that have seen them hit the headlines perhaps as much as they deserved, mix together with a former member of a now defunct television talent show winning group and allow them to sing one of the most excruciatingly sentimental songs ever and welcome to Friday's French music break, "Feelings".

The trio currently wooing French airwaves with their rendition of the song are
Vigon Bamy Jay.

Vigon (right) Bamy (left) Jay (seated) - screenshot from official video

It's the first track to be released from their album "Les Soul men" and most definitely rates high on the barf value: not so much for their talent - which all three undeniably have - but more for the choice of a song which over the years has surely come to symbolise schmaltz.

Vigon (Abdelghafour Mouhsine) is a Moroccan rhythm and blues singer who came to the wider public's attention in 2012 during the first edition of The Voice.

The sprightly 67-year-old has a long musical pedigree as does another member of the trio  Gaudeloupe-born Érick Bamy -  another singer in his 60s.

Bamy, a former backing singer to Johnny Hallyday, had his "big break" in another television programme last year, the French version of the "Got talent" show imaginatively entitled "La France a un incroyable talent".
And it was yet another talent show which launched the career of the third member of the trio, Jay Kani.

He was a member of the R'n'B group Poetic Lover which won "Graines de star" back in 1997, had a string of hit singles and a best-selling album "Amants poétiques" a year later but eventually disbanded in 2000.

With voices that have an individual quality and a pedigree in R'n'B and soul, it's a shame the three have chosen to release yet another version of a song which became an international hit for Brazilian one-hit wonder Morris Albert back in 1975 and has been covered by just about anybody and everybody over the years.

And that includes a version by Israeli singer Mike Brant who brought the song "back to France" in a manner of speaking the same year Albert was having a hit with it everywhere else in English.

Brant released "Dis lui", which you'll notice is also the refrain used in the Vigon Bamy Jay recording.

At this point you might be asking how come "back to France"?

Well the person responsible for the melody in the first place was French songwriter Louis "Loulou" Gasté who, back in 1988, successfully sued Albert for copyright infringement of the his 1957 song "Pour toi" and was officially recognised as "the sole creator of the song".

Anyway, Vigon Bamy Jay are giving a private concert in Paris on March 13 and the album "Les Soul men" contains covers of much more worthwhile songs which should show off their individual and collective talents better including "Sitting on the dock of the bay", "Ain't no sunshine" and "Unchained melody".

It's just a pity they chose to release "Feelings" as the first single.

But judge for yourselves and maybe visit their official website for more information and updates.

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.