Victoires de la musique

Alain Bashung Sweeps The Board

22/02/1999 - 

The 14th edition of 'Les Victoires de la Musique' (the French Music Awards) was held at the prestigious Olympia music hall in Paris on Saturday 20 February. Tens of thousands of television viewers were able to enjoy this year's 'Victoires' from the comfort of their own homes, as the ceremony was covered live on France 2 and also re-broadcast on the satellite channel Canal France International. Competition was tough as usual, but the 2,500 industry professionals who voted for the 14 winners this year came up with some popular if rather surprising choices.

Alain Bashung turned out to be the overall winner of this year's 'Victoires de la Musique', walking off with three awards. The French singer scooped Best Album for "Fantaisie militaire", Best Video for Jacques Audiard's video of his single "La nuit je mens" and Best Male Artist of the Year, thereby depriving the favourite Pascal Obispo of yet another chance of victory. (Poor Pascal Obispo still hasn't managed to win an award at the 'Victoires de la Musique' despite being nominated several years running!)

There were absolutely no surprises when it came to Best Musical of the Year - Richard Cocciante and Luc Plamondon's show "Notre Dame de Paris" beat off the competition without any problem whatsoever. What's more, "Belle", one of the top-selling singles from the musical, also scooped Best Song of the Year. Needless to say, Plamondon and Cocciante were in the audience at the Olympia on Saturday night. And when the pair leapt up on stage to accept their awards, they announced that they are now working on an English adaptation of "Notre Dame de Paris" with which they plan to take London by storm in the year 2000!

There were a few surprises when it came to nominating the Best Female Artist of the Year, however. The Belgian/Québecois diva Lara Fabian looked all set for victory, but much to her disappointment, Ms. Fabian was suddenly pipped at the post by flame-haired Belgian star Axelle Red. French newcomers Louise Attaque also found themselves surprise winners at this year's 'Victoires de la Musique'. Louise Attaque have only released one (eponymous) album to date and that was two years ago, but that didn't stop judges voting them Best Group of 1999! (However, on reflection, maybe Louise Attaque do deserve their award - after all, their album has sold a staggering 2.5 million copies to date!) And talking of newcomers, the hip electro duo Air, who recently exported their French Touch to the UK, walked off with the award for Best Techno/Dance album of the Year.

Rai singer Faudel, the youngest of this year's nominations, proved to be a popular winner as Best Newcomer of the Year. Faudel certainly brought the house down when he performed live at this year's 'Victoires' with his Rai mentors Khaled and Rachid Taha. The trio delighted the audience with a vibrant rendition of their latest single - an Arab adaptation of Jacques Revaux's "Comme d'habitude" (better known to Anglo-Saxon music fans as "My Way"!) However, many critics were disappointed that the Rai trio's live album "1.2.3.soleils" did not receive any nominations at this year's edition of 'Les Victoires'.

Alain Bashung turned out to be the overall winner of this year's 'Victoires de la Musique', walking off with three awards. The French singer scooped Best Album for "Fantaisie militaire", Best Video for Jacques Audiard's video of his single "La nuit je mens" and Best Male Artist of the Year, thereby depriving the favourite Pascal Obispo of yet another chance of victory. (Poor Pascal Obispo still hasn't managed to win an award at the 'Victoires de la Musique' despite being nominated several years running!)

There were absolutely no surprises when it came to Best Musical of the Year - Richard Cocciante and Luc Plamondon's show "Notre Dame de Paris" beat off the competition without any problem whatsoever. What's more, "Belle", one of the top-selling singles from the musical, also scooped Best Song of the Year. Needless to say, Plamondon and Cocciante were in the audience at the Olympia on Saturday night. And when the pair leapt up on stage to accept their awards, they announced that they are now working on an English adaptation of "Notre Dame de Paris" with which they plan to take London by storm in the year 2000!

There were a few surprises when it came to nominating the Best Female Artist of the Year, however. The Belgian/Québecois diva Lara Fabian looked all set for victory, but much to her disappointment, Ms. Fabian was suddenly pipped at the post by flame-haired Belgian star Axelle Red. French newcomers Louise Attaque also found themselves surprise winners at this year's 'Victoires de la Musique'. Louise Attaque have only released one (eponymous) album to date and that was two years ago, but that didn't stop judges voting them Best Group of 1999! (However, on reflection, maybe Louise Attaque do deserve their award - after all, their album has sold a staggering 2.5 million copies to date!) And talking of newcomers, the hip electro duo Air, who recently exported their French Touch to the UK, walked off with the award for Best Techno/Dance album of the Year.

Rai singer Faudel, the youngest of this year's nominations, proved to be a popular winner as Best Newcomer of the Year. Faudel certainly brought the house down when he performed live at this year's 'Victoires' with his Rai mentors Khaled and Rachid Taha. The trio delighted the audience with a vibrant rendition of their latest single - an Arab adaptation of Jacques Revaux's "Comme d'habitude" (better known to Anglo-Saxon music fans as "My Way"!) However, many critics were disappointed that the Rai trio's live album "1.2.3.soleils" did not receive any nominations at this year's edition of 'Les Victoires'.