Franco chart-toppers September 2004

Aznavour, Air and Corneille Save The Day

Paris 

16/09/2004 - 

Since the beginning of 2004, French export success stories have been few and far between. And this summer French single and album releases have garnered particularly mediocre sales abroad. Only a handful of big hitters such as Charles Aznavour, Corneille and electro duo Air have managed to make their mark on the international charts.

Many reasons have been put forward to explain the slowdown in French export sales (which were already starting to slide down a slippery slope in 2003). Some blame the slowdown on the general crisis in the record industry, others bemoan the absence of truly big French stars capable of taking on international competition and more than one critic has pointed the finger at the "Star Academy" system, which leads major labels to rely on fresh-faced one-hit wonders rather than investing in long-term career development for its more established artists. Whatever the real reason behind the slowdown, one thing's for sure and that is that the Francophone music scene is still waiting for a new success story abroad.

Meanwhile, most of Francophone artists' export sales this summer have been limited to three countries: Belgium, Switzerland and Canada. So who, we hear you ask, can be credited with scoring the biggest hit of summer 2004 abroad? Well, that honour goes to the rather unlikely pairing of Calogero & Passi. The idea of teaming a rock singer with a rapper from Sarcelles (in the Paris suburbs) may at first seem absurd, but the mix has gone down extremely well with the record-buying public. Besides enjoying massive success in the charts back home, Calogero & Passi's single Face à la mer (Mercury) recently reached no.6 in Wallonia and no.12 in Switzerland. Meanwhile, K-Maro, exploiting a more genuine hip vein, also proved to be a major player this summer, his single Femme Like U (Up Music) hogging the no.1 spot in Wallonia several weeks running. Femme Like U also reached no.3 in the Swiss charts.

A number of young female singers also did their bit, flying the flag for Francophone sounds this summer. Nâdiya was the undoubted leader of the girl pack with not one, but two singles enjoying export success. Parle-moi reached no.7 in the charts in Wallonia and no.55 in Switzerland, while her new single Et c’est parti (Columbia) rocketed to no.2 in the charts in Wallonia just three weeks after its release. Meanwhile, Elodie Frégé, winner of France's "Star Academy" in 2003, decided to team up with her friend, Polish singer Michal (who failed to make it through to the "Star Academy" final). The pair's duet Viens jusqu’à moi (Mercury) did relatively well this summer, reaching no.5 in Wallonia and no.42 in Switzerland. Another double act was also on the scene, Quebec's pop diva Natasha St-Pier teaming up with her French mentor Pascal Obispo. The duo's single Mourir demain (Columbia) managed to climb to no.8 in Wallonia and no.25 in Switzerland. As for Chimène Badi (a young singer who got her career break on another French TV reality show, "Pop Idol"), she enjoyed success throughout French-speaking Europe in the summer of 2004 with her latest single, Le Jour d’après (A Z), which reached no.7 in France, no.9 in Wallonia and no.52 in Switzerland.

And what has been happening on the album front? Well, frankly with everyone waiting for a new release from one of France's biggest export hitters, Jean-Michel Jarre, not a lot! In fact, the pickings are as meagre as in the singles department. A few new releases have managed to work up some export momentum in the first half of September, however. And these include Debbie (Barclay), the third album from French rocker Saez. Judging by sales across French-speaking Europe, Saez not only maintains a significant fanbase at home in France (where he reached no.2 in the charts), but also in Wallonia (no.13) and Switzerland (no.30). Jean-Louis Murat may be more of a veteran on the French music scene then Saez but he is no less of a rebel, as he proves on his latest album A Bird On A Poire (Labels). The album recently climbed to no.26 in the charts in Wallonia and no.68 in Switzerland. Meanwhile, French singer, songwriter and composer Cali finally scored an album hit with L’Amour parfait (Labels), reaching no.45 in Wallonia and no.68 in Switzerland.

Apart from Saez, Jean-Louis Murat and Cali, the biggest album hitters of the summer season were the same as in spring, namely Francis Cabrel with Les Beaux dégâts (no.1 in Wallonia and no.36 in Switzerland), Calogero with his third album, Calogero, (no.1 in Wallonia and no.21 in Switzerland), Yannick Noah and Pokhara (no.2 in Wallonia and no.49 in Switzerland) and last, but very much not least, hot new French R&B talent, Corneille, whose debut album, Parce qu’on vient de loin, is still riding high in the charts in France (no.5), Switzerland (no.43), Belgium (no.4 in Wallonia) and Canada (no.58).

Meanwhile, Emma Shapplin continues her reign as queen of the hit-parade in Greece. In fact, Greece is the only country where the classical lovely's album Etterna (released on Polydor in 2002) stormed back into the charts this year at no.8. Greek music fans have developed a taste for Gallic flavours this summer, it seems. Yann Tiersen's soundtrack to the film Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (Labels) also reached no.27 in the Greek charts. Norwegian and American fans appear to prefer France's electro exports. Phoenix recently reached no.9 in the Norwegian charts with their album Alphabetical. And as for electro duo Air, they are still faring well with Talkie Walkie, an album released in January this year which is still hanging onto the no.15 spot in the "Electronic Album" chart compiled by Billboard magazine. Good news for French label Source which released both albums!

Meanwhile, a certain nostalgia for the good old days of French 'chanson' continues to ensure export success for Charles Aznavour. The French 'chanson' crooner par excellence recently earned himself a gold disc in France with his album Je voyage (released on Capitol in the autumn of 2003. This album of new songs is still hanging on at no.97 in the Swiss charts while Azanvour's compilation The Platinum Collection recently reached no.11 in Wallonia. Aznavour is one of the rare French artists to have enjoyed success in non French-speaking countries this month, too, (his album reaching no.57 in Italy, after triumphing in the Dutch charts this spring). Veteran French music star Serge Reggiani passed away earlier this year but his memory lives on in Belgian fans' hearts, a 'best of' compilation having reached no.30 in the charts in Wallonia. Meanwhile, seventeen years after her death, Dalida's charm lives on, too. As French music fans eagerly await a prime-time series about the singer's life (to be shown on a leading French TV channel this autumn), a string of compilations pay tribute to the glamorous star. The album Dalida Forever currently stands at no.92 across the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, the Gipsy Kings' latest album, Roots (released on Columbia), may have fallen from the no.1 spot in the 'world music' charts in the U.S., but it has not fallen all that far – the guitar maestros can still pride themselves on being number 2! What's more, Youssou N’Dour appears to be preparing to take over where the Gipsy Kings left off. The Senegalese star's latest album, Egypt (Warner France), recently rocketed into the U.S. 'world music' chart at no.15 and made an entry in the Dutch charts at no.100.

That's all for now, music fans. We'll be back with our next Franco chart round-up in October!

Gilles  Rio

Translation : Julie  Street