Alizée
Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Alizée Jacotey (IPA: [a.li.ze]) (born August 21, 1984) is a French singer. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, she is the daughter of a computer scientist and a businesswoman. Her stage name is Alizée[1] — the feminine form of alizé, or the trade wind. She is considered to be the protégée of Mylène "Farmer" Gautier, a successful Quebec-born French singer.
Alizée is presently taking a break from singing, but is slated to return with a new album soon.
Biography
Early years
Also known by her nickname Lili, Alizée started dancing[2] early in her life. By the age of four, she became quite proficient in it and was soon drawn to show business.
In 1995, at the age of eleven, she won a coloring competition organised by Air Outre Mer, a former French airline (now partly acquired by Swissair). Her design won first prize and ended up being reproduced on the cabin of one of the airline's aircraft, which was subsequently named after her. For her efforts, Alizée also won a trip to the Maldives.
In 1999, she appeared on the TV talent show "Graines de Star",[3] broadcast on Métropole 6. She initially intended to sign up for the programme's dance contest. However, the dance category was reserved for groups only. Alizée therefore participated in the singing category instead, performing the song Ma Prière. She went on to win the "Meilleure Graine" award for most promising young singing star of tomorrow.
Her winning performance was seen by veteran French pop diva Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, who were looking for a young, fresh voice to partake in their new project. They approached Alizée and she was selected after studio auditions. The duo architected her debut with a meticulously orchestrated launch, controlling her image and public appearances. In the year 2000, they produced her maiden album, Gourmandises which was a great success in France. The first single was Moi... Lolita, which set the tone of the album, portrayed Alizée as a Lolita who was capable of "melting the hearts of the local male population".[4] She returned with a follow up album, Mes Courants Électriques, in 2003. This second album was also quite successful, though not to the same extent as Gourmandises. It was followed up with a live album of her countrywide tour.
Personal life
Even though the albums have protrayed her to be in a sexy, lolita-like image, Alizée maintains a "squeaky-clean public image as the perfect teenager".[4] A very shy and a reserved person,[5] she likes to perform in front of audience.[5] Although she has a singing career, Alizée prefers dancing.[5] She is quite proficient in classical dance,[6] jazz, ballet, tap and flamenco. Alizée also likes[7] football. She is a supporter of AC Ajaccio, and was once invited to kick off one of their matches.
Alizée is actively involved in charity work through Les Enfoirés, a group of French celebrities who organize fund-raising concerts every year. The proceeds from these concerts go to Les Restaurants du Coeur. The organisation, set up by French comedian Coluche, helps feed the poor. Alizée participated in these concerts in 2001 and 2002.
Alizée married fellow French singer Jérémy Châtelain, whom she met at the Eurobest awards function in 2003. They were married on November 6, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. They had their first child, a girl they named Anny-Lee (Annily), on April 29, 2005.
Career
Alizée made her debut with the single, Moi... Lolita, her most successful to date. It enjoyed success throughout most of Europe and parts of east Asia, reaching the number one spot in music charts of most countries it was released in. Indeed, Alizée's image was that of a seductive Lolita character, referring to the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The video for the single, which incidentally was the first to be filmed on her,[8] showed Alizée as a village girl visiting a night-club.
The single was from her debut album, "Gourmandises",[9] which translates to "Delicacies" in English. The album, written by Farmer and composed by Boutonnat, sold over 800,000 copies in France. It went Platinum in just three months. In 2001, the album, most of whose songs featured "risqué lyrics",[4] was launched internationally, and she became the highest-selling female French singer in 2001.[10] The album went on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide.[11] Farmer and Boutonnat kept a tight rein how the album was marketed and controlled the image in which Alizée was portrayed. Meanwhile, Alizée gave very few interviews and even when she did, it did not stretch beyond 20 minutes per journalist. Nor did she agree to any photoshoots.[4]
Her second single "L'alizé", also from the same album, followed soon after. It was also successful in hitting number one in France, and gained some success internationally. The video of the "sexily alliterative"[4] song shows Alizée amidst soap bubbles against a pink backdrop singing about herself.
In 2003 she returned with her second album "Mes Courants Électriques",[12] or "My Electric Currents" in English translation. With the release of this album, she changed her image from a 'Lolita' to that of a more toned-down teenager. This album was also written by Farmer and Boutonnat. The first single from this album, J'en Ai Marre, known as "Mon Bain de Mousse" in Japan, had some success in and outside France, but this second album, featuring English versions of four tracks, was not as well received as her first one, Gourmandises. It sold over 200,000 copies in France. The album was supported by a countrywide tour in the fall of 2003. A live CD and DVD a year later, in the fall of 2004, by the name "Alizée En Concert", followed. The DVD featured footage of her rehearsals.
Alizée has sold more than four million albums throughout Europe. She has starred in a Japanese commercial and has taken part in various stage shows and live performances outside of Japan. The female Night Elf dance in the computer game, World of Warcraft, published by Blizzard Entertainment, is rumored to be inspired by the choreography of her performance of J'en Ai Marre. The stage costume for the same performance is considered by many to be inspired by a blue sailor outfit seen in the 1997 remake of Nabokov's Lolita, due to a noticeable similarity in design.
Since her marriage, Alizée has taken a hiatus from singing. She has avoided appearing in the media since February 2004. Her first television appearance since then was on MTV France on February 18, 2006. She currently resides in Paris, France.
Future
Since Alizée took a break from the music business almost two years ago, there has been no confirmed official word regarding her comeback. Her official site has been down since the summer of 2005. Since then, many rumors had surfaced, which eventually turned out to be false.
After almost two years of fan speculation, on April 3, 2006, a handwritten message, signed Alizée, was received by the webmaster of the fansite Le Nid d'Alizée, stating that she is working on the third album. However, the statements haven't been officially confirmed yet. Translated into English the message is as below.
Hello everyone!
Just want to let you know that I am currently in the studio... The new songs are great!! Kisses and I'll see you very soon! I promise
Alizée 31 March 2006
The French TV channel "Europe 2" reported on July 7, 2006, on the show Le JT de la musique that Alizée is working on her third album, after having separated with Mylène Farmer. The lyrics of the new album, as reported, is being penned by Jean Faulques. Her husband, Jérémy Châtelain, is also associated with the album.
In the July/August issue of the French magazine Platine, it was reported that she has parted with both Mylène Farmer as well as her record label, "Polydor". It went on to report that Jean Faulques will be writing at least a few songs, while the music is being composed by Jérémy Châtelain. The first single from this album will supposedly be aired by September, with the full album release by the end of the year.
Critical response
| Name | Year |
|---|---|
Notwithstanding marketing hype and commercial success, critics expressed mixed responses to the launch of Moi... Lolita, Alizée's first single. The critics felt that the similarity in style to that of Mylène Farmer was too striking. Some also felt that her Lolita image somewhat overshadowed her singing prowess - described as "desperately trying to be sexy",[16] and many were ready to write her off. Still, to others Alizée appealed because of her deep voice, and her ability to "demonstrate her impressive vocal range",[17] a trait for which she is often praised. Some of her songs have been described as "sweeping, atmospheric ballads"[18] whose "melodies are so sparkling and beguiling",[18] and into which Alizée manages to "squeeze more emotion than the usual pop package".[19] Alizée's two albums include a wide range of songs, from catchy pop tunes to soulful ballads. Radio France Internationale featured Gourmandises as their CD of the week, stating "The ten songs on Alizée's debut album, Gourmandises (Goodies), have all been expertly manufactured by the Farmer hit-machine. Sweet syrupy pop ditties are wrapped in silky synths, violins and catchy techno beats and judging by the success of Alizée's sexily alliterative second single, L’Alizé, the Farmer team have hit upon a winning formula."[4]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart Positions[20] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | Belgium | Finland | France | Germany | Italy | Spain | Switzerland | México | ||
| 2000 | Gourmandises | 40 | 12 | 26 | 1 | 29 | 27 | 22 | 27 | 1 |
| 2003 | Mes Courants Électriques | - | 9 | - | 2 | 26 | 29 | - | 13 | 1 |
| 2004 | Alizée En Concert | - | - | - | 38 | - | - | - | - | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT | BE | DK | UK | EE | FR | DE | IL | IT | JP | NL | PL | ES | CH | |||
| 2000 | Moi... Lolita | 5 | 6 | 14 | 9 | - | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | Gourmandises |
| 2000 | L'Alizé | 52 | 44 | - | - | 1 | 1 | 43 | - | - | - | 63 | 9 | - | 23 | Gourmandises |
| 2001 | Gourmandises | - | - | - | - | - | 14 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 70 | Gourmandises |
| 2001 | Parler Tout Bas | - | 64 | - | - | - | 12 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Gourmandises |
| 2003 | J'en Ai Marre | 43 | 5 | - | - | - | 4 | 21 | 2 | 23 | 2 | 39 | 5 | 11 | 5 | Mes Courants Électriques |
| 2003 | I'm Fed Up | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Mes Courants Électriques |
| 2003 | J'ai Pas Vingt Ans | 60 | 20 | - | - | - | 17 | 59 | 15 | - | - | - | - | - | 60 | Mes Courants Électriques |
| 2003 | I'm Not Twenty! | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Mes Courants Électriques |
| 2003 | Á Contre Courant | - | 20 | - | - | - | 22 | - | 19 | - | - | - | - | - | 64 | Mes Courants Électriques |
All the released singles have a music video associated with them. In addition, a video for the song Amélie M'a Dit was released, for the promotion of Alizée's live album Alizée Én Concert, even though it was not released as a single[21]; but for its promotion, a video of the song featuring a collection of clips from Alizée's performances in her tour was used.
DVDs
- Alizée En Concert (2004)
