Édith Piaf was a French singer, lyricist and actress. Noted as France's national chanteuse, she was one of the country's most widely known international stars.
Gilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love". He remained a popular artist for nearly fifty years, identifiable in his dark blue suits, with a white shirt and "lucky tie"; blue with white polka dots. When asked to explain his gift he said, "A flower doesn't understand botany." His favourite venue was the Paris Olympia under the management of Bruno Coquatrix. He debuted there in 1954 and headlined in 1955, attracting 6,000 on his first night, three times the capacity. On 13 November 1997, Bécaud was present for the re-opening of the venue after its reconstruction.
Mylène Jeanne Gautier, known professionally as Mylène Farmer, is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time in that country. She holds the record for the most number one hit singles in the French charts, with twenty-one to date – eight of which were consecutive.
Claude Antoine Marie François, also known by the nickname Cloclo, was a French pop singer, composer, songwriter, record producer, drummer and dancer. François co-wrote the lyrics of "Comme d'habitude", the original version of "My Way" and composed the music of "Parce que je t'aime mon enfant", the original version of "My Boy". Among his other famous songs are "Le Téléphone Pleure", "Le lundi au soleil", "Magnolias for Ever" and "Alexandrie Alexandra". He also enjoyed considerable success with French-language versions of English-language songs, including "Belles! Belles! Belles!", "Cette année là" and "Je vais à Rio".
Mitsou Annie Marie Gélinas is a Canadian pop singer, businesswoman, television and radio host, and actress. She is credited as Mitsou Gélinas when acting, but records simply as Mitsou.
Nâdiya is a French R&B singer.
"Et c'est parti..." is a song recorded by the France-born R&B singer Nâdiya, featuring the English rapper Smartzee. The song was released as the second single off her 2004 second studio album 16/9 in June 2004. It was the first single she released outside of the usual France and Switzerland, and achieved success.
Marie Laforêt was a French singer and actress, particularly well known for her work during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1978, she moved to Geneva, and acquired Swiss citizenship.
Phan Thị Mỹ Tâm, whose stage name is Mỹ Tâm, is a Vietnamese singer and songwriter.
Marie-Mai is a Canadian singer from Quebec. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec reality show Star Académie.
"Redonne-moi" is a 2005 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. This pop ballad was the third single from her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre..., and was released on 2 January 2006. Like all other tracks of the parent album, it was written by Farmer and the music was composed by Laurent Boutonnat. The song has poetic lyrics and a melancholy music, and is about death, memory, and hope. About three months before the release, Farmer exceptionally accepted to perform the song in a television show, which she did not for other singles from Avant que l'ombre.... The accompanying music video, filmed by François Hanss and broadcast from 11 January 2006, shows Farmer singing in a sculpture workshop. In spite of being a top ten hit in France, "Redonne-moi" became the less-selling single from the album, with rather disappointing sales figures.
"Pardonne-moi" is a 2001 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer, with lyrics written by herself and music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. It was the third and last single from Les Mots, and was released on 21 October 2002. The song is about the unhappy love of a woman who is asking for forgiveness from the Oriental princes whom she loves. The black and white accompanying music video was directed by Boutonnat in Morocco and shows Farmer dressed as a nun, with images of a knight galloping on horseback and a snake. Like the single "À quoi je sers..." released thirteen years earlier, "Pardonne-moi" is generally deemed a synthesis of Farmer's work and thus marked the end of an artistic period in her career. The song received positive reviews from critics and became a top ten hit in France and in the Waloon Belgium, although its sales were rather disappointing.
"C'est une belle journée" is a 2001 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the second single from her best of Les Mots and was released on 16 April 2002. The song contains melancholy lyrics set to dance music and was illustrated by a cartoon video produced by Farmer's boyfriend. It achieved great success in France where it remained ranked for several months on the top 50.
"Optimistique-moi" is a 1999 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. The fourth single from her fifth studio album, Innamoramento, it was released on 22 February 2000. Dealing with parental relationships, the song enjoyed many remixes and formats and achieved success in France where it reached number seven.
Cendrillon is a chamber operetta with dialogue in three acts by Pauline Viardot based on the story of Cinderella. The work, for a cast of seven with piano orchestration, premiered in Viardot's Paris salon on 23 April 1904, when she was 83, and was published later that year. Inspiration for this work was also found in the Nicholay Checkhov small play for children "The Snow Queen" based on the Andersen's tale. Historians are unsure of when the opera was composed, although it is thought to be after the death of Viardot's friend Ivan Turgenev in 1883 as he did not write the libretto. It has been described as "a retelling of the Cinderella story with Gallic wit, Italianate bel canto, and a quirkiness all her [Viardot's] own."
Davide Esposito is a singer and songwriter.
C.O.B.R.A. is the first single released from Marie-Mai's fourth album Miroir. It was released as digital download on 14 August 2012. The song was written by Fred St-Gelais and Marie-Mai. In an interview, Marie-Mai explained the song's inspiration: “C.O.B.R.A. is a rallying cry, an anthem to those who do not want to merge in the crowd, told Marie-Mai. Fred and I, we wanted to write a song that would find all its meaning on stage, during a show, with a contagious rhythm...Let yourself get bewitched by the Cobra!”.
Mai Hồng Ngọc, better known by her stage name Đông Nhi, is a Vietnamese singer. She studied at the Marie Curie High School in Ho Chi Minh City. Her first projects, such as The First Step (2009), The Singer (2012), Sau Moi Giac Mo (2012), and I Wanna Dance (2013), have won several awards.
