Najoua was born in Nancy, France and grew up in a large family with three sisters and two brothers. Her parents are both from Morocco. Since childhood she showed an interest in music; by age 14, she had begun writing her own songs.
Starting in 2001, Najoua studied law at the University of Nancy, but left for Paris to pursue a career in music. She initially met success when she joined the group Benoît, who had a successful single called "Tourne-toi Benoît", which touched on the subject of homosexuality. The later singles from Benoit, however, only met with moderate success and eventually the group disbanded.
Najoua kept on working with the group's songwriter Christophe Casanave whose work had already been performed by popular French acts Steeve Estatof and Marc Lavoine. The two worked together on a song called "Stella", which would later appear on her debut album. The song "Née de l'amour et de la haine" was Belyzel's first demo in 2002.
In 2005, Najoua released her first single, titled "Gabriel" (The Angel Gabriel), an electro-pop dance track, which became her signature song. A video was released to accompany the single by telling the 'story' behind the song: the video showed Najoua wearing angel wings while being attended by seraphs. She recently adopted the sitting Angel profile portrait of herself and used it on the album as her motif.
Gabriel became a huge hit in France, Belgium, and Quebec, making it her best selling single which peaked at #3 on the Top 40 charts in France. Najoua also developed a very dramatic stage routine to encapsulate the song and its highly charged emotional content as was demonstrated in the celebrated 'back to school' performance in Lille in 2006. Najoua has said that the song has nothing to do with gay issues, as has been suggested, but concerns the unlikely love of a human girl for an archangel and questioned whether that can be reciprocated. So it's about Angelsexuality - not homosexuality.
The video ends enigmatically and ambiguously with Gabriel being 'awakened' from stone with a kiss and his world is shattered (literally). The video was shot, very appropriately, in the stark interior and beautiful grounds of the ruined ancient Cistercian Abbaye de Notre-Dame du Val à MERIEL
On May 29, 2006, she released her debut album titled Entre deux mondes, which debuted at #7 on the French charts and at #1 on the iTunes France music store. In late 2006-2007, she embarked on a tour with other artists across France and Francophone Europe to promote her album. Two other singles were released, "Je Ferme les Yeux" in June 2006, which was also an electro-pop title, but it met with less success than "Gabriel." The theme was a prayer to God to make this world better. The third single was "Comme Toi" a song about duality and schizophrenia. The video clip featured two Najoua: a warrior-like blond and a trapped brunette. The album is mainly electro-pop with some ballads. It deals with different themes such as love, friendship (Stella), war, and pedophilia (Docteur Gel) along with her distress and disappointment when Najoua came to Paris (Bons Baisers de Paris)
Najoua Belyzel also released a new single, "Quand revient l'été ", on 10 September 2007.
She has been compared[by whom?] to Mylène Farmer, mainly because the video clip for "Gabriel" was shot in the same abbey as one of Mylene's clips ("Je te rends ton amour") and because they write about similar themes. Nonetheless, Najoua says she never wanted to copy Mylene and that they both have their distinctive universes.
During the summer of 2008, she released a cover song of Marie Laforêt "Viens, Viens", but it was not meant to be a single. Najoua returned with a new single "La Bienvenue". Some excerpts of the video clip were shown to her fans in December 2008 and the final clip was shown on TV in February 2009. The single became available on legal downloading platforms on 13 February. The song is about a girl who feels rejected in this world and who does not see the good in herself. The video features a mannequin who becomes alive (played by Najoua) who is then disappointed by the cruelty of the world and decides to return to her previous state.
Najoua's new album Au Feminin was released on 23 November 2009,[1] three years after the first album. It includes a duet with Marc Lavoine called "Viola" as well as songs called "Hey Hey Hey,Ma Sainte-Nitouche,La Trève." Her song "Née de l'amour et de la haine" is also included.
In September 2014, after a period of five years, and much to the acclaim of her fans, Najoua released a new song "Rendez-Vous" with accompanying video, shot in the night by the banks of the Seine in a deserted Paris. There is an acoustic live performance video of Rendez-Vous filmed under a bridge over the Seine at night. Najoua has parted with her previous label Scorpio and has released "Rendez-Vous" and a new album under 'Les Edition Gabriel'.
Discography
Albums
2006: Entre deux mondes (Also known as Entre deux mondes... En équilibre), #7 France, #46 Switzerland, 160,000 sales.[2]
Mylène Jeanne Gautier, known professionally as Mylène Farmer, is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time in France, where she holds the record for the most number one hit singles, with twenty-one – eight of which were consecutive.
Marc Lucien Lavoine is a French singer and actor. In 1985, his hit single "Elle a les yeux revolver..." reached number four on the French Singles chart and marked the beginning of his successful singing career. He starred in the television series Crossing Lines as Louis Daniel, head of an International Criminal Court police team that investigates crimes that cross European borders.
Mylènium Tour is the third live album by Mylène Farmer, released on 5 December 2000.
"Peut-être toi" is a 2005 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. It was the fifth single from her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre..., and was released on 21 August 2006. The music video was produced as an animated feature and the lyrics deals with a love relationship. It was a top three hit in France, but its sales were rather modest.
"Q.I" is a 2005 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the second single from her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre..., and was released on 4 July 2005. Like all other tracks from the album, the lyrics were written by Farmer and the music was composed by Laurent Boutonnat. The primary meaning of the song is the attraction to one's partner's intelligence, but the lyrics are ambiguous enough to allow a more sexual interpretation. The accompanying music video was filmed by Benoît Lestang in Budapest and starred Rafael Amargo and Farmer, performing soft erotic scenes in a bedroom; however, the video was not well received. Variously received by the media, the song became a top ten hit in France and Belgium (Wallonia).
"Souviens-toi du jour" is a 1999 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the third single from her fifth studio album Innamoramento and was released on 2 September 1999. Inspired by Primo Levi's book If This Is a Man, the song deals with the theme of the Holocaust. The song is perhaps best remembered for its controversial music video, which was generally viewed as disrespectful towards its own subject matter.
"Comme j'ai mal" is a 1996 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. Fourth single from her fourth album Anamorphosée, it was released on 1 July 1996. It was a relative failure: indeed, it failed to reach the top ten in France and was the least-selling single from the album.
"Rêver" is a 1995 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the fifth single from her fourth album Anamorphosée and was released on 16 November 1996. In spite of moderate sales and chart performances, the song remains one of the most known by the general public because of the subjects it deals with, notably war and a call for tolerance.
"Beyond My Control" is a 1991 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the fourth single from her third studio album L'autre... and was released in May 1992. The song probably remains well known for its controversial music video, censored upon release due to its sexual and violent content. It achieved minor success in terms of sales, even though it reached the top ten in France and Belgium.
"Ainsi soit je..." is a 1988 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. The song was released as a single twice: as the second single from her second studio album Ainsi soit je... on 4 April 1988, and as the second single in a live version from her second live album Live à Bercy on 20 August 1997. Both versions achieved a relative success on the charts, failing twice to reach the top ten in France.
"Tristana" is a 1987 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. Fourth single from her first studio album Cendres de Lune, the song was released in February 1987. As for the previous single "Libertine", the music video was produced as a film, with many extras and a huge budget. The second single in Farmer's career with lyrics entirely written by the singer herself, it enjoyed an intense promotion on television and met a great success in France, reaching the top ten.
"Déshabillez-moi" is a 1967 song first recorded by French singer Juliette Gréco, by Patti Layne in 1987, then by Mylène Farmer in a studio version in 1988 and in a live version during her 2006 concerts at Bercy (Paris). This live version was the second single from Farmer's fourth live album, Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy, and was released on 5 March 2007. Although it was a top ten hit in France, it achieved moderate success in terms of sales and chart performances.
"Libertine" is a 1986 song recorded by French artist Mylène Farmer. It was the third single from her first studio album Cendres de lune and was released on 1 April 1986 and met success on the French chart, becoming Farmer's first big hit. The long form music video, produced as a short film, contains explicitly sexual and violent scenes. In 2002, the song was successfully covered by Belgian singer Kate Ryan, who reached the top 20 in several European countries.
"Gabriel" is a 2005 song recorded by French artist Najoua Belyzel. It was her debut single from her album Entre deux mondes... en équilibre, on which it is the sixth track, and was released in November 2005. It achieved great success in Belgium (Wallonia) where it topped the chart, and in France. To date, it is Belyzel's most successful single in terms of peak positions and sales and can be deemed as her signature song.
"Si j'avais au moins..." is a song recorded by French singer Mylène Farmer. This pop rock ballad was written by Farmer with music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. It was the third single released, from her seventh studio album Point de suture (2008), on 16 February 2009. Directed by Bruno Aveillan, the accompanying music video is the continuation of Farmer's previous single "Dégénération" and is the second and final part of a short film called The Farmer Project, broadcast in January 2009. In the video, the singer portrays a supernatural character who saves animals from testing and heals them. Although a survey showed that a minority of the voters wanted the song as the third single, "Si j'avais au moins..." received positive reviews and achieved some success on the French Singles Chart, debuting at number-one. Farmer performed the song on television during the NRJ Music Awards show on 17 January 2009 and on the 2009 Mylène Farmer en tournée tour.
Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes, better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French pop singer and songwriter. Her greatest hits include "Je suis un homme", "À ma place" and "Speed". She co-produces all her albums and is noted for her playful use of language.
"Bleu noir" is a 2010 song by French pop musician Mylène Farmer. It is the second single to her eighth studio album Bleu Noir, released in December 2010. The song was written and produced by Moby with lyrics by Farmer, and the music video produced by French film director Olivier Dahan. It was released on 18 April 2011. In France, the song became Farmer's eleventh number-one hit on the singles chart, but quickly dropped.
"Du temps" is a 2011 dance-pop song by French singer Mylène Farmer. It was written by Farmer with music composed by Laurent Boutonnat. The song is the first single from her second best of 2001.2011 and was released first digitally on 7 November 2011. The song was generally well received by critics, but divided Farmer's fans.
"Monkey Me" is a 2012 song by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer with music by Laurent Boutonnat. It was the third single from her ninth studio album, Monkey Me, and was released on radio on 30 August 2013, then physically on 7 October of the same year. A music video composed of graphics was available on the web four days earlier. The song was generally well received by critics and the singer's fans who considered it one of the best tracks of the album. In France, it peaked at number three on the week of the release of the physical formats.
L'Emprise is the twelfth studio album by French recording artist Mylène Farmer, released on 25 November 2022 by Stuffed Monkey. The album was produced by Yoann Lemoine, AaRON and Moby, among others. Described as a return to the darker instrumentation of her earlier records, L'Emprise is a concept album which deals with a person who is under psychological manipulation and breaks free from it. In Farmer's words: "Who has not crossed the path of a so-called narcissistic pervert? Who has not one day been under the influence ("l'emprise") of such a person? Feminine or masculine, it doesn't matter. Ultrasensitive beings inhabited by doubts that gnaw at them are ideal prey. The important thing is to identify it and try to combat this grip. It's a theme that upsets me and often puts me in a black rage."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
