Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenny_HRO87
I think she needs France. Because she needs a place where to start.
Sure, she has a lot of fans all over the world. Forums - not only AAm but also others - are full of enthusiastic fans. But you need more than only a couple of fans to have success.
If you release an album and it's a flop why would you go further? Why would you do a lot of promo somewhere else if you aren't 90 % to 100 % sure that it's going to work? Like in Mexico for example... the success Alizée has there is outstanding. Of course youtube had a major role in this. And every time I think of Mexico and the fans I'm overwhelmed how devoted they are. That they are running around, promoting Alizée all by themselves. I think they simple have a different attitude towards their idols. I call it great but "crazy" because I couldn't imagine anything like this in Germany. Or perhaps in general. My mexican friend said that it's a totally normal thing.
Germany is right next to France and Alizée is nearly forgotten. I have heard they played "Mademoiselle Juliette" on some German radio stations near the French border. That was it. That doesn't mean French music wouldn't work in Germany at all. A few recent examples - Zaz and Nolwenn Leroy. Both of them had an enormous success in France. Zaz with her debout album. Nolwenn with "Bretonne". Nolwenn's album was in the charts recently (no idea if it still is), same with Zaz's. Well ok. These albums are a bit different perhaps that's why it worked so well. Zaz music always reminds me a bit of a mix of gypsy and street music. A lot of people say she's like the new Edith Piaf. Her voice is different. A bit smoky. Nolwenn's new album isn't only in French. it's in Breton, Gaulish, English. It's melancholic and happy the same time. It's something you can listen to, close your eyes and it brings you into all kind of different places. So it's not only that you need an album that is successful in your mother country. There are a lot of successful singers in France but mostly they "stay" in their country. So they don't really promote there stuff outside France or better the French speaking countries (talking about the french part of Switzerland, Belgium etc.) because it simply wouldn't work. Being different works. And of course it works when you have a brilliant and ultra successful single like Alizée with Moi Lolita. Which was the perfect summer song, it made you move, it made you happy. It was the kind of song you don't need lyrics for. You just enjoy it. I think a lot of songs on Psychédélices had this potential too.
So you need a place to start. That would be France. And then you can try and go further. I also don't think Alizée would do well in the US. Not anymore. I know you are all very devoted but how many inhabitant does the US have? If things wouldn't work out here like in Mexico you would need a miracle to get Alizée in the charts. Or more than just a miracle. Especially with her recent songs. I mean "A cause de l'automne" for example is a wonderful song but it wouldn't be a hit. It's not catchy enough. It simply wouldn't work. Alizée knews about her fans all over the world but it's all about the money. You need promotion. You need a positive feedback from the general audience. You need high sales figures. You can't just throw an album (even if it's beautiful) on the market and hoping for the best. You need to know that people are going to buy it or the discs will only get dusty in their shelves.
And about her fame on youtube: In my opinion (I can be wrong of course) most of these fans who watch her videos (especially the international fans) know her from the "golden" days, from her time with Mylene, from her success with ML and JEAM. She still has a strong fanbase from these days. Or the Mexicans because of her success during the Psychédélices era over there. Also you can not tell me that her old tunes and also the famous JEAM video don't play an important part when people discover her. I don't say that you can't fall in love with her because of her new songs. But her old stuff is still very important. But as I told before - a "few" fans aren't enough. Also having a lot of clicks on youtube doesn't guarantee an enormous success in the charts.
Somewhere in this post I tried to make a point, not sure if I was successful...
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I agree with everything you said, Jenny. I don't think American fans can do in the USA what Mexican fans accomplished in Mexico. But I will say that the record companies should make it easier for markets like the USA to easily buy CDs and/or downloads, and not block content that could promote Alizée and other artists.
One other thing is that there have been foreign language songs that have been very successful in the USA, but it is fairly rare. But it's not impossible. Either way, Alizée may never be big in France again and may have to depend on sales from fans scattered all over the globe. But there's no doubt in my mind that Alizée would be much better off if she could re-establish herself in France and have a home base from which to work from.