[Shepherd]

Alizee's record sales have been declining since her second album, and the last one was a disaster. Her singing career has been a loser for Alizee personally, entailing hard work and considerable stress which hasn’t paid off. On the other hand, dancing with Gregorie has been a magical experience. She won the DALS competition and fell in love with a guy who has bolstered her confidence and self-worth. She loves dancing and has obviously been having fun. I think she is now trying to preserve that experience indefinitely by replaying the record. The problem is that she can’t replay it for long. Dancing is professionally a dead end. When a dancer enters his thirties, he’s facing the door. Really good dancers are a dime a dozen, and the best are teenagers. With time, the excitement of romance fades, and the repetition of the routine grows tedious. Alizee and Gregorie could comfortably support themselves giving dance lesson for the rest of their lives, but would so mundane a life be satisfying for someone who has flown with the eagles?

And where does all this leave her fans? Her disappearance from the scene is like a death in the family.

If she were to decide to cut another album, I’m sure she could find a small label that would be delighted to have her. The toughest problem appears to be a lack of artistic direction. Urban music won’t work for her, nor—I think—hold any appeal for Alizee or her fans. She could do quite well with music similar to the song she sang in the talent contest when she was fifteen or music like Lilly Wood And the Prick’s – Where I Want To Be. If that would be a direction she’d be willing to go, the next truly difficult task is finding a dozen good tunes. If she decided to record a Spanish album, it might be easier to find tunes and financially that album would do quite well.

She doesn’t have to cut a whole album. If she could find one excellent tune and make a decent video, that could restart her career. It would get her TV appearances and attract investment. And we’d be off to the races.