According to Alizée, the early Alizée was an act

[Corsaire]

Throughout her career, Alizée has made ambiguous statements concerning her Lolita image and the sexualisation of her image. Of course, it is clear that the Lolita image, as seen in her first clip, had nothing to do with the Alizée image. The concept was based on the ambiguity; a timid and innocent teenager in real life sings sexually charged songs while wearing provocative clothes and moving suggestively. The line between the two was blurry and that is what made it work to a certain extent. What was never made clear (as far as I know) is what the young singer actually understood of the whole "Alizée concept"?

Alizée comments on the subject here from 0:30 to 1:00

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Translation:
MC(Manu Champagne): [Referring to Moi...Lolita] Was there, or was there not a naïve side to this song?
AJ: At the beginning, yes, of course, and this is what made it work.
MC: Acted, or not?
AJ: Of course!
MC: [I cannot clearly make up the first few words of this sentence] ... you can say it, you knew, you understood the whole thing about this song.
AJ: Yes, but at the same time, that is what made the game, the image, what made it work, maybe. And this is also why I split afterwards. It was because it wasn’t me.
MC: So, it was an act ("un personage").
AJ: Yes.
MC: Clearly?
AJ: Of course, totally.
MC: [laughs]

In this interview on Belgian TV in 2010, Alizée claims that early in her career it was a role she was playing. She admits here that the Alizée concept was just an image. She was not that young innocent adolescent singing sexually charged songs unknowingly; she was just playing the part. She also says that the reason she split (from MF/LB) was because she was not being herself. Note here that "it wasn’t me" ("c’était pas moi") clearly refers to the fact that she was not that naïve singer. This seems to be a new spin on the reason why she separated from MF/LB. It seems Alizée didn’t want to play the naïve part anymore.

Of course, there is nothing mind shattering about such a revelation, but what surprises me is that she would admit today to have been knowingly "deceiving" the public earlier in her career. It is surprising because Alizée knows very well that her fans generally prefer to beleive she was the innocent adolescent that did not fully realize the extent of the sexual content of her early image.

Thoughts?

[ALS]

She also stated a few years ago in an interview that another reason she split was to have a life. From fifteen to nineteen she was completely tied up in her career and needed a break.

That is probably why I was so lucky to see the La Isla Bonita video first instead of any other performances.

Had I been introduced to her any other way I may not have become such a fan of hers.

There was this "look" she had during that performance that got to me.

[RobandSandy]

This is not really a mind blowing revelation to me. I am a very new Alizée fan. What it seems to me is that Alizée won a childhood talent contest at a very young age, was offered a music career by MF LB team, and Mylene is referred to in many circles as The French Madonna. Alizée calling a music career "her dream" accepted the offer. Mylene even dresses her up in some of the same outfits she herself had used in ther past. Although I may not speak for Alizée, it would seem to me that she felt as if she had become Mylene's puppet. And Alizée could no longer continue along this path, so she decided to end her relationship with MF/LB as her production team. And Alzée has attempted to reinvent her image since then, and in my opinion done a very well job of it. As to "knowingly decieving" the public I believe she did as she was instructed by her production team and did not intentionally DECIEVE anyone. IF Alizée would have chosen to remain with MF/LB any longer than she did, the only person that would have been DECIEVED would have been Alizée herself. She knew the image MF/LB were attempting to portray was NOT her. So, just like any TRUE artist who has ever had my respect, Alizée had to herself be true and split and follow her own heart. And on her new album I do not believe she will SELL OUT TO THE MAN as I have seen so many artists and/or groups do in the past. And that earnd Alizée my devoted and undying RESECT.

Edit:

Originally Posted by ALS

She also stated a few years ago in an interview that another reason she split was to have a life. From fifteen to nineteen she was completely tied up in her career and needed a break.

That is probably why I was so lucky to see the La Isla Bonita video first instead of any other performances.

Had I been introduced to her any other way I may not have become such a fan of hers.

There was this "look" she had during that performance that got to me.

And that was the first time I ever beheld one of her performances as well. When she performed LIB even better than Madonna did it, I knew then and there I had just witnessed greatness one may only see once in a lifetime, some never see greatness like this ever in thier entire lives!

[severianb]

Originally Posted by Corsaire

What was never made clear (as far as I know) is what the young singer actually understood of the whole "Alizée concept"?

Thoughts?

First thought: You probably have no idea what a valuable new member you are. Not only do you have great insight, your mastery of French and English is a rare skill.

Second thought: She read the book "Lolita" at the urging of Mylene before doing the song. She knew exactly what it was about and what she was doing. Sure it was not really her, but I'm sure she got a kick (at least at first) out of getting people worked up with the naughty girl act.

Originally Posted by ALS

She also stated a few years ago in an interview that another reason she split was to have a life. From fifteen to nineteen she was completely tied up in her career and needed a break.

Yes. The other thing to think about is Alizée was trained in the art of publicity by some of the best. Also, like most anyone, she doesn't want to say things that will make her look bad or seem ungreatful. I personally think there is a lot more to it than what she has said, but that's just speculation on my part. And we've had enough of that around here.

That is probably why I was so lucky to see the La Isla Bonita video first instead of any other performances.

Had I been introduced to her any other way I may not have become such a fan of hers.

There was this "look" she had during that performance that got to me.

Was this "look" defined by the come-hither sexy smirk, the skin tight outfit showing off her stunning body, or the restrained sexyness of her flawless dancing? Maybe all of the above?

Originally Posted by RobandSandy

And Alzée has attempted to reinvent her image since then, and in my opinion done a very well job of it.

I've been a Lilly fan for years, (although I'm new here) but I can honestly say her new image doesn't do much for me. It confuses me. I'd rather have her find a popular image that might not be "her" but at least lead to album sales so we could see her in concert again... and she could do her own thing on the side.

Alizée had to herself be true and split and follow her own heart. And on her new album I do not believe she will SELL OUT TO THE MAN as I have seen so many artists and/or groups do in the past. And that earnd Alizée my devoted and undying RESECT.

I respect her for it also, but I really want her to be popular and perform her own shows again. Maybe she's so damn rich she can do whatever she wants...

[Corsaire]

Sorry, but I have to write this in a rush.

I quickly read what has been posted so far and I am not sure most people follow what it is that the OP claims to reveal.

The point is not that Alizée played the Lolita part knowingly. The point is that Alizée played the part of the young naive singer when she was not. This means that Alizée was aware of the whole sexual content, but she agreed to make it look like she didn’t know what it was all about. This also means that on stage and in interviews, she played that game, or if you will, she acted being naïve. One has to reflect on this to understand the meaning of the OP.

More to come...

Originally Posted by severianb

First thought: You probably have no idea what a valuable new member you are. Not only do you have great insight, your mastery of French and English is a rare skill.

This is a very nice compliment, sev... but I would certainly not describe myself as a person who masters either French or English... and I would say you are yourself quite an important contributor to this forum.

[AlizéeInspired]

If she says it was all an act, I'm sure it was. I mean, I'd say of course she knew what she was singing/saying in her early songs. Not long after becoming a fan, I finally decided to look up the lyrics to the songs that I found to be so catchy and addictive. From the english translations, without much effort or thought, I found phrases and things that seemed to have or had the potential to hold a deeper, sexual meaning. And that was before seeing or hearing of other people's analysis and opinion on the meanings of her songs. I found it quite intriguing and was caught a little bit off guard by this, so that's when I looked around for other people's interpretations of her song meanings and found people had come to very similar conclusions to that of what I had found. Some may argue that she was young and thrown into fame, but I still think she would have known a lot of the little things going on around her and what she was doing. As the singer and performer, someone who should know the songs inside and out, or at least very well, I'm sure she would have seen or at least noticed the possibilities of there being a deeper, sexual meaning to some of her songs. I guess I just find it a little hard to believe that she could be so naive to completely overlook all of those things.

However, (a little more off topic...) even if the songs were originally created with those sexual meanings as the true/original meaning of the songs, I still believe people can find what they want in them and choose for themselves. I believe that just about all music is open to interpretation, as it is an art form. What I feel from a song may be different than what another feels. What I believe a song means or what it means to me may very well be different than another. While listening to J'en ai marre, I choose to listen to it as my elementary interpretation of it being about a person who is fed up and just wants to settle down at the end of a stressful day. As funny as it is, I'd just rather not rock out to a song about a chick finger bangin' in the tub. Lol

[Deepwaters]

Originally Posted by Corsaire

The point is not that Alizée played the Lolita part knowingly. The point is that Alizée played the part of the young naive singer when she was not. This means that Alizée was aware of the whole sexual content, but she agreed to make it look like she didn’t know what it was all about. This also means that on stage and in interviews, she played that game, or if you will, she acted being naïve. One has to reflect on this to understand the meaning of the OP.

Ah, now I understand. You mean that Her Grace was more worldly, less naive, less innocent (except I hate that word used as a synonym for "ignorant"!) than some might think. Agreed. Again that comes as no surprise to me, but I can see where it might to some.

[pepelepew]

I still don't get the inference or what difference it makes whether Alizee was aware of the levels of meaning of Lolita or the image was or is. Asside from some typical teenage rebelliousness Alizee's life decisions, how she carries herself, a mother, a wife, a daughter is much more impressive than any role she played, has played or will play. She didn't write the songs and so I assume she probably wasn't aware of all of the nuances of all of the lyrics and if she did I wouldn't be surprised. I believe that although Alizee is truly a sweet deliberate classy young woman, she is very intelligent and a quick study. By the way all musicians put on an act. That is why they call them performers.

[Scruffydog777]

Originally Posted by severianb

First thought: You probably have no idea what a valuable new member you are. Not only do you have great insight, your mastery of French and English is a rare skill.
...

I second that, plus we're primarily an English speaking forum, though we do have some valuable French speaking assets such as BigDan and to have another one is such a great thing for this forum. A lot ot times we have to wait for some one else's interpretation of what Alizee has said in an interveiw or what ever. Now we have some one else who seems eager to post here and having someone who may have a different slant on things means a lot to us.

Plus there are times when things really slow down in this forum, such as just before Corsaire joined. We get so little news from month to month, so little communication, so we think of anything we can to keep going, her hair, her nose, etc. He has pumped some much needed vitality into this forum that it desperately needed.



As far as the original OP.
I've always kind of pictured Alizée as being some what naive. Thinking maybe she didn't fully understand the true meaning of some her songs. I think she knew she was being portrayed as a sexy young girl, and early in her career, I would say she was very cute, she had not blossomed into that incredibly beautiful young woman we saw in JAM, so not being that beautiful yet, she enjoyed being portrayed as a very sexy young lady. But I myself did not think she fully understood the lyrics of her songs and from what this thread's op is stating, it's saying she did.

So that comes as news to me. I've said many times I've always though of her as a classy young lady, but from images I've seen of her off stage, she's at times looked kind of rebelious to me and sometimes kind of punkish, so I really had no idea what the true Alizée was like and it's enlightening I guess is the best word for it, that she knew what it all meant from the begining.

But I don't feel decieved. She was just role playing, and if she wasn't as unknowing in the begining as we thought she was, should we really be surprised by that in today's society?

Just one other off topic comment or maybe it's not so off topic. There are different opinions in the translations of Moi Lolita, and I'd like to get Corsaire's opinion on it.

EDIT: As much as Alizee might have known, I still don't think she knew about the big red shoe.

[severianb]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

So that comes as news to me. I've said many times I've always though of her as a classy young lady, but from images I've seen of her off stage, she's at times looked kind of rebelious to me and sometimes kind of punkish, so I really had no idea what the true Alizée was like and it's enlightening I guess is the best word for it, that she knew what it all meant from the begining. EDIT: As much as Alizee might have known, I still don't think she knew about the big red shoe.

Agreed. She played the role on stage. Innocent, sexy, angelic... whatever was needed. And you know what, I'm sure she was/is those things in real life, but she was other things too. She was a teenager just trying to figure out what's the hell is going on. (Like we all have and some on here still are) She was a working-class kid trying to keep her feet on the ground..etc. etc. That's one of the wonderful things about people, they have many facets.
I think we got a glimpse of what she was really going through visually with the whole Lilly-mullet, piercings and tats in 2004. She was letting loose whatever the "real" Alizée was at that moment. And it wasn't a sweet innocent Lolita.

Ok, I have no idea about this big red shoe. Please send me a PM about it. I is dumb.