#571
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Thursday, September 27, 2001
MUSIC REVIEW French teen queen breaks the mold Eric Harkleroad Princetonian Arts Writer "Sixteen-year-old Alizée is France's answer to the teen queen phenomenon. With one notable exception: Alizée has real talent. No breast implants or choreographed group dancing needed here, just haunting melodies and songs that get better each time you listen." So reads an Amazon.com review of the French teen star's debut album, "Gourmandises," a French word used in the album's title track to draw a comparison between culinary delicacies and kisses. The delectable quality of the tracks make the album's title fitting. As another Amazon.com reviewer wrote, "there is not a bad song here." Alizée, a native of Ajaccio, Corsica — also the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte — seems to be taking Europe by storm just as the French general and emperor did. The track "Veni Vedi Vici," a quote by Julius Caesar, refers to small, everyday victories in the same way that the ancient Roman general and statesman referred to his victories in the field. The track is a battle hymn for life. Her name, which is not a pseudonym, comes from a French term for wind and reflects her parents' passion for windsurfing. The self-titled track "L'Alizé," is an assertion of her independence and ability to love. The album contains several other notable tracks. "Moi...Lolita" suggests the title character in Vladimir Nabokov's risqué 1955 novel. "J.B.G." expresses the fantasy of being a James Bond Girl-the lead female role in the popular series of films starring the fictional British agent, 007. Alizée has sold millions of albums and singles and has been featured in a number of magazine articles and fan websites. She also received an M6 award last year-one of various awards given annually by France's M6 television network to honor icons of popular culture. Despite the magnitude of her success, Alizée's interests extend beyond music. In interviews with the press, she has noted that if she weren't singing, she would be working as a computer engineer and teaching dance classes on the side, since dancing is her greatest passion. In pursuit of these dreams, she has kept up with her education by taking correspondence courses and dancing when her schedule permits. With her talent and diversity of interests, she would undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the Princeton class of 2007, assuming she and the Admission Office agree. https://web.archive.org/web/20030704...rts/3423.shtml |
#572
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I think MF was under the impression that Alizée had to have some good songs in English to break into the US market. Unfortunately in trying to rewrite songs like "J'en ai marre" to "I'm fed up" and "J'ai pas vingt ans," she did a terrible job. The songs were laughed at, but I think the point needs to be made that Alizée could have come over here with her French songs and still have been a success.
There is a French singer called Yelle who has come over here on a few occasions and has a following. Here is a video of her singing in Austin Texas 10 years ago. I have never heard mention that Austin is a place that has a lot of French speaking people, but it is a college town whose students are attuned to music from around the world. It is not great success for Yelle, but it is success that keeps her coming back. Yelle does have English songs, too, but I think Alizée would have been able to have the same type of success Yelle had, though in smaller markets as Yelle. But, if you throw in the beauty, the charm, and the sexiness of Alizée, I believe she would have achieved much more success in a much larger market than Yelle. Here's another video from a Yelle tour of the USA in 2014. IMO, if Alizée was brought over here with just her French songs, half the country would have been speaking French by the time her tour was over! |
#573
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Some of Mylène's earlier songs had also been rewritten in English - to no avail. I think she should've learned from that and made an exception for Alizée by bringing someone externally on board to write English Lyrics for her. Preferably something original. Adapting French Songs into English rarely works well since a lot will get lost in the translation anyhow. Might as well start from scratch.
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Edit: Absolutely. She had that 'mass appeal' needed. Plenty of countries took notice, can't see why it wouldn't have worked in the US without trying too hard. Last edited by BroKenSkullDG; 04-02-2021 at 11:36 AM.. Reason: Automerged Doubleposts |
#574
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But it fits the pattern well. For example, Italian music is liked in the United States and many know that there are many Italians there. The same, eg., Spanish music! That is a clear pattern!
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Alizée 💜 Last edited by AlizéeSuperFanFIN; 04-02-2021 at 01:57 PM.. Reason: . |
#575
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Last edited by Scruffydog777; 04-02-2021 at 08:59 PM.. Reason: Automerged Doubleposts |
#576
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In many European countries it is compulsory. But not in France. Sure... English is also compulsory in France at least at some point, in fact the school starts there with the new law at the age of three(!), But especially in the old days, for example in 2000, its teaching was clearly quite miserable... I was looking for a topic and noticed some rather amusing news when President Jacq Chirac walked out of the EU summit in 2006 when the French representative had started speaking in English. In the studies, France also ranked as the second worst European country in foreign language teaching. It is only in the 2010s that there have been statements calling for more effort, because globally, English is a major language. Quote:
So once again the Corsica's world conquest ended in a small mistake ... Until YouTube was invented and today Napoleon is so jealous! _________ By the way, happy Easter everyone!
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Alizée 💜 |
#577
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I don't think this particular Corsican is very jealous as his world conquest ended in a small mistake too, called "Russia".
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#578
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Four more members added today to our FB page. One is from India, one from the Czech Republic, one from Belgium and I believe one is from Bolivia. The last one doesn't say where he's from but all his friends are from Bolivia.
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#579
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That includes Moi Lolita. For "Moi Lolita" to have been a hit in the U.S., it would have to have been played on FM radio, which means the song would have to have been in English. I can't imagine mainstream American radio giving airplay to a song that isn't in English--- it just doesn't happen, no matter how good the song. Edit: Quote:
Edit: I assume that is because (I presume) international record labels are headquartered there. It was a business trip, to sign contracts etc. (I don't know this for certain, but that is my assumption.) Last edited by Mr Coucou; 04-03-2021 at 05:59 PM.. Reason: Automerged Doubleposts |
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http://youtu.be/AuTp2WUYfps?t=96 http://youtu.be/AuTp2WUYfps?t=175 That sounds familiar and I'm sure you're right that there was an issue with her English teacher that hindered her learning of the English language. |
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