Why isn't Alizée/French music successful in the US?

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Mr Coucou

Even Boudennat is an example of this. Gourmandies and MCE represent some of the best of French music. Those two albums are good, but they're not as good as the best of British and American music. Gourmandies and MCE are good but they're not mind-blowing.

I think Gourmandises and MCE are much better than good. In fact I think they are fantastic. But not mind-blowing because very few can reach the level of, let's say, Dark Side of the Moon.

I think one song off those two albums had a chance to be successful in the U.S. and it's not the obvious ones.

Moi Lolita would have zero chance. American's interpretation of the word "lolita" is an underage girl having sex with older men, which in a very religious America (at least in those days) would have a huge backlash. No label would want to take that risk.

Songs like JEAM, Amélie m'a dit, À contre-courant, L'Alizé are all very good but not anything that would compete with Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and the empowered females that the music industry was pushing on the American public.

The one song that I personally think would have had a chance in the US is Mon Maquis. It has an exotic sound to it and a great melody. Alizee sounds exotic singing it. She is a very beautiful Corsican woman singing in French, and that is pretty exotic as well to most Americans.

[AlizéeSuperFanFIN]

For me, it's a clear story, so almost all opinions are partially correct.

A kind of ease of English helps a lot against other languages.

But without the colonial power of the United Kingdom and the hegemony of 20th-century U.S. power, English would not have any particular dominance in many parts of the world.

In the case of Alizée, the voice is decisive, even if she sang in Swahili, it would be the most beautiful and best female singing voice in the world!

[Alex Rien]

I think music based on the English language is better in quality than music that is based on the French language. It has everything to do with the structure of the English language itself and nothing to do with the United States. English doesn't just make for better lyrics-- it makes for better melodies. I can hear it.

The English language is ideal for songwriting.

French is much better suited for love songs.

Even Boutonnat is an example of this. Gourmandies and MCE represent some of the best of French music. Those two albums are good, but they're not as good as the best of British and American music. Gourmandies and MCE are good but they're not mind-blowing.

English-speaking culture is a culture for a mass audience.

French culture is for elite connoisseurs.

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by AlizéeSuperFanFIN

But without the colonial power of the United Kingdom and the hegemony of 20th-century U.S. power, English would not have any particular dominance in many parts of the world.

Very good point and I agree.

Originally Posted by AlizéeSuperFanFIN

In the case of Alizée, the voice is decisive, even if she sang in Swahili, it would be the most beautiful and best female singing voice in the world!

An even better point and I wholeheartedly agree!

[Elise]

Originally Posted by Mr Coucou

I think music based on the English language is better in quality than music that is based on the French language. It has everything to do with the structure of the English language itself and nothing to do with the United States. English doesn't just make for better lyrics-- it makes for better melodies. I can hear it.

I don’t know how you make this comparison apart from according to your personal tastes, which have been shaped through listening to American music. What other music have you listened to then? How are you judging this “better quality”?

English is the current international language. For the reason why, ASFF hit the nail on the head:

Originally Posted by AlizéeSuperFanFIN

But without the colonial power of the United Kingdom and the hegemony of 20th-century U.S. power, English would not have any particular dominance in many parts of the world.

As a result, something in English (better yet, something American) reaches more people and has an advantage to become more successful. America exports so much culture that even in non-Anglophone countries people listen to American music. French, Greek, Polish music can’t compete with that level.

I find it funny that your link used the example of the Eurovision Song Contest (and “dictats of the European Union”). In the most recent edition, none of the top 3 songs were performed in English and the winner was an Italian rock band.

Rhyming isn’t exclusive to English and neither is having short words. Why would it be, every language has this. Check the last word of each line in almost any song in any language, it’s how songs are written. Même/saigne/phénomène/diluviennes...and I thought we didn't need to talk about the linguistics anyway.

pronunciation that doesn’t require you to contort your mouth and tongue so your face looks like a tumble dryer at work

Only if you’re a native speaker of that language. You know that English pronunciation is just as awkward for non-native speakers? The discomfort is the impression anyone has when learning to speak a new language. I sometimes struggle with saying the French nasal vowels and the ‘r’. Natives do not - it’s their language. They can speak it. Instead the ‘th’ sounds in English are comparatively rare in other languages and foreigners approximate it as ‘d’ or ‘z’. This says nothing about the merits of the languages, just that they are... different languages with different sounds. Of course we’d think our native language is easy to pronounce when we were raised speaking it from the beginning. It then shapes our perspective on other languages. Native speakers are not wondering why their language is so difficult/inflexible. There’s still nothing special about English here apart from its international status.