Alizée and America

[taikonaut]

Originally Posted by Fish

Even among my anti-war or politically apathetic friends and acquaintances, France and French bashing is 'hip.' I'm constantly dispelling old and untrue stereotypes.

I've not really actively tried to promote Alizée amongst my friends, though I have tried to turn them on to multiple genres of French music in general, largely to no avail.

Alizee is Corsican. To me she looks Italian but I guess she dont speak the native tongue. History of Corsica says it was once an Italian domain and until the 20th century Italian was the national language. There is still a strong nationalists elements in Corsica that resorted to violence to seek independent from France.

[taikonaut]

Originally Posted by TheBarrett

No offense to the Mexican folks of this board, but if people in America want her to come to America, it better be taken up to a whole new level.

Whatever works, must be done. MySpace, Facebook, street ads, posters, etc.

Completely agree. Though it would take more than internet and street ads. It will have to be something that get people talking and I dont mean singing and dancing in the nude though Mylene Farmer would probably do precisely that

[Future Raptor Ace]

Originally Posted by Deepwaters

The antagonism toward France was a flash in the pan, IMO. It began with the French opposition to the Iraq war -- never existed in the first place among Americans who opposed the war -- and by this time has surely declined a lot, since the war is pretty unpopular here these days. I don't think it would be a problem in most of the country.

ok deepwaters sure I can agree with that; sure! Only one problem deep; right after 9/11 there weren't many anti war people around. Everyone had the "yeah lets get em mentality." It wasn't until 2003 were the anti war people became a popular case.
Alizee definitely had to be aware of this which is why she is not here today!

Originally Posted by Fish

Even among my anti-war or politically apathetic friends and acquaintances, France and French bashing is 'hip.' I'm constantly dispelling old and untrue stereotypes.

I've not really actively tried to promote Alizée amongst my friends, though I have tried to turn them on to multiple genres of French music in general, largely to no avail.

well said, even the anti war people bashed France to some extent because it was hip!
Yeah bro I know how you feel with introducing Alizee to your friends!

Originally Posted by TheBarrett

I've recently browsed through Alizée's MySpace comments. I can see a gradual rise in fans demanding her in the United States.

But still, the Mexican fans have been ripping the comment section a new one, I bet if you combine any of the USA demands with perhaps, four other countries that demand her, the Mexican demands would probably outpower all that by twice the size.

No offense to the Mexican folks of this board, but if people in America want her to come to America, it better be taken up to a whole new level.

Whatever works, must be done. MySpace, Facebook, street ads, posters, etc.

^yeah bro i totaly agree; which is why I have been posting on her myspace as much as possible. Also I know she saw that Lily Times Square pic by ggin and my comment this morning which made me happy.

[TheBarrett]

Originally Posted by Sitting by the bay

All,
I applaud your initiatives and efforts to lure Alizee into performing in the U.S. I for one would love to see her perform live.

Lets say your efforts pay off and she does commit to a concert date in the U.S., in either New York or LA ( I vote for San Francisco, because as I stated before, San Francisco is the sister city to Paris), you have to ask yourselves several questions (and answer honestly):
- Would the show(s) actually have enough ticket sales?
- And of those who attend, would the audience energy be there as it was in Mexico, or anywhere else she performs in Europe?
- Would she feel betrayed that this "huge" fan movement was only a fabrication of a few?

I think the honest answers to these questions would conclude that a U.S. concert would be qualified as a failure.

I for one don't think her management group can be that dim that they don't realize that any effort to garner interest in the U.S. would be futile. Just look that the fact she has brilliantly covered one of the most popular American pop icons on multiple occasions, to little or no notice. (No, youtube videos don't count in my books) If she was going to be noticed by the American public by now, it would have happened already? I feel that any effort to present fabricated fan interest to her would actually be doing her a disservice.

I am more than happy to keep admiring her from a far, and someday, just maybe someday, I can save enough nickels to go see her abroad like some of you lucky few who went to Mexico and are going to France this fall.

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I just thought I should present this point of view.

Thanks for your time, and I welcome your responses

There is no harm in trying. The fans may be few, but that is only a part of the campaign, to bring her into light. She is noticed by the Americans, to whom it may concern, but most of them have simply brushed her off, whereas the special few embraced her and are now in these Alizée forums representing their individuality, ideas, and personalities, as well as supporting their newly loved pop star (aka Alizée).

It's not that she needs more American fans, she just needs more crazy ones. To think, many people here took a flight to Mexico to see her there, and some are now going to France (one being me, but I took the chunnel ). So why not across their own country.

I am also sure the other international fans, especially from Europe (whom several i've met interesting at the Alizée-Forum) would not mind visiting the United States to see her as well.

This brings us the question that we all must answer. Do we want to? Or is this just a trend? If the American fans want it to happen, then they need to start now.

[RadioactiveMan]

Originally Posted by Sitting by the bay

Just look that the fact she has brilliantly covered one of the most popular American pop icons on multiple occasions, to little or no notice.

Not very many people seek out French things- just us here. So the fact that nobody noticed the brilliant covers is because they haven't been shown them. We can't judge her potential popularity without finding it first through promotion.

[lefty12357]

Since Americans have not had exposure to Alizée through the media it’s hard to say how many potential new fans she could have here. The media is the gatekeeper and for whatever reason (or no reason) the gate is closed. We need to open it. I saw Alizée on primetime network TV in the USA back in 2002, I believe. They showed about 30 seconds of her Parler Tout Bas video on one of those 1 hour news magazine shows. She wasn’t the actual subject of the report, but I never forgot her voice or her face. Unfortunately I forgot her name and couldn’t track her down. I didn’t find her again until 2006. The media is a powerful thing. Just 30 seconds forever burned into my brain.

I think our strongest efforts should be directed at the US media and boosting Alizée’s fan base here. Pressuring Alizée and her people doesn’t hurt, but it’s not enough. We can’t, nor should we try to just bluff her into coming here. We need to have something real to offer her. Media attention and fans are real. We want her visit to be a success. Remember, the Mexicans didn’t just spam her with requests. They built a strong base first through the dance clubs and the media. “If you build it, she will come”.

I admit, I don’t know how to do it, but I think one of the keys is getting our media’s attention. I can’t believe that among all the US Alizée fans, there isn’t one person who has some knowledge or connection to the media.

Without the media, I think the most we can hope for is a token visit or autograph signing. I guess that would be better than nothing. Even if she doesn’t come here, I would be happy if she gained a respectable amount of US CD sales. It would be nice if the US made some contribution to her career. Of course it would be much nicer if our country could experience the fun and excitement that Mexico just had.

[NarutoSoul]

I wish I had the money to travel... One idea that I had was maybe getting some of her songs into the SingStar games. After all, isn't her label owned by Sony, the maker of those games?

[TheBarrett]

Originally Posted by Lefty12357

“If you build it, she will come”.

I have to remember what movie you ripped that line off from, it was baseball related, I just know it.

But Lefty is right, the United States have nothing strong to offer her. What the American fans need to do first, is grab the media's attention, redirect it towards her, and then, along with fervous advertising, promotions, ideas, and whatnot, assault her record company with what America has to put into the table, and America, would have a done deal.

Plan established, what is Objective Number One!?

[tbailey]

i don't think we can make the media pay attention to Alizee

Alizee has to make the media pay attention to her

she has do something like a signing session in a major U.S. city and have hundreds of people show up

we would all have to show up and also bring some friends a long too to get to those numbers

how did Alizee make headlines in Mexico? with a signing session and concerts

if Alizee attempts something in the U.S. it will be really tough at first

she has to start from the ground up and she will not have anything handed to her

one thing she definitely has to improve: her singing

i'm sorry but it is her weakest aspect

when compared to how she sang at age 15 she has drastically worsened

no worries though she just needs to try harder and take more singing lessons

correct me if i'm wrong but even the best singers still practice a lot

[Ruroshen]

Originally Posted by Sitting by the bay

I am more than happy to keep admiring her from a far, and someday, just maybe someday, I can save enough nickels to go see her abroad like some of you lucky few who went to Mexico and are going to France this fall.

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I just thought I should present this point of view.

Thanks for your time, and I welcome your responses

You raise some excellent and well-considered points, friend. I'll welcome the opinion of a clear-eyed realist any day of the week, if only as a way to keep my own head-in-the-clouds self tethered somewhat close to the ground.

More and more, I'm thinking that some kind of "Lili-Fest" event on one coast or the other is the way to go, as kind of a 'dry run' for an actual concert or appearance. If we can assemble a massive fan presence, attract the attention of the media, and generate some heat for her in the process--all without the benefit of Alizée actually even being here--I think it would go a long way towards overcoming--or at least testing the validity of-- some of the very reasonable objections that Sitting By The Bay points out.

Hmm, I think I'm going to delve into this a lil'. If anybody out there has any kind of experience with event planning--comic conventions, movie festivals, ren faires, whatever--please shoot me a PM. I'd be interested in talking logistics.