French musical artists that succeeded in the U.S.

[CleverCowboy]

The top 5 list, ranked in popularity, is listed below:

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Why is this?

[Scruffydog777]

Yelle is a French singer who's name has been mentioned a few times in the past in here who've performed in the U.S.

It was mentioned in chat that the French market is a fickle market for French singers and I think this is a close enough thread to talk about it. It's been discussed in the past that younger people in France seem to prefer the main stream artists like Beyoncé, Rhiana, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Katy Perry,etc. On one of my trips to France, I asked a young man to name some of his favorite female singers and he rattled off several names, but not one of them was a French singer so it does seem French female singers in France and the same is probably true of male singers seem to be at a disadvantage in France.

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

Yelle is a French singer who's name has been mentioned a few times in the past in here who've performed in the U.S.

The Austin crowd seems to like them. Austin was like my second home for quite some time with some good friends and both my sons residing there. Austinites pretty much accept everything and everyone, good or bad, so it is no surprise that it would be a city that Yelle would like to perform in. The song had a nice beat to it.

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

It was mentioned in chat that the French market is a fickle market for French singers and I think this is a close enough thread to talk about it. It's been discussed in the past that younger people in France seem to prefer the main stream artists like Beyoncé, Rhiana, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Katy Perry,etc. On one of my trips to France, I asked a young man to name some of his favorite female singers and he rattled off several names, but not one of them was a French singer so it does seem French female singers in France and the same is probably true of male singers seem to be at a disadvantage in France.

There is probably not many new topics that can be started that has not been talked about at some point in the past.

I was thinking about the days when I was a teenager (WAYYY back) and was starting to get into rock music and was buying albums left and right. The British bands were a given in the American music scene, and it was a novelty when a band from a country other than Britian would have an album released in the U.S. The first three I noticed were AC/DC from Australia, Scorpions from Germany, and Rush from Canada, because I was big fans of all three.

It has been through my viewing of Les Enfoires where I have been introduced to many of France's best singers. The first time through the LE series that I have, I was surprised just how many songs were sung in English. When Alizee sings in English, her accent is noticeable (which is very charming). Many of the other performers don't have any accent at all when they sang in English. You would think English was their native language.

With French musicians not being rewarded in their home country besides a chosen few, this is not a formula for a vibrant music scene in Paris where new artists can be discovered and flourish. In other words, they can form a band and play, but they better not quit their day job.

The U.S. accounts for 1/3 of the world's music revenue, and if you add the UK, it is over half. Australia, another English speaking country, is among the top spenders on music. If the French performers can sing in English, why limit themselves to such a small market by continuing to release records in French?

It makes me wonder if the U.S. has a bias against French acts wanting to enter the U.S. market? Alizee would have taken the U.S. by storm in 2003-2004.

[Elise]

Why is this?

There are a few. Zaz did a few shows in the US as part of her world tour in 2019. Charles Aznavour toured the US in 1979-80, 2014 and 2016 (when he was 92 years old). Stromae toured the US in 2014-15.

https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...nap-story.html

With French musicians not being rewarded in their home country besides a chosen few...they can form a band and play, but they better not quit their day job.

This is exactly the same here in the UK and all over the world. The vast majority of musicians never earn close to enough money to make a career out of music alone.

It makes me wonder if the U.S. has a bias against French acts wanting to enter the U.S. market? Alizee would have taken the U.S. by storm in 2003-2004.

Eh, what would the US have against music from France specifically. It’s the same story for Italian acts, Swedish acts etc. They can’t enter the U.S. market without singing in English. Otherwise, if they only sing in their native language, they will be famous in their home country, a few neighbouring ones and that’s pretty much it. There’s loads of great music in every language, different styles for different cultures. But English happens to be the international language and American culture and music taste sets the market for the rest of the world. So singing in English is obviously a huge advantage.