Is there a change in her career strategy?

[Rev]

My understanding is that she paid Mylene 1 Euro for her name. Mylene had protected it for her.

My $200K is an estimate - I do not know her exact net worth. I said "closer to" $200K for this reason.

[Fall]

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

I read she had to pay one million dollars to Mylene to get the rights back to use her business name "Alizee".

Originally Posted by Rev

My understanding is that she paid Mylene 1 Euro for her name. Mylene had protected it for her.

I concur with Rev. I usually have good memory and I was pretty sure that the figure was only 1 euro; he beat me to it so I think it's pretty certain. To have to pay 1 million euro for the use of the unique name her own parents gave her would be quite the parting slap in the face from MF. One that I don't think Alizée would have forgiven.

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

I think at one time her and Jeremy had a chunk of change, well in the 7 figures...

...I have said before I felt they lived beyond their means thinking their popularity will last forever. They took a big chance and lost. Money problems cause most marital issues, so putting two and two together, you can make some reasonable conclusions.

Alizee rose to fame during a worldwide economic recession fueled by the .com bust and 911. If she would have had the guts to sink half of her money in stocks in that 2003-2004 time period, when things were bottoming out, she would be loaded today. But, shoulda woulda coulda. Most of us missed that opportunity.

I have no love for the J-man either but to be fair, I'm pretty sure he comes from a very wealthy family. I believe this was discussed some years ago by members here (I think Euphoria in particular?) when their split was confirmed. ALS posted several times about their living at fancy Parisian home by a golf course that was under his name.

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/show...1&postcount=70
http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/show...&postcount=438

Psych was indeed a commercial failure, and they disagreed about how to manage their money but as to some reasons why they split, I think one needs to look no further than the lyrics of Mon Chevalier. Some things may be changed, but I have a feeling there's more than a little grain of truth in there. And that of course, is only her half of the story.

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Rev

My understanding is that she paid Mylene 1 Euro for her name. Mylene had protected it for her.

OK, well my memory failed me or I just mis-heard. Thanks for the correction!

Edit:

Originally Posted by Fall

I have no love for the J-man either but to be fair, I'm pretty sure he comes from a very wealthy family. I believe this was discussed some years ago by members here (I think Euphoria in particular?) when their split was confirmed. ALS posted several times about their living at fancy Parisian home by a golf course that was under his name.

http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/show...1&postcount=70
http://alizeeamerica.com/forums/show...&postcount=438

Psych was indeed a commercial failure, and they disagreed about how to manage their money but as to some reasons why they split, I think one needs to look no further than the lyrics of Mon Chevalier. Some things may be changed, but I have a feeling there's more than a little grain of truth in there. And that of course, is only her half of the story.

Mon Chevalier does seem to say quite a bit, doesn't it?

There are two sides to every story, I can understand that. They are no doubt two very different people and completely incompatible in a bound relationship like marriage. They might have made great friends though if that is as far as it went. The other person can bring out the best... and the worst... of the other. I'm sure it seemed fun at the time - eloping and making a baby - but then the reality that life and the whole nature of the relationship changes when you bring a child into the world. And frankly, a person is still trying to figure themselves out still in their early 20's. They change. J never wanted for anything and life was probably a party for him. Alizee came from modest means. There are so many scenarios set for failure you can just take your pick at what happened.

The good news is second marriages do much better. Greg seems to be a great guy and is making her happy.

[Scruffydog777]

Like Rev and Fall and maybe others said, I've heard that Mylene sold the use of her name, business wise back to her for 1 euro. I'm sure it's in an interview somewher. I'll look for it.

I've followed her for over 11 years now and her finances have been much discussed here over the years with no one ever seeming to come up with anything concrete.

During the early years, MF/LB got the lions share of the profits I'm sure and rightfully so in my opinion. Alizee's lack of success after she left them showed how much they brought to the table. If she had stayed with them, I don't think we'd be discussing her finances. Her reasons for leaving are a topic for another thread.

I wonder why Jeremy stopped singing? He seemed to be doing well. I believe he had a line of clothing too. Did he leave to focus on Alizee's career? I heard his family was in some manner of the real estate business in the Paris area and I 'think' they did well so maybe after the seperation, he got back into that.

Getting back to her finances, what happened during those down years after she left MF/LB? How much did she make on royalties year after year? With only 2 albums and MF/LB getting the lions share, how much did she make? I have no idea.

There were 2 years where she of course was focusing on the baby, but that meant no income from active work, living in an expensive city.

At some point, her and Jeremy I believe either bought or rented a sound studio, probably shortly before Psych, but that's another expensive endeavor.

In the years that followed, there were three failed albums. Of course she was under contract with different record companies. I don't know how that works. Do they pay her a salary while she's working on an album and if they do, is it a decent salary or just enough to keep you focused or do they pay you nothing and everything is reliant as far as income, on your album being a success?

Then DALS came along. I think if she had agreed to be on this show back in 2004, she could have named her price, but she went to the show with 3 failed albums under her most recent achievements. She needed DALS and I have to be quite honest in stating my feelings, I think the tats took away a lot of her appeal to the show. But then again, you look at the others on the show, even though others were much more in the public eye, despite the tats, she still had a huge amount of charm and a huge amount of appeal. Again a mystery of how much she was paid to be on the show.

Then there were the DALS Tournée which she participated in was it 4 successive years? I think these gave her and Greg a decent pay check but not huge by any means. It seems singers draw a lot more than dancers do which is what they were in this case.

There were a lot of different tv shows, game shows, dance work shops in the years that followed so I'm sure they were profitable years.

But factoring all these variables in, I think it leaves us with no idea how much she is worth. Following her makes it even tougher to figure it out. She said when she was growing up, she never wanted and I think that tells a lot about her. After she moved back to Ajaccio, I'm sure at that time she could've bought a nice Beemer or Mercedes, but we've never really seen her in an expensive car and I feel it's not because she couldn't afford one, but it's because she didn't want for one. Yet she likes to buy some expensive accessories. Go figure! I think that's her one vice.

When I was in Ajaccio recently at the dance studio, it was in the 80s and muggy. I couldn't believe that they'd work under those condittions without air conditioning. Was it because they are used to it or was it becasue ac was too big an expense for them? It's another part of the enigma.

So I have to say, I have no idea of their financial situation is and I don't pretend to know. I think she's comfortable, but it's just a guess.

[CleverCowboy]

Thanks for the post Scruffy. I know this has been discussed in the past, but what hasn't been at some point? This forum has been around for a long time.

Jeremy's exit from music so suddenly has made me wonder why. I do know he was popular enough to do a Stars à domicile like Alizee did the same year he married Alizee. The fan was a girl and while I don't remember all the details anymore, I do remember he was hugging her a lot while singing, holding her hand, playing with her hair. It must have driven Alizee crazy. Maybe gave her a little motivation to tie the knot quickly? Oh, and he wore jeans in the program that hung halfway down his behind. Don't get me started on that particular "fashion" trend!

I don't know how much entertainers get paid in France to perform their songs on shows, or dance in DALS. The viewership is much smaller than the US. Alizee could make some kind of living making occasional appearances on shows, but I would think a steady, professional job would earn more at the end of the year.

I know her father is a professional, an engineer I think? I'm sure he had provided the family a steady source of good income and set a good example as to the value of a good education. He even enjoys a hobby, photography, which he excels at as well. I wonder what his thoughts were when Alizee put traditional schooling aside and took the chance at stardom at such a young age? Especially since the entertainment industry is all about booms and busts. There is probably more of a chance that somebody can play for the NFL than become a star and stay on top for any length of time.

It seems like Alizee didn't have much of a Plan B should her music career falter. Maybe she didn't like the thought about college. Not that there is anything wrong with it - many people are not made to sit in classrooms all day and study all night. Anybody know what her brother does?

[Scruffydog777]

I should have mentioned too that after she stopped performing in early 2004 I think, Jeremy did continue singing for a few more years so they still had his income. That's another thing I'll have to look up.

She's also done some work with Disney and there are earnings she still gets from product endorsements.

As far as Jeremy having his pants pulled half way down his butt, well there are pictures out there of Alizee with the same look and I think that's one of the things she liked about him. He was sort of rebellious I'd guess you'd call it.

This video made by one of our members here years ago whose name was Matrix is one of my favorites. It's called "I'm not crazy - tribute to Alizee".

At about the 1:10 mark, we see her with her pants partly pulled down. Now it's one thing when you go out with friends and sport this look, but a couple of these pictures are from when it looks like she was rehearsing for one of her performances! So that makes me think she was hard core into this look. By the way, we'll have to figure out where those on set pictures were taken.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sDR...ew?usp=sharing


But then again we have that beautiful picture when one of our members bumped into her on the streets of Ajaccio and I think this is what we'd expect her to look like.

We also have the corn rows I believe it's called hair style from one of her performances at school.
I think she wasn't afraid to experiment with her 'styles'.


A still from that video:

Alizee pants pulled down.jpg

One of her school performances:


Picture in Ajaccio with one of our members:


Chez Paulo restaurant.jpg

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

I should have mentioned too that after she stopped performing in early 2004 I think, Jeremy did continue singing for a few more years so they still had his income. That's another thing I'll have to look up.

She's also done some work with Disney and there are earnings she still gets from product endorsements.

As far as Jeremy having his pants pulled half way down his butt, well there are pictures out there of Alizee with the same look and I think that's one of the things she liked about him. He was sort of rebellious I'd guess you'd call it.

This video made by one of our members here years ago whose name was Matrix is one of my favorites. It's called "I'm not crazy - tribute to Alizee".

At about the 1:10 mark, we see her with her pants partly pulled down. Now it's one thing when you go out with friends and sport this look, but a couple of these pictures are from when it looks like she was rehearsing for one of her performances! So that makes me think she was hard core into this look. By the way, we'll have to figure out where those on set pictures were taken.

Now that I saw that tribute, I remember seeing a few of those pictures with the pants hanging down.

Alizee was young and living in the big city, and I'm sure the people Jeremy hung out with dressed in a likewise manner, so she was just fitting in. The piercings and mullet haircut.. I wasn't crazy about. But I have always appreciated Alizee's sense of fashion, even it she chose to wear a simple plain blouse, she always looked great. Even with her hair style changing like the direction of the wind, I wouldn't want it any other way. It just makes her even more interesting.

That picture of Alizee with the member in Ajaccio is a great picture.

Edit:

Originally Posted by CleverCowboy

Mon Chevalier does seem to say quite a bit, doesn't it?

Since you brought Mon Chevelier up, it is my favorite song from 5. Not the lyrics, but I enjoy acoustic guitar and Alizee's voice is pretty with it. However, the lyrics are brutal. The first time I read them in English was maybe 3 years ago. But 3 years ago, I wasn't sure I wanted to know about Alizee's personal life, because the song did not sound random. It sounded personal.

Thomas Boulard is the lyricist and wrote the arrangement, along with several other songs on the album. He is in a French rock band, and I cannot find any further information on how he and Alizee came together to work on some of the songs on the album.

Because 5 came out after Alizee separated, it might not be too much of a stretch to believe she spilled the beans as to why in this song. After all, isn't it thought that Idealiser might be about Mylene?

[Scruffydog777]

I'm curious to know if this was a look she developed before or after she met Jeremy.

I believe it was a Star academy performance where she met him. What was the date and what was the date of the performance this picture is from. I think it's from her appearance in Pistoia 2003 when she sang J'en ai marre during Festivalbar in 2003, but I'm far from sure.

EDIT: It looks like she met Jeremy on 3/25/2003 during a Eurobest performance and it looks like this picture screen capture is from her performance of J'en ai marre at Festivalbar in Pistoia in Jully of 2003. So it was well after she met Jeremy. We might owe MF a huge debt of thanks that she met Alizee before Jeremy did.

I looked at some of the other pictures with her pants pulled down and they all seemed to be the 2003 hair length so I'm inclined to think this was a look that developed after she met Jeremy. When I get home, I'll look through my larger collection of pictures.

Alizee pants pulled down.jpg

[Mr Coucou]

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

There were 2 years where she of course was focusing on the baby, but that meant no income from active work, living in an expensive city.

I get the feeling that Annily wasn't 100% planned. Anyone know? The baby sidetracked her career by several years-- I'm thinking that wasn't originally part of the plan.

Edit:

Originally Posted by Scruffydog777

When I was in Ajaccio recently at the dance studio, it was in the 80s and muggy. I couldn't believe that they'd work under those condittions without air conditioning. Was it because they are used to it or was it becasue ac was too big an expense for them? It's another part of the enigma.

I've heard that the French don't like air conditioning-- they think its unhealthy or something. I've heard this from two sources. At least its true in Paris; I don't know about Corsica. (You'd think they'd need it in Corsica.)

https://www.ouiinfrance.com/why-are-...-conditioning/

[CleverCowboy]

Originally Posted by Mr Coucou

I get the feeling that Annily wasn't 100% planned. Anyone know? The baby sidetracked her career by several years-- I'm thinking that wasn't originally part of the plan.

I have read her say in one interview that it was an accident. However, I have seen her say on a video interview that she wanted to be a young mother. Apparently her mother and grandmother were all young mothers, and she wanted her grandmother and great grandmother to be young enough to enjoy their grandchildren.