French Pop Music is far from dead
For non-French music fans it's difficult to keep track of what's happening in the French pop music scene, mainly because there's very little attention for French pop in the media outside of France.
Because of this lack of media attention most people think that there's nothing happening there. Well, don't be so sure! French pop has never been so alive as today, never have so many new artists entered the scene. There's so much going on!
French Pop Artists
So let's try to get rid of some of that French-pop-ignorance! I will do this by discussing some of the most popular French pop music artists of the moment.
Note that the order in which I'm listing them is random.
1. Vanessa Paradis
If you know Vanessa Paradis you'll probably comment and you're right. But on this moment she's so popular in France I just couldn't keep her from being in this list.
Paradis released a new CD in 2007 "Divine Idylle" which was a major hit in France, she also seems to be popular in all age categories.
2. Abd Al Malik
Abd Al Malik is a very popular French rapper with Congolese roots. He went from being a juvenile delinquent to university student, also a reason why he's an example to a lot of French kids. His sound is an original mix of ‘chanson’ , jazz with slam and rap.
3. Olivia Ruiz
Olvia Ruiz first became noticed in 2001 when she was a candidate in the popluar French TV-show "Star Academy". In 2007 she won the Best French Female artist award. Her 2005 second album "La Femme Chocolat" sold over 900 000 copies!
4. Christophe Maé
"My songs tell everyday stories in simple words", this is what Christophe Maé says about his first CD "Mon Paradis" which was the 2007 second best selling album in France. In France you will find very few people that don't know his first hit "On s'attache".
5. Zazie
Zazie released her first album "Je, Tu, Ils" in 1992, from then on she has played an important role in the French pop scene. Zazie's most popular songs include
"Je suis un homme" and "Zen".
More French Pop Artists
This was just a very small selection of the most popular French pop artists. If you are interested you should definitely check out artists such as Emilie Simon, Christophe Willem, La Grande Sophie, Anaïs, Emma Daumas... the list just keeps on going!
