Jenifer: Évidemment

The singer Jenifer has released another video promoting her Ma Proposition collection of covers of songs
originally performed by France Gall that came out in June this year.

This time it is the ballad Évidemment, a song that was a hit for France Gall in 1987, and was written by her husband Michel Berger. The song was written in homage to the French singer Daniel Balavoine, a friend of Berger's, who died in a helicopter crash.

Jenifer established herself as a singer after winning the first series of Star Academy in 2001/2002 and Ma déclaration, her collection of France Gall songs, is her sixth album.

There's been a lot of bad blood between the two artists since the collection came out, amid claims that Jenifer did not ask Gall for permission, and counter claims that she did

What's certain is that the work of France Gall been given a huge exposure to a new generation, the album reaching number two in France and number one in Belgium.

The video for Évidemment was filmed in Corsica, where Jenifer is from.

Jenifer is continuing in her role as a coach in the TV music show The Voice, la plus belle voix for the third year in a row alongsinde Mika, Florent Pagny and Garou.

France Gall: Original versions of the songs performed by Jenifer

With Jenifer's album of France Gall covers Ma déclaration released earlier this month, and a row between the two artists over whether or not Jenifer asked Gall's permission to record the songs, I thought it worth presenting France Gall's versions of the songs on Jenifer's album.

While Jenifer might not exactly have needed Gall's permission to record the songs, it certainly would have been good manners to get her blessing for the project. However, I suspect it's more a case of missed communication than any deliberate ill will.

France Gall is perhaps best known outside France for her win at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965 with the Serge Gainsbourg song Poupée de cire, poupée de son, but in France she's had a long and respected career.

While her work with Gainsbourg attracts much attention, it was probably more her work with her husband Michel Berger, until his death of a heart attack in 1992, that accounts for the longevity of her career.

While in recent years France Gall has mostly been absent from the public eye, the chance to take a look back over her career, which has seen her move from the epitome of the French teenage yéyé pop star to a sophisticated and mature artist, taking in some magnificent songs along the way.

Evidemment



Ella, Elle L'a



Diego libre dans sa tête,



Résiste



Besoin d'amour



Si maman si



Ça balance pas mal à Paris



Comment lui dire



La déclaration d'amour



Poupée de cire, poupée de son



Laisse tomber les filles



Message personnel

Jenifer: Poupée de cire, poupée de son

A new clip of the song Poupée de cire, poupée de son by Jenifer.

The song was, of course, initially performed by France Gall and written by Serge Gainsbourg, and was a winner in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg.

Jenifer's new album, Ma déclaration, consists of her interpretations of songs originally performed by France Gall.

It's a clever song, commenting as it does on the ironies of pop music, particularly those that apply to a female performer. While the title means 'wax doll, rag doll' it also refers to to wax of records, the 'son' also meaning 'sound'.

The suggestion that the female singer is a 'puppet' is clear, but also that she is aware that she sees the world in an artificial way, and is herself not aware of the realities of love, despite singing about it to those who allow themselves to be seduced by her song.

Jenifer first came to fame as the winner of the first season of Star Academy in France in 2001/2002.

She released her debut album on 2002. Entitled jenifer it sold over one million copies. The song J'attends l'amour released as her debut single reached number two in France. Her follow up release that came out in July 2002, Au soleil, gave her a summer hit. Another two singles followed from that album, Des mots qui résonnent and later Donne-moi le temps

Her second album in 2004, le Passage, also went to number two in France, and earned her a Best French Artist awars at the MTV Europe Music Awards that year.

Another three albums have followed, Lunatique in 2007, Appelle-moi Jen in 2010 and 2012's L'Amour et moi.

She's remained a huge pop star,  L'Amour et moi reaching number three in France and number one in Belgium.

Jenifer has been seen mose frequently in recent times as one of the four coaches in the French edition of The Voice, entitles The Voice, la plus belle voix.

The album  Ma déclaration comes out in France on June 3 2013.

Jenifer - Poupée de cire, poupée de son Vidéo Jenifer-clip