Tal and Irma: Streets Of Philadelphia

A cover of Bruce Springsteen's Streets Of Philadelphia by French artists Tal and Irma.

The new version of the song comes from a forthcoming collection entitled Les stars font leur cinéma.

Springsteen's song, originally released in 1994 won an Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as a Golden Globe and four Grammies.

It originally featured on the soundtrack of Jonathan Demme's 1993 movie Philadelphia, a film starring Tom Hanks  and Denzel Washington. It was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films dealimng with Aids, and Tom Hanks won the  Academy Award for Best Actor for his role.

The song's previously been covered by a large number of artists, including  Melissa Etheridge, David Gray and Elton John.

This new version features on a forthcoming compilation released to coincide with the 120th anniversary of cinema, and it includes versions of songs from Dirty Dancing, Pretty Wiman, Titanic, Pulp Fiction along with memorable numbers from other films.

Artists involved includeM Pokora,  Maska, Lara Fabian, Amaury Vassili and others.

The album is relased on April 27.

Tal and Corneille: Cheek to Cheek

A new clip by Tal, one of France's most visible pop stars in recent years,  performing a duet with
Corneille on the track Cheek to Cheek, a hit originally from the 1930s.

The song originally featured on the film Top Hot, which featured Fred Astair and Ginger Rogers, from the golden era of Hollywood cinema.

The new version  comes from the collection Forever Gentlemen 2, which sees this track alongside work by the likes of Ben L'Oncle Soul and Michael Bublé.

The collection, which  was released in October, includes songs in French and English that were originally performed by SInatra, Charles Trenet, Yves Montand and Dean Martin.

The first volume featured singers like M. Pokora, Garou and Paul Anka performing hits of the 1950s. It reached number two in the French charts.

The clip for the song is an appropriately old school cinematic affair, with the pair's  experience on Danse avec les stars no doubt proving useful. Tal featured on the programme last year, with Corneille featuring in this year's competition

Tal's two studio collections Le droit de rêver and  À l'infini have each been triple platinum sellers in France, and her live collection  À l'infini tour was released in November 2014.

 

Tal: Marcher au soleil

A new video has been released by French pop star Tal for the song Marcher au soleil, just in time for the
summer.

It's the fourth track from her A l'infini album, which was originally released last year, with a new edition of the collection just having been released.

It's the second special edition of the album since it came out, a previous special edition coming out at the end of the year.

The album features collaborations with Flo Rida and Little Mix, so it seems obvious she's got an anglophone audience in mind for the future.

It's her second album, following er triple platinum Le droit de rêver from 2011. Since then she's been one of France's most high profile young female stars, starring in  Danse avec les stars on French TV in 2013 and featuring on the Génération Goldman collection, her duet with M. Pokora reaching the top five in France in 2012.

She's playing at a number of festivals across France over the summer, and plays at the Zénith in Paris in November.

Tal: Pas Toi

A new clip for Tal with the song Pas Toi, which looks likely to give her another hit before 2013 is over.

The song features on the Génération Goldman volume 2 CD, released in August this year. It is the third single to be released from the collection.

The original featured on Goldman's 1985 Non Homologué collection.

The previous Génération Goldman collection, released in 2012, was a massive commercial success in France, with the song Envole-moi, a duet between Tal and M Pokora a hit single

Tal's recent album A l'infini which originally came out in September has just been re-issued, it reached number three in the French charts and will probably sell a few more copies following the release of this single too.

 Her profile's been particularly high in France this year, with an appearance as a contestant in season 4 of reality show Danse avec les Stars which was eventually won by Alizée in November.

Meanwhile, she also won the prize for best female Francophone artist of the year at the 15th NRJ Awards, having won the Francophone breakthrough award last year.

Génération Goldman 2: The originals by Jean Jacques Goldman

With the Génération Goldman 2 Collection at the top of the French charts, I thought a look at the original

version of the songs being made popular by a younger generation.

Goldman was, and remains a huge star in France, despite not having released a studio album in over a decade. His career has seen him as a solo star, with a trio and originally as a member of a French prog rock band.

The collection opens with Quand la musique est bonne, performed by Amel Bent & Soprano.  Their duet was the first single to be released from the album.



The original by  Jean-Jacques Goldman came out in 1982, and was the first single from his second studio albun Minoritaire. It was one of his biggest hits, going on to sell over a million copies by the following year.



The song Pas Toi is performed by Tal, the original by Goldman came out in 1985 on his  Non homologué album, and was released as a single. It reached the top five in the French charts.



Nos Mains is performed on the collection by an ensemble of the artists, in this case Amandine Bourgeois, Amel Bent, Brice Conrad, Corneille, Emmanuel Moire, Judith, Leslie, Mani Hoffman, Merwan Rim, Pauline, Sofia Essaïdi, Soprano, Tal and Zaho.

 Goldman's version in comparison does without the cast of thousands. It was released on his 1997 En passant album.



Il changeait la vie appears on the new album performed by the cast of the musical Robin des Bois.

Goldman's original apepared on his Entre gris clair et gris foncé album in 1987, coming out as a single the following year.




Elle a fait un bébé tout seul came from 1987's Entre gris clair et gris foncé double album. For Génération Goldman 2 the song is reprised by Elisa Tovati and Mickael Miro.



Juste Après is on the new album interpreted by Emmanuel Moire and Pauline. The original came from from the Rouge album by  Fredericks Goldman Jones, a trio featuring Carole Fredericks,  Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michael Jones. The original album was released in 1993, with the song released as a single in France.  The Rouge album would go on to sell over 1 million copies since its release.



Sache que je was the first song on his 1997 solo album En passant. The album would be a number one in France, the song Sache que je a hit single reaching the top twenty. The new collection sees the song covered by Judith.



La vie par procuration was another track from the 80s era of his career, the track featuring on 1985's Non homologué  collection. The album was to be a number one hit. The 2013 reprise is performed by Leslie and Pauline.



Encore un Matin, performed by Zaho on the new album, was originally from 1984's Positif album, an album that sold over one million copies in France.



Bon Idée was a track from his 90's phase, featuring on the En Passant collection. While the song was released as a single, it didn't make much of a mark on the French charts. The new collection sees the song being sung by Corneille.


Né en 17 à Leidenstad featueed on the 1990 Fredericks Goldman Jones album, the trio's first studio album. It was released as a single, reaching number 11 in the charts. The album itself would sell over 1 million copies. An English/French version of the song was also recorded.

Amaury Vassili, Anggun and Damien Sargue are behind the 2013 version of the song.



The song Confidentiel is another track from the Non homologué album, the final track on the collection. The song was memorably performed by Goldman on the TV Show Champs-Elysées in January 1986 in tribute to singer Daniel Balavoine who had died several days before in a helicopter accident.

The 2013 version is performed by Christophe Willem



Un, deux, trois was another track from 1990's Fredericks Goldman Jones album, and a track that gave the trio a top ten hit.

The new album features the trio of Amandine Bourgeois, Mani Hoffman and Merwan Rim.



Si je t'avais pas was a song on Goldman's Chansons pour les pieds, his seventh and so far final studio album, which was released in 2001. The album was a number one in France, and remained in the charts for almost two years.

The 2013 album sees the song covered by Bastien Lanza and Sofia Essaïdi



Génération Goldman 2 concludes with the track C'est ta chance, another song from the Entre gris clair et gris foncé double album. The song was released as a single in 1987, reaching the top 20 in France.

The 2013 recording sees the combined talents  of Amandine Bourgeois, Angeline, Céline, Faustine, Kelly, Leslie, Sofia Essaïdi and Tal.

Tal: Danse

A new song and clip marking the return of Israeli-born French singer Tal, who has in the last couple of years become one of France's most promising stars.

An American-styled video for a song that's as breezy slice of French R 'n' B pop as you could hope for.

Tal's debut album, 2011's Le Droit de Rever, reached number two in France, and featured the hit singles Le sens de la vie and Je prends le large.

A duet with M Pokora on the song Envole-moi which featured on the album Génération Goldman gave her another hit single last year. This was followed by the release of a special edition of her debut album, and work beginning on her follow up.

2013 saw her win an NRJ Music Award for Francopho
ne breakthrough artists of the year.

If it's any measure of her success, a post on this blog about Tal was the most read post on the blog so far, by quite a measure.

The new track features a contribution by US rapper Flo Rida, a performer who has become a huge star since the release of his 2008 debut album. He's previosuly collaborated with artists like Jennifer Lopez, Sia, Nelly Furtado and Akon. His 2010 track Club Can't Handle Me,a  number one in the UK,  featured David Guetta.

The track will feature on Tal's second album, the release date for which has not yet been confirmed.

NRJ Music Awards 2013 winners

Some of France's biggest names were out at the weekend with teh annual NRJ music awards being held in Cannes,a  major showcase for the country's talent as well as an opportunity for some of the biggest international acts to grace the stage in France in front of a massive audience.

Press in the UK were more focussed on One Direction and taylor Swift being in the same building at the same time

Francophone breakthrough of the year: Tal

Female Francophone artist of the year: Shy'm

Male Francophone artist of the year: M Pokora

Francophone group/duo of the year: Sexion d'Assaut

French song of the year: Sexion d'Assaut - Avant Qu'elle Part

Elsewhere, acts like Carly Rae Jepson, Rihanna, Bruno Mars, One Direction and Psy took the international categories, Psy getting two awards, for best international song and best international video.

There were live performance by a huge number of acts, including Nolwenn Leroy, Shy'm, Jennifer, Tal, Mylène Farmer Sexion d'Assaut, M Pokora and Johnny Hallyday.

Sad to see that the official videos on the TF1 website are geoblocked and unable to watch outside France. I suspect any unofficial videos that have appeared on video sites will be pulled before too long, so I'll not actually link to them.

Previous years have seen the performances available to watch internationally online from the official site, so I'll check again to see if the videos become available later.

Tal: Rien n'est parfait

Another single from Tal, the track this time being Rien n'est parfait.

It comes from her debut album Le droit de rêver, which came out in May in France and reached the top ten.

Again, it's a French take of the kind of music that's huge in the USA, the production not a million miles away from the sound of the likes of Rihanna or Beyoncé.

Her song Le Sens de la Vie made number one in France

She's not the first French artist to take on the Americans at their own game, she won't be the last. It's a commercial music genre shes' working in, after all, and while there are many who think French pop music peaked in years gone by, contemporary artists cannot succeed by looking backwards.

It wouldn't surprise me that now that she's experienced some success in France and has established herself as an artist, we see Tal record for the wider English speaking market.

Tal plays in Paris in December.

Tal: Je Prends le large

A new music video by Tal, for the song Je prends le large.

The track comes from her album Le droit de rêver which has been out in France since May.

For a French language track it's the kind of track that is not a million miles away from American teenage pop, with its R'n'B and light hip hop stylings.

The American beach style video certainly seems to back this impression.

While I'm sure there are those that would criticise a French artist for adopting an American style, she's not exactly the first to have done this, and there's really no reason why a contemporary French artists shouldn't adopt contemporary styles.

It's an easy listen, and will play well on radios over the summer.

Her previous song hit the top five in France, and this one looks like its cut from the same material, so I'd be very surprised if it didn't see the same level of success.

Charts: Tal - Le Sens de la Vie

A quick look at the top of the charts, and not a whole lot of change this week, but I thought it worth a mention of the track Le Sens de la Vie by Tal, a Francophone track that's getting a lot of play at the momentin France

The track comes from her debut album Le Droit de Rever, which was released earlier this year.

She's a Franco-Israelienne singer and was nominated for the NRJ Music Awards 2012 in the French breakthrough act of the year category.

It's very much a French take on American style, as the New York shot video attests. It stands up well against many of the modern rock/pop crossover acts that are huge in the USA at the moment. Not exactly challenging listening but with just enough grit and urban styling to appear edgy.

This week's top five:


1) Gotye: Somebody that I used to know
2) Michel Telo: Ai Se Eu Te Pego
3) Sexion D'Assaut: Avant Qu'elle part
4) Tal: Le sens de la vie
5) Lykke Li: I follow Rivers the magician

Chart information from disqueenfrance http://www.disqueenfrance.com