This blog post is a place to collect information and examples about French and francophone music. A short link is tinyurl.com/asfranc
Listening to music does help you learn the sounds of the language and even some key phrases and expressions.
It helps to develop your ear and comprehension of the spoken language and listen for details in things you hear. I will update this from time to time - some videos will be here to play directly - others will be on links to save space.
The following people are very famous in the French-speaking world...
I have aimed to give you around three of their best; however, you can find many more on YouTube and DailyMotion by them and many, many others...
Often known as the 'French Madonna' although not all that similar in style. Her style is more ethereal or Kate Bush/Enya-like.
Unlike Madonna, Mylène still has number-one hit singles and albums... Mylène has hit singles spanning the decades from the 1980s to the 2020s
Here are just a selection of her biggest hits. Her discography is vast.
This one is still, to date, the biggest-selling French language hit ever. From 1991. Desenchantée
even reached the dizzy height of 92 in the UK!
Q.I. from 2005 - With the letter 'Q' being pronounced precisely like a rudish word in French, she has used this song to poke fun as well...
This was the second single from her album that year, with the first single being rather rude in English but played with impunity on French radio.
XXL from 1995 Number 1
Mylène has done duets with Seal, Moby and Sting, Canadian singer L.P. and Algerian singer Khaled.
There is a lot of her music on YouTube; there are a lot of different styles and genres in her music, too, and in her earlier videos, there's a lot of flesh on show!
In the 1908s Patricia Kaas with her deep voice and jazz bluesy style, stormed into the French charts.
She also has much of her music officially on YouTube
Mlle chante les blues from 1987
Les hommes qui passent - 1990
Il me dit que je suis belle - 1993
Known in the 'Anglo-Saxon' world for her many hits in English... she began her fame by representing Switzerland (and winning) with 'Ne partez pas sans moi' in 1988
In the UK in the 1990s, this song got into the top 10.
Pour que tu m'aimes encore
Céline also has many of her major hits in both English and French on YouTube
2012 - Parler à mon père
He was the French Elvis Presley and had a very long career. He died in December 2017, I was in Germany at the time, and their news covered his death showing people crying in FNAC in Paris - reminiscent of the scenes I saw on French TV in 1991 while living in France the day Freddie Mercury died. They showed people in London queuing at Tower Records and crying in the queue...
Laura - 1985
Retiens la nuit - 1962
Ça ne change pas un homme - 1991
Many of his videos/songs can be found on YouTube
This Belgian, whose music fits more into the rap category, hit the UK charts with 'Alors on danse' in 2009. In the French-speaking world, he has continued to have hit after hit.
Papaoutai - 2013
L'enfer - 2022
Stromae is also on YouTube
Éblouie par la nuit - 2011
On ira - 2013
Tous les cris les S.O.S. - 2016
Zaz also has an official channel on YouTube
You may know this from the English cover version sung by a Canadian Singer in 1974...
Ne me quitte pas...
Mon enfance
Possibly one of the most famous singers of la chanson...
Mon légionnaire
La vie en rose
and of course, Je ne regrette rien...
Kendji Girac
Jean-Jacques Goldman
Daniel Balavoine
Louane
Vianney
Angèle
Francis Cabrel
Charles Aznavour
Christophe Maé
Serge Gainsbourg
Patrick Bruel
Christine and the Queens
Renaud
Other more recent and/or not yet-so-famous singers...
Kyo
Orelsan
Cœur de Pirate
Alizée
Indila
(Maître) Gims
Corneille
Marie-Mai
Zaho
Najoua Belyzel
