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 spoken language and to listen for details in what you hear. I will update this occasionally. Some videos will be here to play directly, and others will be on links to save space.
Reprises des chansons en anglais (cover versions of songs originally sung in English). I have also added a few initially sung in French and then redone in English.
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. One song of hers was covered by a famous UK Band - you can see it on the reprises page also linked above.
She also has much of her music officially on YouTube
Mlle chante les blues from 1987 - This was the first song way back; I was given to fill in the missing words! By the Assistante de Langue Française in the Sixth Form... (The single version has a much snappier intro...).
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 - This is a cover version for the tribute album to Daniel Balavoine (an 80s artist who died in a helicopter crash).
Zaz also has an official channel on YouTube
You may know this from the English cover version sung by a Canadian Singer in 1974... The original is far more dark and more depressing.
Ne me quitte pas... (covered by many)
Mon enfance
Possibly one of the most famous singers of la chanson...
Mon légionnaire - 1937.
La Vie en Rose - 1945 - Covered by Grace Jones in some way in the 1980s.
and of course, Je ne regrette rien... 1960.
Kendji Girac (shot himself in April 2024 'playing with a gun' - not fatally!)
Andalouse - 2014
Habibi - 2020
Dans mes bras - 2021
Quand la musique est bonne - 1982
Là-bas - 1987 (avec Sirima - who was murdered by her husband in 1989!)
Elle a fait un bébé tout seule - 1987
The introduction to this is probably about the longest ever!
Daniel Balavoine - died in a helicopter crash in 1986
Sauver l'amour - 1985
Le chanteur - 1978
Belle (avec Frida) 1983
Louane has also begun starring in French movies.
Jour 1 - her first big hit - 2014
Avenir - 2014 - Number 1
Secret - 2022
Vianney - more recently he has been doing collaborations, including with Ed Sheeran.
Pas-là - 2014
Je m'en vais - 2016
Beau Papa - 2020
Angèle - 2021
Bruxelles - Je t'aime
Tout oublier - 2018
Balance ton quoi - 2018
Sarbacane
Je t'aime à mourir
Je t'aimais, je t'aime, je t'aimerai
Y'a du soleil
Il est où le bonheur?
Je veux du bonheur
Je courais
Saltimbanque
Dis moi oui, (Marina)
avec Jane Birkin - Je t'aime (Moi, non plus) - possibly the most infamous of all!
Je suis venu te dire que je m'en vais...
Patrick Bruel
Je te le dis quand même
La place des grands hommes
Je te mentirais
Christine and the Queens
Christine - 2014 (released in English under the title Tilted)
Saint Claude - 2014
La Vita Nuova - 2020
Renaud
En cloque - 1983
MIstral Gagnant
Le Marchand de Cailloux
More recent and/or not yet-so-famous singers...
Dernière Danse - 2003
Le Graal - 2014
Ton Mec - 2017
Jour Meilleur - 2022
Du propre - 2022
Basique - 2017
Alizée
Moi... Lolita - 2000 - This one made it to number 9 in the UK!
J'en ai marre - 2003 - This was released in English under the title I'm Fed Up (written by Mylène Farmer - her right at the top!)
Mademoiselle Juliette - 2007
Indila
Dernière Danse - 2013
S.O.S. - 2014
Tourner dans le vide - 2014
(Maître) Gims
Est-ce que tu m'aimes? - 2014
Je te pardonne - 2015
Further artists, you might wish to look up...
Corneille
Marie-Mai
Zaho
Cœur de Pirate
Najoua Belyzel
Charles Aznavour
Indochine
Claudio Capéo
Aya Nakamura
Florent Pagny and many many more!
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