Early years

Also known by her nickname Lili, Alizée got drawn to dancing early in her life. By the age of four, she became quite proficient in jazz, tap and classical dance, and got drawn to show business. She is also quite proficient in painting — in 1995, she won a coloring competition organised by Air Outre Mer, a former French airline (now partly acquired by Swissair). Alizée's design won first prize and ended up being reproduced on the cabin of one of the airline's aircraft, which was named after her. Alizée won a trip to the Maldives, flying first class.

In 1999, Alizée appeared on the TV talent show "Graines de Star" (broadcast on Métropole 6). Alizée had originally wanted to sign up for the programme's dance contest. However, as the dance category was reserved for groups, Alizée contested in the singing category instead, performing the song Ma Prière. She went on to win the "Meilleure Graine" award for most promising young singing star of tomorrow.

Alizée's winning performance was seen by veteran French pop diva Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, who were looking for a young and fresh voice to do their new project. They approached Alizée, who was selected after the studio auditions and the trio joined hands to launch her career, with the single Moi... Lolita.

Career

Alizée made her debut with the single, Moi... Lolita, which is her most successful to date. It enjoyed success throughout most of Europe and parts of east Asia. Indeed, Alizée's image was that of a seductive Lolita character, referring to the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. Her second single "L'alizé" was also successful (hitting number 1 in France). Both the singles were from her debut album, "Gourmandises", which translates to "Delicacies" in English. The album, written by Farmer and composed by Boutonnat, sold over 800,000 copies in France. It went Platinum in just 3 months. In 2001, the album was launched internationally.

In 2003 she returned with her second album Mes Courants Électriques, or "My Electric Currents" in English translation. With the release of this album, she changed her image for the second album, going from that of a Lolita to a more subtle teenager image. This album also was written by Farmer and Boutonnat. The first single from this album, J'en Ai Marre, known as "Mon Bain de Mousse" in Japan, had some success in and outside France, but this second album, featuring English versions of four tracks, was not as well received as her first one, Gourmandises. It sold a little over 200,000 copies. The album was supported by a countrywide tour in the fall of 2003. And a live CD and DVD a year later, in the fall of 2004, by the name "Alizée En Concert", followed. The DVD featured footage of her rehearsals.

Alizée has sold more than four million albums throughout Europe. She has starred in a Japanese commercial and has taken part in various stage shows and live performances outside of Japan. The female Night Elf dance in the computer game, World of Warcraft, published by Blizzard Entertainment, is rumored to be inspired by the choreography of her performance of J'en Ai Marre, and the stage costume for the same performance is considered by many to be inspired by a blue sailor outfit seen in the 1997 remake of Nabokov's Lolita, due to a striking similarity in design.

Since her marriage to French singer Jérémy Châtelain in November 2003, Alizée has taken a hiatus from singing and has avoided appearing in the media since February 2004. Her first television appearance since her marriage was on MTV France on February 18, 2006. She currently resides in Paris, France.

Future

There has been no confirmed official word regarding Alizée's comeback into the music business for almost two years, and her official site has been down since the summer of 2005. There is speculation by fans and a few gossip magazines that she would make a comeback in the near future. However, another gossip magazine recently published an article saying she has supposedly cancelled all her contracts to spend all of her time on raising her daughter.

In an interview that was taken just before her concert tour in 2003, Alizée said that if her second album doesn't achieve sales comparable to that of the first, she won't do a third album. There has been no further official follow-up information.

In what was claimed to be an unpublished interview with Alizée herself, in November, 2004, Alizée supposedly had said that she was working on a new album, which would be in a style of rock music. However, the validity of this interview has never been verified, and it should be noted that it's not very plausible for an artist to give an interview with such information when there is no confirmation about where and when it will be published. Numerous other rumours regarding her possible third album have surfaced since then, only to turn out to be false .

Personal life

Alizée, even though she has a singing career, prefers dancing. She is quite proficient in jazz, ballet, tap and flamenco. Alizée also likes football, and is a fan of Zinedine Zidane. She is an ardent supporter of the Ajaccio Football Club, and was once invited to kick off one of their matches. She is also a fan of Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt, having watched the latter for the first time in Legends of the Fall. She also likes Madonna, and also sang La Isla Bonita, originally sung by Madonna, live on stage.

Alizée is actively involved in charity work through Les Enfoirés, which is a group of French celebrities who organize fund-raising concerts every year. The proceeds from these concerts go to Les Restaurants du Coeur. The organisation, set up by French comedian Coluche, helps to feed the poor. Alizée had participated in these concerts in 2001 and 2002.

Alizée married fellow French singer Jérémy Châtelain, whom she met at the Eurobest awards function in 2003. They got married on November 6, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and had their first child, a girl they named Anny-Lee (Annily), on April 29, 2005.

Critique

Contrary to the marketing hype and commercial success, the critics evoked a mixed response to the launch of Moi... Lolita, the first single by Alizée. The critics felt that the similarity in style to that of Myléne Farmer, was way too striking and they even went on to say that Alizée was trying to be junior Myléne Farmer. Also to the reviewers, her Lolita image somewhat shadowed her singing prowess, which was described to be desperately trying to be sexy^[1], and many were ready to write her off. Still, to others, Alizée appealed because of her deep voice, and her ability to demonstrate her impressive vocal range^[2], a trait for which she is often praised. Some of her songs have been described to be sweeping, atmospheric ballads^[3] whose melodies are so sparkling and beguiling^[3], and into which Alizée manages to squeeze more emotion than the usual pop package^[4]. In the two albums that has been released, Alizée has sung a wide range of songs, from catchy pop tunes to soulful ballads.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

• Gourmandises
  • L'Alizé
  • Moi... Lolita
  • Parler Tout Bas
  • Gourmandises
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Mes Courants Électriques
  • J'en Ai Marre!
  • I'm Fed Up!
  • J'ai Pas Vingt Ans
  • I'm Not Twenty
  • Á Contré Courant
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• 
  
• Alizée En Concert
  • Amélie M'a Dit

DVDs

• Alizée En Concert (2004)

Awards

• 2001: M6 Music Award
• 2001: DMX Music Award
• 2001: NRJ Music Award, for Best French Newcomer
• 2002: World Music Award

Audio Gallery

Notes

1. ↑ BBC Manchester review
2. ↑ Amazon - Gourmandises
3. ↑ ^a b Gourmandises review on DVD Fever
4. ↑ Amazon UK - Gourmandises

References

• Alizée - Biography
• Alizée - FAQ
• Alizée - Trivia and Bio
• IMDb Entry
• Chart Information
• Interview Transcripts