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Florent Pagny

 
Artist: Florent Pagny
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists

Similar Artists:

Paris Combo, Art Mengo, Paul Piche, Vinicius Cantuaria, Zazie, Dulce Pontes, Laura Smith, Adiemus, Sinéad Lohan, Montserrat Caballé

Performed Songs By:

Jacques Veneruso, Pascal Obispo, Jean-Jacques Goldman, Eric Benzi
  • Active: '90s, 2000s
  • Genres: Rock
  • Instrument: Vocals, Main Performer, Performer
  • Representative Albums: "Bienvenue Chez Moi," "Savoir Aimer," "En Concert"

Biography

Despite an unpredictable and often controversial career that included detours into opera, the chanson tradition, and feature films as well as myriad personal obstacles, Florent Pagny remained one of the biggest-selling recording artists in contemporary French pop for more than a quarter century. Born November 6, 1961, in Chalon-sur-Saône, Pagny was the product of a working-class background and spent the better part of his adolescence competing in local radio contests and amateur showcases. At 16 he quit school and relocated to Paris to pursue a career in music and theater, working a series of odd jobs before beginning vocal studies at the Conservatoire de Levallois-Perret. While moonlighting as a bartender Pagny befriended talent scout Dominique Besnard. Smitten with Pagny's wild, unkempt look, Besnard helped him land roles in the features La Balance and Alain Corneau's Fort Saganne, and the resulting attention also led to a record deal. Pagny issued his debut single, "N'Importe Quoi," in 1987. The anti-drug anthem proved a blockbuster success, selling in excess of one million copies and rocketing its singer to overnight superstardom. With the 1988 release of the follow-up, "Laisser Nous Respirer," Pagny solidified his image as an icon of youth rebellion and angst, although his third single, "Comme d'Habitude," unexpectedly resurrected Claude François' variété classic. Finally, in the spring of 1990 Pagny issued his first full-length LP, Merci. While music critics ridiculed his rebel stance and relationship with nubile pop sensation Vanessa Paradis, the record nevertheless proved a sizable hit, and early the following year he headlined a sold-out performance at Paris' Zénith. After a return to his movie career, Pagny resumed his musical pursuits with 1992's Réaliste, a melancholy and disjointed effort recorded in the wake of his breakup with Paradis. The record sold poorly, and as the singer squandered his fortune on clothes, motorcycles, and partying, he sank into a depression that kept him out of the limelight for close to two years. Pagny resurfaced in 1994 with Rester Vrai, which introduced a newly modernized rock sensibility that restored his commercial luster. A year later, the best-of collection, Bienvenue Chez Moi, launched several new singles, most notably his smash cover of Lucio Dalla's operatic hit "Caruso." With the title cut from 1997's Savoir Aimer, Pagny returned to the top of the French singles chart and later won Best Male Artist of the Year honors at the annual Victoires de la Musique Awards. The sole French representative included at Luciano Pavarotti's all-star international charity concert in June 1998, Pagny returned to chart prominence later that year with the Erick Benzi-penned "Dors." In late 1999, he again defied conventional wisdom with Ré-Création, a collection of covers drawn from the French chanson idiom. Châtelet les Halle followed in late 2000, and a year later Pagny issued 2, a series of duets enlisting singers including Pascal Obispo and Axel Bauer. While 2003's Ailleurs Land was another best-seller, Pagny took a public thrashing in early 2004, when he was prosecuted for tax evasion. His next film, Quand Je Vois le Soleil, also flopped, but at year's end his career again flourished via Baryton, a set indulging his lifelong passion for opera. The chanson-inspired Abracadabra followed in the spring of 2006. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
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Wikipedia: Florent Pagny
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Florent Pagny

Background information
Birth name Florent Pagny
Born November 6, 1961 (1961-11-06) (age 47)
Origin Chalon-sur-Saône, France
Genres Pop
Occupations Singer, songwriter, actor
Instruments Guitar
Years active 1987–present
Website Official site

Florent Pagny (b. November 6, 1961 in Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire) is a French musician. He has also acted in many French films. He records work in French, Spanish and English, and his greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer", "Ma Liberté de penser" (all three were #1 in France) and "Caruso" (#2 in France).

Contents

Early years

Pagny began his artistic career as an actor in popular films and television dramas. He appeared in La Balance, L'As des as, A Captain's Honor or Fort Saganne.

In 1987, he wrote his first song : "N'importe quoi." Pagny's first album, Merci, was released in 1990. The album's songs, mainly written by himself, began to attract controversy, with the press eventually boycotting some of them. This led to a decline in sales, culminating in personal problems. His follow-up album, Réaliste, was also not as successful.

Jean-Jacques Goldman wrote three songs for Pagny under the pseudonym Sam Brewski, and presented to him a new staff. The album Rester vrai marked the beginning of his career as a performer only. Bienvenue chez moi, a semi-compilation released in 1995, was a smash success. Pagny also covered "Caruso", the hit originally performed by Lucio Dalla.

Pagny as performer

Pagny decided to go live in Patagonia in order to escape the French tax authorities and start a new life with his wife, Azucena, and her children. His next album, Savoir aimer, was released in 1997. It was composed by Goldman, Erick Benzi, Jacques Veneruso, and a new composer, Pascal Obispo, who produced "Savoir aimer" which turned out to be an immediate success.

In 1999, Pagny released an album of cover versions of his old song, Recréation. From "Môme Julie" to "Antisocial", he mixed musical styles and dabbled with techno arrangements.

Pagny then alternated studios and cover albums (at least in part) and regularly changed his look. In 2000, he released the album Châtelet Les Halles, whose title song was produced by Calogero. He followed that with 2, an album composed of duets released in 2001. In 2003, he returned with Ailleurs land, whose first single, "Ma Liberté de penser", was composed by Pascal Obispo and Lionel Florence and deals with Pagny's problems with the French treasury. Finally, in 2004, Pagny released Baryton, an album composed of opera songs.

In 2007, Pagny released an album of covers of songs originally composed and performed by Jacques Brel entitled Pagny chante Brel.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

  • 1998 : En concert
  • 2005 : Baryton - L'intégrale du spectacle

Compilations

  • 1995 : Bienvenue chez moi
  • 1999 : Les talents du siècle
  • 2008 : Les 50 plus belles chansons
  • 2008 : De part et d'autre - Triple Best of

Singles

Awards

External links

Preceded by
Charles Aznavour		 Victoires de la Musique
Male artist of the year
1998		 Succeeded by
Alain Bashung
v • d • e
Florent Pagny
Studio albums
Merci (1990) · Réaliste (1992) · Rester vrai (1994) · Savoir aimer (1997) · RéCréation (1999) · Châtelet Les Halles (2000) · 2 (2001) · Ailleurs land (2003) · Baryton (2004) · Abracadabra (2006) · Pagny chante Brel (2007)
Live albums
Florent Pagny en concert (1998) · Baryton - L'intégrale du spectacle (2005)
Compilations
Hit singles
"N'importe quoi" (1987) · "Comme d'habitude" (1989) · "Caruso" (1996) · "Savoir aimer" (1997) · "Ma Liberté de penser" (2003)
Associated artists


This article incorporates information from the revision as of 2008-11-30 of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.
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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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