Roch Voisine

Joseph Armand Roch Voisine, O.C. better known as Roch Voisine, (born March 26, 1963 in Edmundston, New Brunswick) is an Acadian-Québécois singer-songwriter, actor, and radio and television host who lives in Montreal, Quebec and Paris, France. He writes and performs material in both English and French. He won the Juno Award for Male Vocalist of the Year in 1994. In 1997 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Childhood and family

Roch Voisine was born in Edmundston, but grew up in Saint-Basile. His parents are Réal Voisine, mayor of Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Quebec and a former English teacher, and Zélande Robichaud, a former nurse. He is the oldest of three children: his brother, Marc, was born in 1965, and his sister, Janice, was born in 1966. Roch lived with his paternal grandparents, Maurille and Dorina Racine Voisine, from age four, when his parents divorced, until he was eight, when he went to live with his father. Roch considers these grandparents very influential on him, even as an adult. Roch moved to Notre-Dame-du-Lac when he was 12. He aspired to be a professional hockey player until he was severely injured playing baseball in 1981.

He attended the University of Ottawa and graduated in 1985 with a degree in physical therapy.

Voisine married Myriam Saint-Jean on 21 December 2002. Voisine and Saint-Jean have two sons, Killian (born June 25, 2004) and Alix-Élouan (born January 9, 2006). On October 15, 2007, Voisine's website announced his and Myriam's separation.

Music

In the summer of 1986, he had his music debut when he sang on Canada Day (July 1) in front of 50,000 people at the la Ronde amusement park in Montreal. Voisine's musical breakthrough came with his 1989 album Hélène which sold three million copies and became a major hit not only in Quebec but also in France, Belgium and Switzerland. In 1990, Hélène was awarded the Best Album prize at the Victoires de la Musique. After a highly successful European Tour in 1991, he was awarded France's Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. His second European tour culminated on 17 April 1992 at Champ-de-Mars in Paris where he sang in front of 75,000 people. The show was broadcast live on TF1 and reached 14 million viwers. The following years, his statue was inaugurated at Musée Grévin in Paris.

In 1993, Voisine had his biggest English-language hit to date with the single and album both entitled I'll Always Be There, which he worked on with David Foster.

Over the years, he has continued alternating between recording both French and English-language albums. His French language work and concert tours have continued to enjoy success in Europe (especially France) and Quebec, while his English-language recordings are a frequent mainstay of Canadian adult contemporary radio. He also enjoys huge success internationally.

Université de Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada gave him an honorary doctorate in music in May 2007.

Television

Voisine's first television appearance was hosting Top Jeunesse (1988), a TQS variety show for teenagers. His dramatic roles include Dany Ross in the CBC Television series Lance et compte (He Shoots, He Scores) (1989) and police detective Tom Bullik in the Canadian TV movie Armen and Bullik (1992).

Discography

• 1986 : Sweet Songs
• 1987 : Roch Voisine
• 1989 : Hélène
• 1990 : Double (English + French cd)
• 1990 : On the Outside
• 1992 : Europe Tour
• 1993 : I'll Always Be There
• 1994 : Coup de Tête
• 1996 : Kissing Rain
• 1999 : Chaque Feu (Canadian version with Obia and European version)
• 2000 : L'Album de Noël (French) and Christmas is Calling (English)
• 2001 : Roch Voisine
• 2002 : Higher
• 2003 : Je te serai fidèle
• 2005 : Sauf si l'amour...
• 2006 : Roch Voisine Live (French + English CD)
• 2006 : Single Le Chemin/Ne me laisse jamais
• 2007 : Best of
• 2008 : Americana

External links

• Official website
• Roch Voisine at the Internet Movie Database
• Roch Voisine's archives