Julien
May 18, 2007 6:55 AM   Subscribe

This guy just has to win La Nouvelle Star, France's version of Pop Idol.
posted by Lezzles (35 comments total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Why?
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:02 AM on May 18, 2007


Otherwise god will kill a kitten.
posted by soundofsuburbia at 7:06 AM on May 18, 2007


Ceci ne chante pas.
posted by eperker at 7:06 AM on May 18, 2007 [1 favorite]


Melinda Doolittle could SO kick his ass.
Wait... she what? Oh, nevermind.
posted by miss lynnster at 7:07 AM on May 18, 2007


Ce n'est pas un poteau.
posted by sourwookie at 7:21 AM on May 18, 2007


...though I bet he could do a cool version of Iggy Pop's The Passenger judging by his baritone in the first clip.
posted by sourwookie at 7:23 AM on May 18, 2007


He sings "Light My Fire" a little funny.

Oh yeah. French.
posted by deCadmus at 7:27 AM on May 18, 2007


God, I loved that.

French guys could be devastating if they weren't so...squitty?*

(I adored the Jackie Collins/Paula Abdul judge, too).

(I went to high school in France, donc I know what I'm blathering about...)
posted by Jody Tresidder at 7:30 AM on May 18, 2007


He did a great version of Like A Virgin in the first show. M6 made YouTube take it down but it's still here.
posted by Lezzles at 7:33 AM on May 18, 2007


I'm still not convinced, lezzles. Please elaborate.
posted by Dave Faris at 7:48 AM on May 18, 2007


I’m not at all sure it’s possible to convince anyone to share my taste but this is what I like about him: his overhauling of the standards he’s asked to sing, his lack of smooth good looks, his eccentricity, his jerky moves. It all amounts to a subversion of the whole French talent show genre.
posted by Lezzles at 8:03 AM on May 18, 2007


Wow. I didn't even realize there was a French talent show genre to subvert until this very moment. Thanks!
posted by Dave Faris at 8:05 AM on May 18, 2007


Melinda Doolittle could SO kick his ass.

She's my favorite. Even though getting voting off, she'll have the most successful post-Idol career of any contestant this year.
posted by ericb at 8:21 AM on May 18, 2007


I didn't even realize there was a French talent show genre to subvert

Eagerness to convince makes me pretentious.
posted by Lezzles at 8:24 AM on May 18, 2007


It all amounts to a subversion of the whole French talent show genre.
posted by Lezzles

Actually, I'm with you there - IF one is feeling generous! The interview on the French Idol home page with Julien would indicate he's playing up his antic, subversive image.

Really loved this post Lezzles. Can I ask - the lovely big self-knowingly OTT female judge - do you know anything about her? Mere idle curiosity here, to figure out what her pop culture slot is.
posted by Jody Tresidder at 8:25 AM on May 18, 2007


He's truly boring in French but when he sings in English he's a rather compelling and unique performer. Were it the 70s, I'd not at all be surprised at the response to him. However, in today's day and age, as someone pretty much unfamiliar with contemporary french music but coming at it as a North American, I'm shocked he's made it this far.
posted by dobbs at 8:26 AM on May 18, 2007


Can I ask - the lovely big self-knowingly OTT female judge - do you know anything about her?

Her name is Marianne James. She cries a lot.
posted by Lezzles at 8:32 AM on May 18, 2007


His version of Like a Virgin was awesome- funny and unexpected.
posted by Mamapotomus at 8:38 AM on May 18, 2007


I'm not very familiar with the whole pop idol stuff, but what I've seen so far of it is that most performers tend to stick to some well-defined genres: there are wannabe soul divas, wannabe eltonjohnses etc. Some of them are indeed very good, from a vocal or stage perspective, but their covers are usually just faithful to the original versions.

This guy is just different, and what he's done so far was to take whatever song he was given, from utter crap to standards, and make them his own. Of course, it helps to know the original songs to appreciate what he's doing but he's leagues beyond the others. M6 is well aware of what's going on there, which is why they've put him at the end of each show for a while.

the lovely big self-knowingly OTT female judge: Marianne James is a former jazz and classical singer. She became famous because of a character she created and played on stage, an over-the-top parody of opera divas called Ulrika Von Glott (think Borat as an opera singer).
posted by elgilito at 8:53 AM on May 18, 2007


Perfect, elgilito.
Merci bien!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 9:15 AM on May 18, 2007


So... this is what feels like in the alternate Earth where Baudrillard dropped from university to pursue a singer career?
posted by Iosephus at 9:18 AM on May 18, 2007


Reminds me of Daniel K. of the German Idol, the gold standard of fascinatingly unhinged Idol contestants (though Julien seems quite good at times).
posted by lubujackson at 9:21 AM on May 18, 2007


My Melinda Doolittle!
posted by ericb at 9:44 AM on May 18, 2007


dick rivers is the best.
posted by sgt.serenity at 10:16 AM on May 18, 2007


Melinda! Melinda! Melinda!

I like the French guy -- he's exactly what I picture as a French Idol.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:19 AM on May 18, 2007


I know and adore Alizee's version of Lolita, and I love the way he took a wispy girl song and made a sultry man-thing out of it.
posted by Billegible at 11:40 AM on May 18, 2007


I have never bought an album made by an American Idol contestant, but will be first-in-line to get Melinda's when it is released.
posted by ericb at 12:00 PM on May 18, 2007


For y'all who don't know Alizée's Moi... Lolita, the song Julien sings in the first link, here's the original. Alizée was a talent show contest winner, incidentally.
posted by Kattullus at 12:47 PM on May 18, 2007


Translation of "Moi ... Lolita". Perhaps it's ironic in French?

http://www.mf-international.com/viewtopic.php?t=1690
posted by guanxi at 1:40 PM on May 18, 2007


Thanks Kattullus.

Personally - as completely exquisite as the singer in your link is, the song strikes me as undeniably putrid in that arrangement.

Julien has just gained encore dix pointes in my (matronly) estimation!
posted by Jody Tresidder at 1:45 PM on May 18, 2007


I just watched the Melinda clips--never heard of her before. Didn't do much for me. She's got a great voice, but that's it. Lots of people have great voices--but it takes something extra for the voice to have personality.

I've never seen American Idol before so maybe they're just looking for great voices but I'd much rather listen to someone with less technical talent and more of everything else.
posted by dobbs at 2:42 PM on May 18, 2007


Alizée is also known as the inspiration for the female NE dance in WoW (at about 3:20 in the linked video - NSFW if your boss disapproves of scantily glad gyrating hotties).
posted by Billegible at 3:08 PM on May 18, 2007


Perhaps it's ironic in French?

It's dripping with irony. Yet on the other hand, it isn't ironic at all. The French can do that sort of thing better than anyone else.
posted by dhartung at 5:45 PM on May 18, 2007


I think Julien is brilliant -- creative, witty, and can perform. I hope he tours through my town some day.

Why the OT posts about an American Idol contestant? Some don't even give lip service to making their posts relevant to the thread. ("Melinda! Melinda! Melinda!"). It's arguably spam or marketing.

OK, I know the answer -- American Idol (and maybe Nouvelle Star, though I never heard of it before today) seems to inspire a personal investment and loyalty in the contestants.

I suppose it's part of the fun -- and why not have fun with it? -- but must they proselytize everywhere?
posted by guanxi at 12:11 PM on May 19, 2007


Daniel K. of the German Idol

I was looking at some of the other videos of this kid on Youtube. I get the impression he's prone to tears. And I found one german interview show that took place several years after his original talent show, and I guess it's true -- the life and looks of a teenybopper pop star are depressingly fleeting.
posted by Dave Faris at 12:37 PM on May 19, 2007


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