Camélia Jordana Aliouane (born 15 September 1992) is a French-Algerian pop singer. She rose to fame after participating in the television show ''

Nouvelle Star ''Nouvelle Star'' (; also known as '' À la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star'' for the first season) is a French television series based on the popular Pop Idol programme produced by FremantleMedia. It was broadcast by M6 in seasons 1–8 before ...

'', the French version of ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'', in 2009, where she came in third.

Life and career

Jordana was born on 15 September 1992 in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, to French parents of Algerian descent. Her father Hachemi is of Berber Kabyle origin and her mother Zélihka is from

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

. She grew up in

La Londe-les-Maures La Londe-les-Maures (; oc, La Lònda dei Mauras) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Population Points of interest * Jardin d'Oiseaux TropicauxLa Londe Jazz Festival See also *C ...

with her older sister and younger brother. At the age of sixteen, she decided to audition for the seventh season of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, and managed to convince the jury with her version of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's ''

What a wonderful world "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poor ...

''. She finished in third place. After her elimination, she signed a record deal with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

and released her eponymous debut album on 29 March 2010. It sold 10,169 copies in its first week and managed to enter the French SNEP Album Chart at #9. Although Jordana's debut single ''Non Non Non (Écouter Barbara)'' was only released as download single in France, it peaked at #3 on the French digital chart. It also charted at #3 in Belgium and #48 in Switzerland. She participated in a song for the album ''So in Love'' by Nouvelle Star judge André Manoukian in April 2010. Jordana was interviewed and played several songs on the

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

programme 'Acoustic' on 7 November 2010. She was on the jury of the

Semaine de la Critique Critics' Week (french: link=no, Semaine de la critique), until 2008 called International Critics' Week ('), is a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. It was created in 1962 after the Fre ...

section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

Philanthropy

On 27 November 2015, Jordana participated together with

Nolwenn Leroy Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actress. Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second ...

and

Yael Naim Yael Naim ( he, יעל נעים, born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single " New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song pe ...

at the national memorial day for the victims of the

November 2015 Paris attacks The November 2015 Paris attacks () were a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks that took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 9:15p.m., three suicide bombers ...

singing the song “Quand on n'a que l'amour” by

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

Controversies

As a presentation of her new double album, ''Facile x fragile'', she told

L'Obs (), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...

that "white men" are, in the collective unconscious, responsible for all the evils of the earth. The

International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism—or Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (LICRA) in French—was established in 1927, and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia and exclusion. In 1927, French journ ...

denounces this declaration, which it considers "unconscious".

Discography

Singles

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordana, Camelia 1992 births Artists from Toulon French people of Kabyle descent Living people Nouvelle Star participants Musicians from Toulon 21st-century French singers 21st-century French women singers Most Promising Actress César Award winners