"Ella, elle l'a" ( French for ''"Ella, She's Got It"'') is a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released by French singer

France Gall Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French ''yé-yé'' singer. In 1965, aged 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg. Between 1973 and 1992, ...

. It was released as a single from her album '' Babacar'', on 24 August 1987, and became a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

across

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

(especially in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and the Southern Cone) and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

(especially in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

). It was covered live by French singer

Alizée Alizée Lyonnet (''née'' Jacotey; born 21 August 1984), known professionally as Alizée, is a French singer, dancer and musician. She was born and raised in Ajaccio, Corsica. She first became known with her winning performance in the talent s ...

at a TV show in 2002 and by

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

singer

Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of ...

in a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

version in 2008.

Background

Written by

Michel Berger Michel Berger (born Michel Jean Hamburger; 28 November 1947 – 2 August 1992) was a French singer and songwriter. He was a leading figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer; as a songwriter, he was active for such artists ...

, the song is a tribute to

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

, but also a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

and an anthem to personal empowerment. Musically, "it swings between sheared rhythms of the bass and flashed

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

". The song is also available on the CD maxi for " Évidemment", released in March 1988. In addition, a live version from her concert album ''

Le Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists o ...

'' was released in November of that year.

Critical reception

"Ella elle l'a" won two ''

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

'' in 1987 and in 1988. A 1987 review in Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' elected "Ella elle l'a" single of the week and stated: "This moody and balanced, slowly roking track, written by Michel Berger, deserves to be her next success outside France".

Chart performance

"Ella elle l'a" enjoyed great success in 1987 and 1988, reaching number-one in Austria and Germany in the latter year; in addition, it reached the top ten in Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Argentina. In France, it was certified as

silver disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique The National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing (french: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique; SNEP) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym ...

, reached number two and charted for a total of 19 weeks, nine of them in the top ten.

Track listings

* 7" single # "Ella, elle l'a" (4:49) # "Dancing Brave" (3:06) * 12" maxi # "Ella, elle l'a" # "Papillon de nuit" # "Dancing Brave"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Kate Ryan version

's version of "Ella, elle l'a" is the third single of her album '' Free''. It was released on 6 May 2008 in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and on 9 May 2008 in the rest of

as a

CD single A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...

. It had already topped number one on the ''Spanish Download Chart'', and number seven on the

Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

. It also reached the top ten in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It had entered the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish ...

at number twelve, peaking at number two. In the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, ''Ella Elle L'a'' also peaked at number two. English version "Ella, elle l'a" was sung live by Ryan during her 2008 UK tour and it was released on 25 May 2009 as first single from the UK version of ''Free''.

Track listing

German CD single #"Ella, elle l'a" (radio version) - 3:06 #"Ella, elle l'a" (extended version) - 6:07 #"L.I.L.Y." (radio edit) - 3:15 Belgian CD single #"Ella, elle l'a" (radio version) - 3:06 #"Ella, elle l'a" (extended version) - 6:07 European 12" single #"Ella, elle l'a" (extended version) - 6:07 #"Ella, elle l'a" (Bodybangers remix) - 6:05 #"Ella, elle l'a" (club remix) - 4:50

Official versions

*Extended version - 6:08 *Bodybangers remix - 6:05 *Club remix - 4:50 *Club remix short - 3:12 *Fugitive's Elle La Tout Remix

Charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

*In 1988, the song was also covered in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

as Έλα ξανά (Come back again) by

Bessy Argyraki Bessy Argyraki is a Greek pop music, pop singer who started her career in the mid 1970s and recorded albums until the mid '90s. She has represented Greece in many International festivals and won many prizes. She has released a single and an albu ...

who had represented Greece in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1977 The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organise ...

. *In 2002, the song was covered by

Emma Daumas Manuelle "Emma" Daumas (born 23 November 1983, in Avignon) is a French singer-songwriter and performer, particularly well known for her participation in ''Star Academy''. Career Daumas grew up in a family of music lovers. Her passion for music ...

, Eva Chemouni, Aurélie Konaté,

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 Anne-Laure Sibon, five contestants of the '' French Star Academy 2'', and in 2003, has been sung once by French singer

. The Star Academy version features on the album ''Star Academy chante Michel Berger''.''Star Academy chante Michel Berger'', track listin
Lescharts.com
(retrieved 7 May 2008). *It was also covered by the French singer Pauline at the

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the (; "French National Celebration"); legally it is known as (; "t ...

concert on the

Champ de Mars The Champ de Mars (; en, Field of Mars) is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh ''arrondissement'', between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after t ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 2008.

References

{{Authority control 1987 singles 2008 singles France Gall songs Kate Ryan songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Songs written by Michel Berger Song recordings produced by Michel Berger Universal Music Group singles Warner Music Group singles Ella Fitzgerald Songs about jazz Songs about musicians Cultural depictions of jazz musicians Black-and-white music videos