"J'ai peur" () is a 1989 song recorded as a

duet A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...

by French and American singers

François Feldman François Feldman (; born 23 May 1958) is a French singer. He had a great success in the 1980s and the 1990s in France. Biography The young François Feldman spent his adolescence listening to soul music, including songs by Marvin Gaye, Stevi ...

and

Joniece Jamison Joniece Jamison (born December 11, 1956 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an American singer. In France, she achieved notability recording two successful duets with French artist François Feldman: " Joue pas" in 1989 and " J'ai peur" in ...

. Written by Jean-Marie Moreau with a music by Feldman, this

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song was released in February 1991 and became the fifth

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 ...

from Feldman's 1989 Diamond-awarded album ''

Une Présence ''Une Présence'' is a 1989 audio album recorded by French singer François Feldman. It provided two number one, two number two and one number seven singles in France. It remains to date the singer's most successful album, achieving Diamond statu ...

''. As the previous singles from the album, it was a successful top ten hit, though it was the less-selling one. The song was included on Feldman's three

best of A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

compilations: first on ''Two Feldman'' (1996), then on ''Best Feldman'' (1998), and last on ''Gold'' (2008); it was also performed during Feldman's 1991 tour and was thus included on the live album ''Feldman à Bercy'' (1992).

Critical reception

When reviewing the new singles releases, ''

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 ...

'' stated that "J'ai peur" "creates the kind of international unity that politicians around the world can only dream of. It's also more danceable than any United Nations Resolution".

Charts performance

In France, "J'ai peur" debuted at number 41 on the chart edition of 23 February 1991, then performed the biggest jump of the week to reach number 24 and eventually peaked at number seven in its fifth week; however, it only stayed for two weeks in the top ten and totalled 19 weeks in the top 50. In spite of this lower peak position than those of the previous singles, it allowed Feldman to record what was at that time a feat on the French Singles Chart: he thus became the second artist - after

Elsa Lunghini Elsa Lunghini, stage name Elsa (born 20 May 1973), is a French singer and actress. She was a teenage pop-star in the late-1980s. In 1986, she was the youngest singer to reach number one in the French charts, with the single " T'en va pas", and sh ...

and her 1988 eponymous album - to obtain five top ten hit singles from a same album, a feat later broken by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

with his album ''

Dangerous Dangerous may refer to: Film and television * ''Dangerous'' (1935 film), an American film starring Bette Davis * '' Dangerous: The Short Films'', a 1993 collection of music videos by Michael Jackson * ''Dangerous'' (2021 film), a Canadian-Ameri ...

'', which provided seven top ten hits.. "J'ai peur" entered the

European Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and '' Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

at number 84 on 16 March 1991, reached a peak of number 31 three weeks later, and remained for non consecutive 14 weeks on the chart. It was regularly played on radio, reaching number 29 on the European Airplay Top 50 on 4 May 1991, and charted for a total of eight weeks.

Track listings

* 7" single, 7" single France (François Feldman & Joniece Jamison – "J'ai peur") (accessdate: 7 September 2021)., 7" single Germany (François Feldman & Joniece Jamison – "J'ai peur") (accessdate: 7 September 2021). # "J'ai peur" — 3:40 # "J'ai peur" (instrumental) — 3:50 * 12" maxi, 12" maxi France (François Feldman & Joniece Jamison – "J'ai peur") (accessdate: 7 September 2021)., 12" maxi Germany (François Feldman & Joniece Jamison – "J'ai peur") (accessdate: 7 September 2021). # "J'ai peur" (12" version) — 6:45 # "J'ai peur" (instrumental) — 6:05 * CD maxi - France, CD maxi France (François Feldman & Joniece Jamison – "J'ai peur") (accessdate: 7 September 2021). # "J'ai peur (I'm Afraid)" (12" version) — 6:45 # "J'ai peur (Don't Play with Me)" (unreleased track) — 6:38 # "J'ai peur (I'm Afraid)" (7" version) — 3:40 * CD maxi - Germany, CD maxi Germany (François Feldman & Joniece Jamison – "J'ai peur") (accessdate: 7 September 2021). # "J'ai peur (I'm Afraid)" (12" version) — 6:45 # "J'ai peur (I'm Afraid)" (instrumental) — 6:05 # "J'ai peur (I'm Afraid)" (single version) — 3:40

Personnel

* Backing vocals – Didier Makaga * Bass – Patrice Sokolsky * Drums – Daniel Spitale * Graphic Design – Huart / Cholley * Guitar – Kamil Rustam * Keyboards, programmation – Thierry Durbet * Mastering – André Perillat * Mixing – Dominique Blanc-Francard * Photography – Bernard Matussière, Gilles Cappé * Recording – Nicolas Garin * Saxophone – Patrick Bourgoin * Trombone – Alex Perdigon * Trumpet – Kako Bessot

Charts

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:J'ai peur 1991 singles François Feldman songs Joniece Jamison songs Male–female vocal duets 1989 songs