"Je suis un homme" is a 2007 pop song recorded by French singer

Zazie Isabelle Marie Anne de Truchis de Varennes (born 18 April 1964), better known by her stage name Zazie, is a French singer-songwriter and former fashion model. Her greatest hits include "Je suis un homme", "À ma place" and "Speed". She co-produce ...

. It was the second single from her sixth studio album ''

Totem A totem (from oj, ᑑᑌᒼ, italics=no or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While ''the wo ...

'' and was released in early October 2007. It was the singer's most successful solo single, being a top-ten hit in France and Belgium (Wallonia).

Lyrics and music video

Written and composed by Zazie, alongside Philippe Paradis and Jean-Pierre Pilot, the song deals in a critical and pessimistic way with human behavior towards environmental issues and consumer society. On 17 April 2007, Zazie herself announced in the media that "Je suis un homme would be the second single off the ''Totem'' album. The music video was directed by

Yvan Attal Yvan is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jacques-Yvan Morin, GOQ (born 1931), politician in Quebec, Canada *Marc-Yvan Côté (born 1947), former Quebec politician and Cabinet Minister for the Quebec Liberal Party *Maurice-Yvan S ...

and the shooting was made at the Mac / Val, the Musée d'art contemporain of

Vitry-sur-Seine Vitry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Name Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin ''Vitriacum'', and before that ''Victoria ...

. It shows the singer as a naked pregnant woman at an exhibition about the humanity. The woman is worried about various problems presented, including population explosion, forest devastated, deaths by malnutrition, emissions... The song, as well as the music video, are available on Zazie's greatest hits compilation '' Zest of''.

Chart performances and awards

In France, the single entered the SNEP chart on 6 October 2007 at a peak of seven, becoming Zazie's second top ten hit, after her duet with

Axel Bauer Axel Bauer (born 7 April 1961) is a French singer, composer, guitarist, and actor, born in Paris. A figure of the French rock scene, he was discovered in 1983 with the song "Cargo". Several times awarded a gold record, he has sold three million re ...

, "

À ma place "À ma place" is a 2001 pop song recorded as a duet by French singers Zazie and Axel Bauer. It was the second single off Bauer's album ''Personne n'est parfait'' and was released on 7 May 2001. It became a smash hit in France and Belgium (Walloni ...

". It then dropped slowly and remained for a total 22 weeks in the top 50 and 29 weeks in the top 100. In Belgium (Wallonia), it debuted at the bottom of the chart, and reached a peak of number seven, 16 weeks later. It remained in the top 40 for 28 weeks. The song was nominated at the 2008

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 the category 'Original song of the year', but did not win.

Cover versions

The song was included in a medley named "medley double" and recorded by

Gérard Darmon Gérard Darmon (born 29 February 1948) is a French- Moroccan actor and singer. Personal life He was the second husband of actress Mathilda May (mother of his two youngest children). He has three children: Virginie (born 1968) and, by May, daugh ...

and Lorie for the 2007 album '' La Caravane des Enfoirés''. "Je suis un homme" was performed live by

Amandine Bourgeois Amandine Bourgeois (; born 12 June 1979, in Angoulême, Charente) is a French singer. She was the winner of the sixth edition of the French version of the ''Pop Idol'' series ''Nouvelle Star'' in 2008. On 26 July 2014, Bourgeois participated i ...

and

Ycare Assane Attyé ( ar, حسن عطية) better known by his stage name Ycare or (born 21 September 1983) is a French singer songwriter who was first known as a contestant in ''Nouvelle Star'' before launching a solo career releasing four studio albu ...

on 28 May 2008, in French 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 ...

''. In 2010,

Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés (, 'The Tossers' or 'The Bastards') is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur The Restaurants du Cœur (literally ''Restaurants of the Heart'' but meaning ''Restau ...

recorded a cover of the song for their album ''La Crise de nerfs!'' ; the singers on this version are

Pascal Obispo Pascal Michel Obispo (; born 8 January 1965) is a French singer-songwriter. Biography Pascal Obispo, son of Max Obispo (a former Bordeaux Girondins football player of Basque origin) and Nicole Guérin (originally from Angers), was born on 8 J ...

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French p ...

Claire Keim Claire Keim (born Claire Lefebvre 8 July 1975) is a French actress and singer. Biography Keim was born in Senlis, Oise to an architect father and a dentist mother. She is in a relationship with French footballer Bixente Lizarazu, and lives in Sa ...

and

Bénabar Bruno Nicolini (born 16 June 1969), better known by his stage name Bénabar, is a French songwriter and singer, who could be compared to Vincent Delerm and other singers from his generation. As many of them he was influenced by Georges Brassens, ...

Track listings

* CD single * CD single – Promo * Digital download

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Je Suis Un Homme 2007 singles Zazie songs Songs written by Zazie 2007 songs Mercury Records singles