Joyce Jonathan (born 3 November 1989) is a French singer and songwriter.
Her first album ''Sur mes gardes'' went gold in May 2010 only five months after its release, and was certified platinum less than a year later. On 23 January 2011 she received the
NRJ Music Awards
An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisi ...
for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year.
Biography
Childhood and adolescence
Joyce was born in
Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of the French capital. It is the most densely populated ...
, the youngest of a family of three girls. Her mother is the director of a travel agency and her father is an architect. She was educated at the
École alsacienne
The École alsacienne is a co-educational private school located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
The school was founded by a group of French Alsatians after the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. It then became a model for reforming t ...
in
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 ...
, and studied psychology at the university level.
At the age of seven, she learned to play the piano and began composing her first songs secretly. She pursued her musical interests with voice and piano lessons, being influenced by artists such as Teri Moses and
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. Chapman is best known for her hit singles "Fast Car" and "Give Me One Reason".
Chapman was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she released ...
.
At the age of 16, Joyce Jonathan posted three of her compositions on the site
MySpace, promoting them to Michael Goldman, co-founder of the new label ''My Major Company ''.
In December 2007, at the age of 18, Joyce Jonathan was launched on the website of the label ''My Major Company''. On May 13, 2008, 486 internet backers provided the 70,000 euros needed to start production of her album. Six months after its release, the web-producers of Joyce Jonathan had already recouped their investment
Musical career
With internet backing, Jonathan began recording her first album in 2008, with the help of
Louis Bertignac
Louis Bertignac (; born 23 February 1954) is a French guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. An ex Shakin' Street member and a founding member in 1976 of the rock band Téléphone, he formed Bertignac et les Visiteurs after Téléphone split in 19 ...
(guitarist of the band ''
Téléphone
Téléphone () was a French rock band formed in 1976. Their first, self-titled album was released in 1977; by the end of the decade they were one of the biggest French rock bands around, opening shows for The Rolling Stones in Paris, Quebec, th ...
''). Reputedly impressed by the talent and voice of the young artist, he agreed to assist her on the arrangement of her songs, working together with her in his studio for a year. Joyce also recorded a duet with
Tété
Tété is a French musician, born in Dakar, Senegal on 25 July 1975. His mother is from Martinique and his father is from Senegal.
Tété is described as the French version of Jeff Buckley. Tété's music can be described as an intimate, solo ...
, ''Sur mes gardes''.
Her two singles, "Je ne sais pas" and "Pas besoin de toi", were included in her first album "Sur mes gardes," released in January 2010, and certified gold after only five months. In August, the album ranked first in sales of albums for download.
In 2011, she won the category ''Francophone Breakthrough of the year'' of the
NRJ Music Awards 2011. She has just recorded a song "Mystères" with Pétula Clark.
Her second album, ''Caractère'', was released in June 2013, including the single ''
Ça ira
"" (; French: "it'll be fine") is an emblematic song of the French Revolution, first heard in May 1790. It underwent several changes in wording, all of which used the title words as part of the refrain.
Original version
The author of the orig ...
''. She was nominated at the ''NRJ Music Awards'' for best female singer and best song.
; ''Danse avec les stars''
In 2014, she participated in the fifth season of ''
Danse avec les stars'' – the French version of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''. She was partnered with professional dancer Julien Brugel. On October 18, 2014, they were eliminated, finishing 9th out of 11 contestants.
Joyce Jonathan released her song "Le Bonheur" in September 2015. It is the first single of her 3rd album, ''Une place pour moi'', which was released on 5 February 2016.
On 4 May 2018, Joyce Jonathan released her single "On", which is also a track on her album of the same name, which was released in October 2018.
In May 2021, Jonathan began releasing singles in anticipation of her sixth studio album, ''Les p'tites jolies choses''. The complete album was released on March 25, 2022 and has two parts. The first, part "A" has 12 songs with a more pop style and includes the titular song and others such as "À la vie comme à la mort" with
Jason Mraz
Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...
. Part "B," also titled ''Toi et moi'', has six songs with more jazz influence and was co-written and co-produced with
Ibrahim Maalouf
Ibrahim Maalouf ( ar, ابراهيم معلوف, ; born 5 November 1980 in Beirut) is a French-Lebanese trumpeter, producer, arranger, and composer.
In 2022, he became the first Lebanese instrumentalist nominated at the Grammy Awards for his albu ...
.
Personal life
Jonathan gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Ghjulia, on 2 November 2020. She has not, however, revealed the full identity of the father, who is originally from Corsica.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
*Did not appear on the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather on the Ultratip chart.
References
External links
*
Joyce Jonathan page on My Major Company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonathan, Joyce
1989 births
Living people
People from Levallois-Perret
French women guitarists
Participants in French reality television series
21st-century French singers
21st-century French women singers
21st-century guitarists
21st-century women guitarists