"La Musique (Angelica)" is a 2001 song recorded by the contestants of the first edition of
French TV
reality show
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
Star Academy
''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements.
Format
There are many versions of t ...
. The song was released as 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 ...
in December 2001 from the album ''L'Album'' and also recorded in a live version on the album ''Live''. Cover of a 1960s song, this version achieved a huge success in France in terms of chart positions and sales.
Song information
The song "Angelica" was written by
Barry Mann
Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil.
He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US.
Early li ...
and
Cynthia Weil
Cynthia Weil (born October 18, 1940) is an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann.
Life and career
Weil was born in New York City, and was raised in a Conservative Jewish family. Her father was Morris Wei ...
, in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, and first recorded by Mann in 1966. Versions were then recorded by various other artists, including
Gene Pitney
Gene Francis Alan Pitney (February 17, 1940 – April 5, 2006) was an American singer-songwriter and musician.
Pitney charted 16 top-40 hits in the United States, four in the top ten. In the United Kingdom, he had 22 top-40 hit singles, inclu ...
,
The Sandpipers
The Sandpipers were an American easy listening trio who carved a niche in 1960s folk rock with their vocals and innovative arrangements of international ballads and pop standards. They are best remembered for their cover version of "Guantanamera ...
,
Scott Walker, and, in 1970, the American singer
Oliver, whose version scraped into the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
in the US.
In 1967, French singer
Nicoletta
Nicoletta is a surname and feminine given name derived from the Greek ''Nikolaos'', most often used in Italy, Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Nicoletta is also a surname.
Given name
* Nicoletta (singer), full name Nicoletta Grisoni, French singer, ...
made her own modified version of the song, under the title "La Musique", but this cover passed unnoticed at the time. Thirty-four years later, this version was covered by
Star Academy France which decided to consider this cover as the show's anthem and the lead single from its debut album. Fourteen contestants participated in the recording of the new version which particularly puts foreword the singing.
The song became a smash success in France: it went straight to number-one on December 8, 2001, and stayed there for nine weeks. Then it dropped regularly, totalling 12 weeks in the top ten, 19 weeks in the top 50 and 24 weeks in the top 100. Certified
Diamond disc
The Edison Diamond Disc Record is a type of phonograph record marketed by Thomas A. Edison, Inc. on their Edison Record label from 1912 to 1929. They were named Diamond Discs because the matching Edison Disc Phonograph was fitted with a permanent ...
by the
SNEP only two weeks after its release, the song became the fifth best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 1,140,000 units sold.
Track listing
CD single
# "La Musique (Angelica)" (mix radio) — 3:24
# "La Musique (Angelica)" (mix mega) — 3:40
# "La Musique (Angelica)" (instrumental mix radio) — 3:24
Credits and personnel
Mix radio
* Mixed, produced and arranged by SDO and FB Cool for Herbert Music
* Recorded at Studio Heben and at the castle by Yves Jaget
Mix Mega
* Produced and arranged by SDO and FB Cool for Herbert Music
* Recorded at Studio Heben and at the castle by Yves Jaget
* Guitars : Fabrice Ragot
* Brass : Christian Martinez, Thierry Farrugia and Denis Leloup
Charts and sales
Peak positions
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musique
2001 singles
Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
SNEP Top Singles number-one singles
Star Academy France songs
Songs written by Barry Mann
1966 songs
Songs with lyrics by Cynthia Weil