Laure Monique Pester, professionally known as Lorie, (born May 2, 1982) is a
French singer.
[TMS Write for the Britney Spears Of Franc]
CM London
(Retrieved January 14, 2010) She has sold over 8 million albums and singles worldwide as of December 2007. Her first studio album ''Près de toi'' was certified triple platinum in France and she followed it with five other certified albums.
Lorie is also an actress, who lent her voice for many French versions of international movies including ''
Stuart Little 2''. She stars in the TF1 TV film ''De feu et de glace,'' and guest-starred as a Parisian model on the American soap opera ''
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
''. She has also launched a clothing line, "Lorie", only found in the Z stores in France. Her contract with Z ended in early 2009.
Career
2000–2001: First successes
When Lorie heard that producer Axel Brangeon was looking for a young girl that knew how to sing and dance, she immediately auditioned and won the contract. Lorie recorded "Près de moi", written by Johnny Williams and Louis Element, which was rejected by every record label. Williams uploaded the song onto a French website,
peoplesound
PeopleSound was a British audio streaming platform founded on 22 June 1999 by Ernesto Schmitt. Going live in October 1999, it was the first European music streaming platform and the most visited. At peak, it was amongst the top ten most visite ...
" and the song received 15,000+ downloads in two months. Thereafter
Epic Group Project of
Sony Music France signed Lorie, who was only eighteen at the time. "Près de moi" was officially released in 2001, accompanied by a highly popular music video. It was
certified Platinum
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 ...
in France for over 500,000 copies sold. Its parent album "Près de toi", released on October 30, 2001, became a triple Platinum recording in France with 1,000,000+ copies sold. The next singles "Je serai (ta meilleure amie)" and "Toute seule" were also certified Gold.
2002–2003: More successes
“Tendrement”, Lorie's second album, saw the light in 2002 with three commercially successful singles: “J'ai besoin d'amour”, “À 20 ans” and “Sur un air Latino”.
The album became as successful as “Près de toi” selling over a million copies in Europe. In April 2002, Lorie sung “Oser ses rêves” for the French soundtrack of the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animation film
Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and lend her voice for the French version of the movie
Stuart Little 2; she is the bird Margalo.
After touring for the promotion of her album, Lorie released a book called "Ma tournée" which sold over 200,000 copies, becoming one of the most successful books ever written by a singer in France. Later, her debut album "Près de toi" would come back to the lights after its release in Japan with new tracks (English versions of her songs "Près de moi" and "Toute Seule") including "Dans mes rêves" which was used in the
Évian
Evian ( , ; , stylized as evian) is a French company that bottles and commercialises mineral water from several sources near Évian-les-Bains, on the south shore of Lake Geneva. It produces over 2 billion plastic bottles per year.
Today, Evia ...
in which Lorie was starring. She also confirmed her relationship with Filipino-American pop-star
Billy Crawford
Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford (born May 16, 1982) is a Filipino actor, musician, singer, dancer, comedian and television host who released 7 studio albums and has had a number of singles, notably "Trackin'", "When You Think About Me" (a remake of ...
.
In late 2003, Lorie's first live album and music DVD come out, both entitled "Lorie Live Tour" which received a great response.
2004–2006: Attitudes and image change
Come early 2004, "Attitudes" was already out and the singles "Week-end", "La positive attitude" and "Ensorcelée" were big hits. The album became Platinum in France because it sold over 600,000 copies. Lorie toured again to promote the album. The song "C’est plus fort que moi", written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, was later released to support the "Week-End Tour". In June, Lorie launched her very own clothing line, simply entitled "Lorie", exclusively sold in the Z stores in France. Her contract with Z was cancelled in early 2009.
In April 2005, Lorie's first
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
"Best Of" was released, including all her singles plus "Toi et moi", "Les ventres ronds" (which was performed in the Week-End Tour) and the original version of "Quand tu danses". The album was well-received but some critics said that Lorie was way too young to release a "
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 crea ...
", noting that Lorie was the youngest artist in French history to release a
greatest hits
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 crea ...
album.
In October 2005, Lorie released "Rester la même" (which means ‘Stay the same’), an album mixing various music influences including Zouk, RnB, pop and
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 ...
. Lorie wanted to change her image from squeaky-clean to boogie singer. The title track, featuring rap act Second Degré, was first released to see the reaction which was generally positive, but the song did not perform as well as expected. The following singles "SOS" (reggaeton version), "Parti pour zouker" and "Fashion victim'" (official but promotional single for her Live Tour 2006). This album also received a Platinum certification in France, because it sold over 470,000 copies.
That same year, Lorie voiced the character Violette in the French version of the
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning animated film "
The Incredibles
''The Incredibles'' is a 2004 American computer-animated superhero film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Written and directed by Brad Bird, it stars the voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah V ...
".
2007–2008: The metamorphosis
On November 26, 2007, Lorie's fifth studio album "2lor en moi?" was released; it was the singer's most mature album and it is clear that the album's sound is influenced by
Tecktonik, the then-new dance. The first single from the album "Je vais vite" showcases Lorie's musical and personal evolution. Its follow-up "Play", featuring back vocals by her fiancé
Garou, was a worldwide minor club hit. On October 3, 2008 Lorie started her "Le Tour 2Lor", which ended in December 2008 to promote the album. The last single from the album, "Un garçon", officially released in December 2008, talks about homosexuality; the song and the video were harshly received from the French audience and in consequence, it "flopped", as it received very little coverage. However, the album was certified Gold for selling at least 185,200 copies as of November 2008.
“2lor en moi?" was also released on August 18, 2008 in Canada under Garou's record label, Wolfgang Entertainment. Lorie also recorded "Heaven's Table", a critically acclaimed duet with Garou for his latest album. In June 2008, she wanted to try something new: acting. She starred as a lonely and lost ice-skater in the
TF1 TV movie "De feu et de glace". TF1, satisfied with Lorie's performance, asked her to
guest-star
In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...
as a Parisian model in the highly successful soap opera
The Young and the Restless
''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...
in October. According to Yo-Club, as of March 2009, Lorie has officially sold about 8,000,000 records worldwide.
2011: Return to music
Lorie's new album "Regardez-moi" came out on November 21, 2011, with the first single "Dita" made available to purchase in France via iTunes and Amazon on August 26, 2011. In 2012, she produced a seventh album, "Danse", on her own label, LMD2 Production
Tours
* 2002–2003: ''Live Tour''
* 2004: ''Week End Tour 2004''
* 2006: ''Live Tour 2006''
* 2008: ''Le Tour 2LOR''
* 2019-2020: ''Des Choses à se dire''
Featured on
* 2002 : "Tous dans le même bateau" with Les Enfoirés
* 2003 : "La Foire aux Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
* 2003 : Pluri Elles, a Serge Lama album, on the song Les poètes
* 2004 : Le cœur des femmes with Combat Combo
* 2004 : "Les Enfoirés dans l'espace" with Les Enfoirés
* 2005 : "Le Train des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
* 2005 : Et puis la terre, with A.S.I.E
* 2006 : "Le Village des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
* 2007 : "La Caravane des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
* 2007 : Lonely, with
2A.M
* 2008 : "Les Secrets des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
* 2009 : "Les Enfoirés font leur cinéma" with Les Enfoirés
* 2010 : "Les Enfoirés... la Crise de Nerfs" with Les Enfoirés
* 2011 : "Dans l'oeil des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
Filmography
Theater
Awards
* 2003 : Rolf-Marbot Price for her song "J'ai besoin d'amour".
* 2003 :
World Music Award
The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo. Awards are presented to the world' ...
for "Best French Female Pop/Rock Artist".
* 2003 : Inauguration of the Lorie statue in the
Musée Grévin
The ''Musée Grévin'' (; ) ( en, Grévin Museum) is a wax museum in Paris located on the Grands Boulevards in the 9th arrondissement on the right bank of the Seine, at 10, Boulevard Montmartre, Paris, France. It is open daily; an admission fee ...
, the French wax museum.
Personal life
She was engaged to French-Canadian singer
Garou but he decided to break up before the wedding in 2010, when she started a relationship with the French
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
Philippe Bas that ended in 2012.
Philanthropy
Lorie is a member of the
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 ...
charity ensemble since 2002.
Other
In 2012 she was one of the contestants during the
third season of ''
Danse avec les stars''.
Discography
* 2001 : ''
Près de Toi''
* 2002 : ''
Tendrement''
* 2004 : ''
Attitudes''
* 2005 : ''
Rester la même''
* 2007 : ''
2lor en moi ?''
* 2011 : ''Regarde-moi''
* 2012 : ''Danse''
* 2017 : ''Les choses de la vie'' (as Lorie Pester)
DVDs
* ''Je serai (ta meilleure amie)''
* ''Près de Vous''
* ''Tendrement Vôtre''
* ''
Live Tour''
* ''
Week End Tour''
* ''Best Of''
* ''Live Tour 2006''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorie
1982 births
Living people
People from Le Plessis-Bouchard
French dance musicians
French children's musicians
French women pop singers
21st-century French singers
21st-century French women singers
Participants in French reality television series
World Music Awards winners
La France a un incroyable talent