"Ma philosophie" is a 2004 song recorded by

Amel Bent Amel Bent Bachir ( ar, آمال بنت بشير; born 21 June 1985) is a French R&B and pop singer who gained fame after reaching the semi-finals of season 2 of French TV singing competition ''Nouvelle Star''. She is best-selling artist to com ...

as her debut single, from her album ''Un Jour d'été''. It was released on 29 November 2004 in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and remains the singer's most successful song, topping the charts in

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

Lyrics, music and video

Written by

Blair MacKichan Blair MacKichan is a British musician and songwriter. He started his musical career playing drums, then later progressed to the piano. As a musician he fronts a band named ''Blair and Friends''. MacKichan writes a lot of his own material. He w ...

and arranged by

Diam's Mélanie Georgiades (; born 25 July 1980 in Nicosia), better known by her stage name Diam's (), is a French rapper of Greek Cypriot origin. Biography Mélanie Marie Georgiades was born on July 25, 1980 in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus. Her mother ...

, the song has lyrics that reveal the positive sides of women. The music video deals with the various types of women and shows Amel Bent alternately as a businesswoman, a materialistic woman, a waitress and a daily woman who is with her friends. The lyrics have a quasi-poetic feel to them, as figurative language is sparsely used, such as the metaphor "Je suis l’as qui bat le roi" and the alliteration of the "i" sound in "injures incessantes". "My Philosophy" was named the

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 ...

as 'Original song of the Year'. The song was covered by

Karen Mulder Karen Mulder (born 1 June 1970) is a Dutch model and singer. She is well known for her work with Versace, Dior, and Chanel as a supermodel during the 1990s. Mulder repeatedly was featured on the cover of ''Vogue'' and was also a Victoria's Secr ...

Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

, Lorie,

Sandrine Kiberlain Sandrine Kiberlain (born Sandrine Kiberlajn; 25 February 1968) is a French actress and singer. Her most notable roles were in the films '' The Patriots'' (1994), '' A Self Made Hero'' (1996), ''For Sale'' (1998), ''Alias Betty'' (2001), ''Madem ...

, Julie Zenatti and

Hélène Ségara Hélène Ségara (), born Hélène Aurore Alice Rizzo on 26 February 1971, is a singer of Music of France, French, Armenians, Armenian and Italy, Italian descent, who came to prominence playing the role of Esméralda (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ...

for

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 ...

' album ''2006: Le Village des Enfoirés'' (seventh track). The song has been parodied by Paral & Piped studio, under the title "Ma Seule Envie".

Chart performances

, the single went straight to number one SNEP Singles Chart on 23 January 2005, staying there for six consecutive weeks. It remained for 12 weeks in the top ten, then did not stop to drop quickly on the chart, totaling 15 in the top 50 and 18 weeks on the chart (top 100)."Ma philosophie", French SNEP Singles Char
Lescharts.com
(Retrieved 5 December 2007) It was ranked third on the Annual Chart2005 French Singles Char
Disqueenfrance.com
(Retrieved 8 December 2007) and achieved Diamond status.2005 Diamond certifications, by SNE
Disqueenfrance.com
(Retrieved 9 December 2007) As of August 2014, the song was the 18th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 569,000 units sold. The single featured for 24 weeks on the

Ultratop 40 Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

, from 19 February 2005. It debuted at number 21, then climbed to number three and reached number one during the following weeks, staying there for seven consecutive weeks.Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Char
Ultratop.be
(Retrieved 9 December 2007) It appeared in the top ten for 16 weeks, was certified Gold disc,2005 Belgian (Wallonia) certification
Ultratop.be
(Retrieved 16 May 2008) and was the third best-selling single of 2004.2004 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Char
Ultratop.be
(Retrieved 8 December 2007)

Track listings

* CD single # "Ma philosophie" — 3:26 # "As" with Julien Chagnon — 4:36 * Digital download # "Ma philosophie" — 3:26 # "As" with Julien Chagnon — 4:36

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2004 songs Amel Bent songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles 2005 debut singles Songs written by Diam's