Marie-Mai (born Marie-Mai Bouchard on July 7, 1984, in
Varennes
Varennes-en-Argonne (, literally ''Varennes in Argonne'') or simply Varennes (German: Wöringen) is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 639.
Geography
Varennes-en-Ar ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
singer from
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec
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 Académie
''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sensa ...
''.
Background
Marie-Mai was born to an actor father
Marie-Mai began her interest in music in her early years when practicing piano lessons and also participated in musical theatre. Shortly, she began singing and her grandmother noticed her talent. In the following years, she would help Marie-Mai improve her singing abilities even further. At that time, her grandmother suggested to her that she audition for a new competition, ''
Star Académie
''Star Académie'' is a Canadian reality television series that started in 2003, aimed primarily at the Quebec television audience, featuring an array of young women and men under the age of 30 competing for the title of the next solo singing sensa ...
''. Prior to this, in 2001, she would start to perform in shows at
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
's Théâtre Musical in the ''Passion intense'' show.
She became a finalist in the 2003 edition, in which she was immediately noticed by her pop-rock style. She finished third behind
Marie-Elaine Thibert, the runner-up of the competition, and
Wilfred Le Bouthillier Wilfred Le Bouthillier (born May 12, 1978) is an Acadian singer from the town of Tracadie-Sheila, New Brunswick, and the winner of both the 2003 edition of ''Star Académie'', a Quebec reality show for aspiring singers, and the 2021 edition of ''Cha ...
, the eventual winner.
After the ''Star Académie'' tour ended in 2004, she was part of the Montreal cast of
Jonathan Larson
Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent'' and '' Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of multiculturalism, ...
's rock-opera musical ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'', performed at the Olympia Theatre.
In September 2011, she married her producer,
Fred St-Gelais
Fred St-Gelais (born Frédéric St-Gelais, on September 2, 1974 in Chibougamau, Quebec) is a Canadian songwriter, television music composer, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, currently living in Montreal, Quebec.
Biography Early work
F ...
, in Hawaii. The couple were engaged since 2006. The pair ended the relationship in early 2016, and later divorced.
In December 2011, Marie-Mai participated in the anti-bullying campaign ''Ça finit là'' ("It ends here"), and made a video where she revealed that she had experienced bullying because of her
ADHD
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
.
Marie-Mai has been in a relationship with ''
La Voix
''La Voix'' is a francophone Canadian reality talent show as part of the international television series franchise ''The Voice'', based on the original Dutch version of the program created by John de Mol. The series is part of ''The Voice' ...
'' musical director David Laflèche since 2016, and she gave birth to their daughter Gisèle on February 15, 2017.
Career
''Inoxydable'' (2004-2005)
Her debut album ''
Inoxydable
''Inoxydable'' is the first studio album by Canadian singer Marie-Mai, released on 28 September 2004. The album was then released in France on April 10, 2006. The album received platinum certification for selling more than 120,000 copies.
Track ...
'', produced by
Fred St-Gelais
Fred St-Gelais (born Frédéric St-Gelais, on September 2, 1974 in Chibougamau, Quebec) is a Canadian songwriter, television music composer, record producer and multi-instrumentalist, currently living in Montreal, Quebec.
Biography Early work
F ...
, was released on September 28, 2004. Over 120,000 albums were sold in Quebec (platinum certification) alone while the album was released in France in 2006.
Several singles climbed high in the Quebec charts, including the songs "Il faut que tu t'en ailles" and "Encore une Nuit", which reached the top of the
Radio Énergie charts. In 2005, she won the prize for best Francophone music video at the MuchMusic Video Awards with "Il faut que tu t'en ailles". In support of her album, Marie-Mai played 87 shows and released a DVD of her concert, La Tournée Inoxydable.
Dangereuse attraction (2007-2009)
Her second album, ''Dangereuse attraction'', was released on August 28, 2007. In August 2008, Marie-Mai was awarded gold certification for selling over 50,000 copies of this album in Canada. The record was eventually certified platinum.
On June 24, 2009, Marie-Mai featured for the first time in the Quebec
National Holiday National holiday may refer to:
* National day, a day when a nation celebrates a very important event in its history, such as its establishment
*Public holiday, a holiday established by law, usually a day off for at least a portion of the workforce, ...
celebrations in Montreal, simulcast on the Radio-Canada Television and radio. She performed her hits "Mentir" and "Emmène-moi", a cover of the song "Lady Marmalade", and an excerpt of the unofficial national anthem of Quebec, "
Gens du pays
"Gens du pays" has been called the unofficial "national" anthem of Quebec. Written by poet, songwriter, and avowed Quebec nationalist Gilles Vigneault (with music co-written by Gaston Rochon), it was first performed by Vigneault on June 24, 1975 ...
" by
Gilles Vigneault.
On July 1, 2009, during the festivities of
Canada Day
Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...
in Ottawa broadcast on the
Radio-Canada
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
and
CBC networks, Marie Mai was invited to sing three songs. Originally, the English-language channel broadcast did not include her first song, "Mentir". CBC eventually reversed its decision following the rehearsals and instead decided to broadcast all three songs.
Version 3.0 (2009-2011)
On September 26, 2009, she released her third album, ''Version 3.0''. She received a third gold record on December 7, 2009, for having sold 40,000 copies of this album. Among her compositions present on the album are "Rebatir notre histoire" and "C'est moi".
On February 28, 2010, she sang "Emmène-moi" at the
2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics took place on February 28, 2010, beginning at 5:30 pm PST (01:30 UTC, March 1) at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was the first Olympic Closing Ceremony held in a ...
in
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. In the same year, she featured in
David Usher
David Usher (born April 24, 1966) is a British-born Canadian musician, best-selling author, keynote speaker, and activist best known as the front man for the band Moist. He has also released a number of solo albums. He is the founder of Reimagin ...
's "Je repars". The song stayed in the best positions of the Top 100
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems chart for over a month.
In 2011, her album ''Version 3.0'' was certified platinum, with 80,000 copies sold. She also recorded a duet in the same year with
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guita ...
for the song "
Jet Lag". Later in the same year, she signed with European label and distributor Warner Music France.
Miroir (2012-2014)
Prior to her fourth album release, on February 22, 2012, she released the song "Sans cri ni haine", a French cover of "
Call Your Girlfriend
"Call Your Girlfriend" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn, taken from her seventh studio album, '' Body Talk'' (2010). It was released as the album's second single on 1 April 2011. The song was written by Robyn, Klas Åhlund and Alexander ...
" by
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Bil ...
, as a promotional single.
Marie-Mai's official website had undergone major upgrade prior to the album. A countdown to the day of the release of the album was shown. A new logo and the album art of the fourth album were also revealed.
On August 14, 2012, the first official single of the album "
C.O.B.R.A.
''C.O.B.R.A.'' is the first single released from Marie-Mai's fourth album ''Miroir (album), Miroir''. It was released as digital download on 14 August 2012. The song was written by Fred St-Gelais and Marie-Mai. In an interview, Marie-Mai explained ...
" was released to radio stations, along with a 22-second teaser of the music video. As announced by herself on the same date, the new album was to be called "Miroir" and the release date was set to be September 17.
"Miroir" managed to sell 22,000 units during its first week. On October 17, 2012, only a month after the album was released, a press conference was held at the Olympia Theatre in Montreal to announce that the album was certified gold for selling 40,000 copies. This press conference was also used to announce the first 2 dates at the Bell Centre of her brand new tour Tournee Miroir, due to kickoff on January 18, 2013, in
Granby, Quebec
Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 69,025. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie after ...
.
In late 2012, the second single "Jamais ailleurs" was released to Canadian radio stations, while a more acoustic version of the song "Je cours" was chosen as the first single to promote the yet-to-be-released album in France.
Marie-Mai begins 2013 by launching her fourth tour "Tournee Miroir" on January 18 in Granby, QC. The tour will see her perform in front of over 80,000 people across Quebec.
She performed "C.O.B.R.A".", "Jamais ailleurs" and "Heart Attack" during the Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa on July 1, 2013. On July 22, she featured in the benefit concert for the victims of
Lac-Mégantic in Lavaltrie, along with 39 other artists''.''
She began filming a new music video in mid-July. In August 2013, the trailer for the video "Différents" was released, and the full video was available on her YouTube page on September 10, 2013.
She continued her Tournee Miroir tour in September at the
Québec Coliseum.
On May 2 and 3, she gave 2 concerts at the Bell Centre and closed her Miroir tour after 100 shows.
M (2014-2015)
In January 2014, Marie-Mai released "Jamais trop tard", a duet with
Jonas
Jonas may refer to:
Geography
* Jonas, Netherlands, Netherlands
* Jonas, Pennsylvania, United States
* Jonas Ridge, North Carolina, United States
People with the name
* Jonas (name), people with the given name or surname Jonas
* Jonas, one of ...
, as the first single of her 5th album. The song reached #1 in the radio charts. The recalls of her Bell Centre shows (May 2 and 3) were used to unveil three songs of M: "Conscience", "Tourner", and "À bout portant". On May 12, 2014, M was released with some fireworks around it: 3 new music videos were revealed in the same day: "Conscience", "Tourner", and "Indivisible". Within 2 months, the record received a gold certification for 40,000 copies sold. In July 2014, Marie-Mai's Miroir tour show at the Bell Centre premiered in Quebec cinemas. "Marie-Mai live au Centre Bell : Traverser le Miroir" attracted immediate interest from her fans and was featured in 50 theatres across Quebec. In November 2014, the DVD of the show was launched, and was certified triple platinum for 30,000 copies sold.
2016-present
In 2019, Marie-Mai duetted on "
The Good Ones" with Canadian
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
artist
Tebey
Tebey Solomon Ottoh (born October 14, 1983), known mononymously as Tebey, is a Canadian-American country music singer and multi-genre songwriter. His debut single, "We Shook Hands (Man to Man)", hit 47 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs cha ...
.
In popular culture
*In 2012, she took part in tribute album project dedicated to
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 ...
songs called ''
Génération Goldman
''Génération Goldman'' is a compilation/tribute album series containing interpretations of the songs of popular French singer and songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman. It is released on My Major Company (France) noting that Michaël Goldman, son of th ...
'' singing Goldman's "Là-bas" as a duo with
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
model and singer
Baptiste Giabiconi
Baptiste Giabiconi (born 9 November 1989) is a French male model, singer, and muse of Karl Lagerfeld from Marignane, France. For many years, he was the male face of major fashion houses Chanel, Fendi and Karl Lagerfeld.
Beginnings
Born in Mari ...
.
* She was the voice actress of Smurfette in the French-Canadian versions of The Smurfs 1 (2011) and 2 (2013).
* During the closing ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, she performed Emmène-moi.
* She was a coach on the
Quebec version of The Voice (La Voix) alongside Ariane Moffatt, Marc Dupré and Jean-Pierre Ferland.
*In January 2019, Marie-Mai first appeared as a Coach/Mentor on season 2 of Canadian TV network
CTV's "
The Launch", on the episode that featured
Ryan Tedder's song, "Better".
* In 2020, she was announced as the host of the Quebec edition of ''
Big Brother Célebrités'', slated to air in 2021 on
Noovo
Noovo is a Canadian French-language terrestrial television network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The network has five owned-and-operated and three affiliated stations throughout Quebec, although it can also be seen over-the-ai ...
.
[Lysandre Dolbec]
"Big Brother Célébrités: deux nouvelles participantes dévoilées!"
''En Vedette'', December 7, 2020.
* In 2021, she appeared in a cellular telephone advertisement, while wearing concert costume and riding a white horse. The punch line was she was breaking up with a customer because his network access was too unreliable.
[accessed Feb 16, 21 https://www.grenier.qc.ca/nouvelles/22171/marie-mai-a-cheval-avec-le-nouveau-reseau-5g-de-bell]
Discography
* ''
Inoxydable
''Inoxydable'' is the first studio album by Canadian singer Marie-Mai, released on 28 September 2004. The album was then released in France on April 10, 2006. The album received platinum certification for selling more than 120,000 copies.
Track ...
'' (2004)
* ''
Dangereuse Attraction
''Dangereuse Attraction'' is the second studio album by Canadian singer Marie-Mai. The album was released on 28 August 2007 in Canada by Musicor and later, in France by Warner Music France, on 26 May 2008. The album was produced by Fred St-Gelais ...
'' (2007)
* ''
Version 3.0'' (2009)
* ''
Miroir'' (2012)
* ''
M'' (2014)
* ''
Elle et moi
''She and Me'' (french: Elle et moi) is a 1952 French comedy film directed by Guy Lefranc from a screenplay by Michel Audiard and , based on Duché's 1952 novel ''Elle et lui''. It stars François Périer and Dany Robin, with Jacqueline Gauthier, ...
'' (2018)
Dubbing
Awards and nominations
;
Félix Award
The Félix Award (french: Trophée Félix or Prix Félix) is an award, given by the ''Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois'' (ADISQ) on an annual basis to artists working in the music and humor industry in the Canadian p ...
* 2008 Rock Album of the Year
* 2010 Rock Album of the Year
* 2010 Best Female Artist of the Year
* 2011 Best Female Artist of the Year
* 2011 Tour of the Year (Singer-Songwriter)
* 2012 Popular Song of the Year « Sans cri, ni haine »
* 2013 Pop Album of the year
* 2013 Best Female Artist of the Year
* 2014 Best Female Artist of the Year
;
SOCAN Awards
* 2008 SOCAN award for Pop Song - Composer
References
External links
Marie-Mai*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marie-Mai
1984 births
Canadian women rock singers
French Quebecers
Living people
Singers from Quebec
Participants in Canadian reality television series
People from Varennes, Quebec
French-language singers of Canada
Warner Music France artists
21st-century Canadian women singers
Canadian television hosts
Star Academy participants