Tamara Marthe (born 28 November 1985), better known as Shy'm , is a French singer. She released her first album, ''

Mes fantaisies ''Mes fantaisies'' is the first album by French singer Shy'm. It was released in November 2006 and achieved much success in France, where it reached number six and was certified double Platinum. It provided five singles, three of which were release ...

'', in 2006 and has since released six more albums. She had three

Platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

albums, including her number-one 2012 album, ''

Caméléon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, b ...

''. In 2012, 2013 and 2015 she received the

NRJ Music Award 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 televisio ...

for Francophone Female Artist of the Year.

Early life

Tamara Marthe was born on 28 November 1985 in

Trappes Trappes () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines departments of France, department, region of Île-de-France, north-central France. It is a banlieue located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris, i ...

(a suburb west of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

), France to a

Metropolitan French French of France () is the predominant variety of the French language in France, Andorra and Monaco, in its formal and informal registers. It has, for a long time, been associated with Standard French. It is now seen as a variety of French alon ...

mother and a father from

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

, in a family oriented to music and creative arts. A fan of

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

and Beyoncé, she nevertheless grew up to the sound of

zouk Zouk is a musical movement pioneered by the French Antillean band Kassav' in the early 1980s. It was originally characterized by a fast tempo (120–145 bpm), a percussion-driven rhythm and a loud horn section. The fast zouk béton of Martini ...

—a French Caribbean music genre—and R&B. From an early age, she became interested in dancing and singing. She began taking lessons in dancing and she earned the nickname "Spicy Tam" as a result of the effort she put in it. In academics, she obtained a baccalaureat at the age of seventeen. Along with her studies, she had been making demo recordings of herself while avoiding public scrutiny. Later, she went to Paris, where she sent the recordings to record companies. It was at this time that Lebanese-Canadian rapper

K.Maro Cyril Kamar ( ar, سيريل قمر; born January 31, 1980, in Beirut), known by his stage name K.Maro (; sometimes stylized as K-Maro or K'Maro) is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter, producer and businessman of Lebanese origin. He sings in Frenc ...

discovered her. Marthe acquired the stage name Shy'm and began her journey to stardom. Her pseudonym is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words

Career

Rapper K.Maro agreed to feature her in the song "Histoire de luv" from his album. The song was recorded in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

. After that, she released her own album, ''

''. It was written, composed and produced by K.Maro. Shy'm explored various themes for the album, such as recurring love and intermarriage and its success. The first single, "Femme de couleur", peaked at number 5 on the French singles chart. In 2007, she made a guest appearance on the popular French game show, '' Fort Boyard''. Shy'm's musical style is a mix of pop and R&B. Her first album, ''Mes fantaisies'', has a prominent R&B sound, with pop,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and hip hop influences. Her second album, ''

Reflets ''Reflets'' is the second album by the French singer Shy'm, following 2006 ''Mes fantaisies''. A more mature album than Shy'm's début, ''Reflets'' experimented more with electronic music. The album was released in September 2008 and débuted at # ...

'', has a pop and R&B sound, though it has dance-pop influences. Her third album, ''

Prendre l'air ''Prendre l'air'' is the third album by French singer Shy'm. It was released in June 2010 and five singles ("Je sais", "Je suis moi", "Prendre l'air", "Tourne" and "En apesanteur") have been released. A departure from the R&B sound that Shy'm had ...

'', deviates towards a more synthpop-inspired sound, with her fourth album, ''

'', having a deeper exploration of this sound through dance. ; winning ''Danse avec les stars'' In 2011, Shy'm won the second season of '' Danse avec les stars'' – the French version of '' Dancing with the Stars''. She was partnered with professional dancer Maxime Dereymez. On November 19, 2011, they won the competition. In 2012, she joined 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.

Awards

*2012

s – Francophone Female Artist of the Year *2013 NRJ Music Awards – Francophone Female Artist of the Year *2015 NRJ Music Awards – Francophone Female Artist of the Year

Discography

*''

Mes Fantaisies ''Mes fantaisies'' is the first album by French singer Shy'm. It was released in November 2006 and achieved much success in France, where it reached number six and was certified double Platinum. It provided five singles, three of which were release ...

'' (2006) *''

'' (2008) *''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2012) *''Solitaire'' (2014) *''À nos dix ans'' (2015) *''H.E.R.O.S.'' (2017) *''Agapé'' (2019)

Tours

*''Shimi Tour'' (2011–2013) *''Paradoxale Tour'' (2015) *''Concerts Exceptionnels'' (2018) *''Agapé Tour'' (2019)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shy'm 1985 births Living people People from Trappes French people of Martiniquais descent French contemporary R&B singers Black French musicians Danse avec les stars winners Warner Music France artists 21st-century French singers 21st-century French women singers