André Antranik Manoukian (born 9 April 1957 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

) is a French songwriter, arranger,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician, and actor of Armenian descent. Between 2002-2017, he served as one of four judges in the French version of

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

, ''

Nouvelle Star ''Nouvelle Star'' (; also known as '' À la Recherche de la Nouvelle Star'' for the first season) is a French television series based on the popular Pop Idol programme produced by FremantleMedia. It was broadcast by M6 in seasons 1–8 before ...

''.

Early years and education

Born in

, France, Manoukian is of Armenian descent. He began playing the piano when he was seven years old. Later, when he was a student, he sold organs in a shop to earn money. At 20, he studied music at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. After the basics he studied musical composition, arrangement and harmony.

Music career

Upon returning to France Manoukian started a jazz band called ''Horn Stuff''. At the same time he composed for female singers and two jazz-funk albums were recorded. He was also approached to join the band of the singer

Michèle Torr Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977. Early career ...

. In 1983 he met the singer

Liane Foly Liane Foly (born 16 December 1962, in Lyon) is a popular French blues and jazz singer, actress, presenter and impressionist. Early years Foly was born 16 December 1962Interview in the magazine '' VSD'', p. 98, no 1477, 14–20 December 2005 in ...

and in addition to becoming her partner, he composed her first successes, including ''Au fur et à mesure'' and ''Doucement''. He also wrote for such artists as

Michel Petrucciani Michel Petrucciani (; ; 28 December 1962 – 6 January 1999) was a French jazz pianist. From birth he had osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disease that causes brittle bones and, in his case, short stature. He became one of the most accomplish ...

Richard Galliano Richard Galliano (born 12 December 1950, Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes) is a French accordionist of Italian heritage. Allmusic biography/ref> Biography He was drawn to music at an early age, starting with the accordion at 4, influenced by his fathe ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( , ; born Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian, hy, Շահնուր Վաղինակ Ազնավուրեան, ; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a French-Armenian singer, lyricist, actor and diplomat. Aznavour was known for his dist ...

, Freddy Zucchet,

Gilbert Bécaud Gilbert Bécaud (, 24 October 1927 – 18 December 2001) was a French singer, composer, pianist and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are " Nathalie" and "Et maintenant", a 1961 release ...

Diane Dufresne Diane Dufresne, (born 30 September 1944) is a French Canadian singer and painter, and is known for singing a large repertoire of popular Quebec songs. Dufresne was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She lived in Paris from 1965 to 1967 where ...

, Nicole Croisille,

Natacha Atlas Natacha Atlas ( ar, نتاشا أطلس}; born 20 March 1964) is an Egyptian-Belgian singer known for her fusion of Arabic and Western music, particularly hip-hop. She once termed her music "'' cha'abi moderne''" (modern popular music). Her mu ...

Viktor Lazlo The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French sho ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, Myriam Abel, Camille Bazbaz et Malia. He completed the musical arrangement and composition for films including '' Quatre étoiles'' et '' Jean-Philippe''. He is currently well known by the general public for being on the M6 reality TV series, ''

'' (New Star). He has been on the jury since the first season along with

Marianne James Marianne James (born 18 February 1962) is a French singer, writer, actress, TV host and fashion designer. She has co-presented the French coverage of the ''Eurovision Song Contest''. Early life Born in Montélimar, Marianne Gandolfi grew up ...

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusion ...

and

Dove Attia Jules Dove Attia (Arabic: جول دوف عطية) better known as Dove Attia (born in Tunisia on 8 June 1957) is a musical producer television personality. Beginnings Dove Attia is a French citizen born to a Tunisian father who was an electrici ...

. During transmission he is the "''poet''" and

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

juror. He is a member of the jury of Nouvelle Star series 6, besides singers

Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sinclair, Manitoba People * Sin ...

and

Lio Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furtado Tavares de Vasconcelos (born 17 June 1962), known professionally as Lio, is a Portuguese-Belgian singer and actress who was a pop icon in France and Belgium during the 1980s. Life and career Vanda Maria Ribeiro Furt ...

and the music journalist Philippe Manoeuvre. In 2004 he did dubbing in the DVD bonus of ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...

II'', where he dubbed one of the jurors of the singing competition. He was also in the transmission of ''T'empêches tout le monde de dormir'' (You stop everyone sleeping) on M6 presented by Marc-Olivier Fogiel where he portrayed in his manner the "Psycho-erotico-cosmico-musical" of the guests by translating the name of a personality in shorthand notes with a

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

which he composed and played on the synthesizer. On 5 February 2007, Manoukian presented the Globes de Cristal besides Elisabeth Quin on

Paris Première Paris Première is a French public TV channel, available on cable, satellite and the digital terrestrial service, Télévision Numérique Terrestre. It was launched on 15 December 1986 and is now wholly owned by the Groupe M6. Programming ...

. Since 21 February 2007 he has presented ''Dédé les doigts de fée'' (Dede nimble fingers) on Paris Première, a program about guests who have different music backgrounds. For him, their life is a song recorded on a multi-track. To better portray his guests, Manoukian invites them to recount their lives in a real recording studio and he then composes a novel piece of music based on their stories. In the same year Manoukian composed the new Album (music) for Beverly, a contestant in Nouvelle Star 4 and he also accompanied

Miss Dominique Miss Dominique s she is generally known as born Dominique Michalon 7 September 1978 in Sarcelles, France, is a French singer and second-place finalist of the fourth edition of Nouvelle Star ased version of "Pop Idol" Her parents are both Carib ...

at the piano during some of her concerts.

Book release

His first book ''La Mécanique des Fluides'' (Fluid Mechanics) was released in February 2008. The book is an autobiography in the form of a monologue mainly tracing his artistic career as a pianist and a composer as well as his artistic and emotional life.

Discography

Albums

*''Inkala'' (2008) *''So in Love'' (2010) *''Melanchology'' (2011) *''Apatride'' (2017) *''Les pianos de Gainsbourg'' (2021)

Composer and producer

*''The Man I Love'' –

(1988) *''Rêve Orange'' – Liane Foly (1990) *'' My Delicious Poisons'' –

(1991) *''Les petites notes'' – Liane Foly (1993) *''Sweet Mystery'' (English version of ''petites notes'') – Liane Foly (1994) *''Yellow Daffodils'' – Malia (2002) *''La Chanteuse de bal'' – Liane Foly (2004) *''Echoes of Dreams'' – Malia (2004) *''Young Bones'' – Malia (2007) *''Cheyenne Song'' – Gaetane Abrial (2008)

Producer

*''Lumières'' – Liane Foly (1994) *''Jazzaznavour'' –

(1998) *''Faut faire avec'' –

(1999) *''La Vie devant toi'' – Myriam Abel (2006) André Manoukian has also produced albums for

and

Composer

*Translation of "Again" from

(1994) *''Épine de rose'' (lyrics: P. Grosz) –

(2000) *''Ne dis rien'' – Julie Demne (2002) *''À quoi ça sert'' (lyrics: C. Bazbaz) –

Gérard Darmon Gérard Darmon (born 29 February 1948) is a French- Moroccan actor and singer. Personal life He was the second husband of actress Mathilda May Mathilda May (born Karin Haïm; 8 February 1965) is a French film actress. Early life May was bor ...

(2003) *''Éternelle'' – Nicole Croisille (2004) *''Haut les coeurs'' (lyrics: F. Deweare) –

Natasha St-Pier Natasha St-Pier (born 10 February 1981) is a Canadian singer of Acadian origin who has spent most of her career in France. She was coach in the second and third season of The Voice Belgique (''The Voice of Belgium''). Career Natasha St-Pier r ...

(2009)

Movies

Manoukian made the music of several films. *''Les ténors'', directed by Francis De Gueltz (1993) *'' Four Stars'', directed by Christian Vincent (2006) *'' Jean-Philippe'', directed by

Laurent Tuel Laurent Tuel (born 1966) is a French film actor, director and writer. Career Laurent Tuel released his first short film "Céleste" in 1989, when he was 23. In 2007 he was nominated for César Awards The César Award is the national film awar ...

(2006) *''La grande boucle'', directed by

(2013) *''

Fonzy ''Fonzy'' is a 2013 French comedy film about a fish deliveryman in Paris becomes involved in a legal battle with his sperm donation children. The film is a remake of the Quebecois film '' Starbuck'' (2011). Plot Twenty years ago, Diego Costa, u ...

'', directed by Isabelle Doval (2013) *''Les yeux ouverts'', TV Movie directed by

Lorraine Lévy Lorraine Lévy (born 29 January 1964) is a French screenwriter, film and stage director, and playwright. She is the sister of writer Marc Levy. Life and career After studying literature and law, Lévy became a screenwriter for Jean-Loup Dabadie ...

(2015)

Filmography

Others

He was one of the contestant during the First season of Danse avec les stars. He also joined singer

Christophe Willem Christophe Frédéric Durier (; born 3 August 1983), better known by his stage name Christophe Willem (), is a French singer and the winner of the fourth edition of ''Nouvelle Star'' (French version of '' Pop Idol'') in 2006. Early life Christ ...

as a commentator for

France 4 France 4 () is a French free-to-air television channel owned by France Télévisions, focused on children's programming. The colour of France 4 is purple. Originally launched as Festival in 1996, the channel took its current name in 2005 when it ...

during the semifinals of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "Amar pelos dois" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European B ...

in Lisbon, Portugal.

Dancing with the Stars

He was one of the contestants during the First season of Danse avec les stars. With his partner Candice Pascal, he finished in the 8th position (last). This table shows the route of André Manoukian and Candice Pascal in Danse Avec Les Stars.

References

* * * ** ;Specific

External links

Official websiteInterview
–

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manoukian, Andre Living people 1957 births Musicians from Lyon French people of Armenian descent French songwriters Male songwriters French jazz pianists 21st-century French male pianists French male jazz musicians