Tamara Marthe (born 28 November 1985), better known as Shy'm , is a
French singer
The following is a list of noted French singers.
A
* Abyale
*Adé (singer)
* Salvatore Adamo (often known as ''Adamo'')
* Isabelle Adjani
*Aketo (band: Sniper)
*Akhenaton (band: IAM)
* Frank Alamo
*Alizée
* Alma
*Amanda Lear
*Amine
* Ana ...
. She released her first album, '' Mes fantaisies'', 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, bei ...
''. In 2012, 2013 and 2015 she received the NRJ Music Award for Francophone Female Artist of the Year.
Early life
Tamara Marthe was born on 28 November 1985 in Trappes (a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separ ...
west of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
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
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
, she nevertheless grew up to the sound of zouk—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, '' Mes fantaisies''. 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
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''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 att ...
and hip hop influences. Her second album, '' Reflets'', has a pop and R&B sound, though it has
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 ...
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
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...
-inspired sound, with her fourth 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, bei ...
'', having a deeper exploration of this sound through
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...
.
; 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
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...
''. She was partnered with professional dancer Maxime Dereymez. On November 19, 2011, they won the competition.
In 2012, she joined the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble.
Awards
*2012 NRJ Music Awards – 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
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 ...
'' (2010)
*''
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, bei ...