Camélia Jordana Aliouane (born 15 September 1992) is a French pop singer. She rose to fame after participating in the television show ''

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 befor ...

'', 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 pa ...

'', in 2009, where she placed placed 3rd. Since 2013 she has appeared in leading roles in a number of French films.

Life and career

Jordana was born on 15 September 1992 in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, to French parents of Algerian descent. Her father Hachemi is of Berber Kabyle origin and her mother Zélihka an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

from

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

. She grew up in La Londe-les-Maures with her older sister and younger brother. At the age of sixteen, she decided to audition for the seventh season of ''Nouvelle Star'' in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, and managed to convince the jury with her version of

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

's "

What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong on August 16, 1967. In April 1968, it topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed p ...

". She finished in third place. After her elimination, she signed a record deal with

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

and released her eponymous debut album on 29 March 2010. It sold 10,169 copies in its first week and managed to enter the French SNEP Album Chart at #9. Although Jordana's debut single "Non Non Non (Écouter Barbara)" was only released as download single in France, it peaked at #3 on the French digital chart. It also charted at #3 in Belgium and #48 in Switzerland. She participated in a song for the album ''So in Love'' by ''Nouvelle Star'' judge

André Manoukian André Antranik Manoukian (; born 9 April 1957 in Lyon) is a French songwriter, arranger, jazz musician and actor of Armenian descent. Early years and education Born in Lyon, France, Manoukian is of Armenians in France, Armenian descent. He beg ...

in April 2010. Jordana was interviewed and played several songs on the

TV5Monde TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union. The network is available across ...

programme ''Acoustic'' on 7 November 2010. She was on the jury of the

Semaine de la Critique Critics' Week (), until 2008 called International Critics' Week ('), is a parallel section to the Cannes Film Festival organized by the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. History Critics' week was created in 1962, after the French Syndicate of ...

section at the

2021 Cannes Film Festival The 74th annual Cannes Film Festival took place from 6 to 17 July 2021, after having been originally scheduled from 11 to 22 May 2021. American filmmaker Spike Lee was invited to be the president of the jury for the main competition for the fes ...

. She featured on Emel's album ''MRA'' (2024), singing on "Mazel".

Philanthropy

On 27 November 2015, Jordana participated together with

Nolwenn Leroy Nolwenn Le Magueresse (; born 28 September 1982), known by her stage name Nolwenn Leroy (), is a French singer-songwriter and actress. Originally classically trained (violin and opera singing), she rose to fame after winning the second season o ...

and

Yael Naim Yael Naim (; born 6 February 1978) is a French-born Israeli singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple Inc., Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song peaked at N ...

at the national memorial day for the victims of the

November 2015 Paris attacks A series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks took place on Friday, 13 November 2015 in Paris, France, and the city's northern suburb, Saint-Denis. Beginning at 21:16, three suicide bombers struck outside the Stade de France in Saint-De ...

singing the song “Quand on n'a que l'amour” by

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

. In June 2024, Jordana signed a petition addressed to French President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

demanding France to officially recognize the

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Controversies

As a presentation of her new double album, ''Facile x fragile'', she told

L'Obs (), previously known as (2014–2024), (1964–2014), (1954–1964), (1953–1954), and (1950–1953), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, ' is one of the three most prominent French news magazines a ...

that "white men" are, in the collective unconscious, responsible for all the evils of the earth. The

International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism The International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism—or Ligue internationale contre le racisme et l'antisémitisme (LICRA) in French—was established in 1927 and is opposed to intolerance, xenophobia, and exclusion. In 1927, French jour ...

denounces this declaration, which it considers "unconscious".

Discography

Singles

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordana, Camelia 1992 births Artists from Toulon French people of Algerian descent French-language singers of Algeria Living people Nouvelle Star participants Musicians from Toulon 21st-century French singers 21st-century French women singers Most Promising Actress César Award winners Television personalities from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur