Béatrice Mireille Martin (; born 22 September 1989), better known by her stage name Cœur de pirate (; French for ''Pirate's Heart''), is a Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist. A francophone from

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, she sings mostly in French and has been credited in ''

Montreal Mirror ''Montreal Mirror'' or just ''Mirror'' was a free English language alternative newsweekly based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was distributed every Thursday. It had a circulation of 70,000 and reached a quarter of a million readers per week. ...

'' with "bringing '' la chanson française'' to a whole new generation of Quebec youth."

Career

Early beginnings

Born in the province of

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Martin started playing the piano when she was only three years old. She entered the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal at age nine and studied there for five years. She is the niece of actor Alexis Martin. At age 15, she played as a keyboardist in the

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band December Strikes First, which starred her best friend, Francis, who would later become the subject of the song "Francis" on her debut album. Martin had a brief stint as keyboardist for Bonjour Brumaire from late 2007 to April 2008.

2007–2009: Debut album and first success

In a report broadcast on French television, Martin explained that she chose the name "Cœur de pirate" to appear not "as an isolated musician, but to get a band identity from the start". She initially called herself Her Pirate Heart, but translated the name to French when she stopped writing songs in English. She released her debut album '' Cœur de pirate'' on September 16, 2008, on Grosse Boîte. Described as "rather simple" musically, it mostly featured her voice and piano playing along with some minor additional instrumentation. In February 2009, Martin attracted wider media attention when a photographer from

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, Francis Vachon, used the song "Ensemble" as the soundtrack to a

viral video Viral videos are video, videos that become popular through viral phenomenon, a viral process of Internet sharing, primarily through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhon ...

on YouTube entitled "Time lapse of a baby playing with his toys", leading to coverage on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

'',

Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting Tabloid jou ...

's website, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', and elsewhere.

2009–2011: Side projects Pearls and Armistice

In March 2009, Martin released a song in English, "One for Me," under the name Pearls on

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

. In a later interview she described the project as a joke and said she did not plan to continue it, though she did not rule out the possibility of releasing music in English at a later date. In June 2009, she made a special appearance on

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

's '' Q'' radio show. She performed her single "Ensemble" and a new song, "Place de la République". Martin performed with Jay Malinowski of

Bedouin Soundclash Bedouin Soundclash is a Canadian band based in Toronto and consisting of vocalist and guitarist Jay Malinowski, bass player Eon Sinclair, and various session musicians. Their sound has been described as a combination of reggae and ska. Bedouin ...

in May 2010 on ''Q'' and talked about collaborating with him in the future. She was later featured in a

song, "Brutal Hearts", on the album '' Light the Horizon''. Martin, Malinowski, and several members of the American rock band

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

subsequently collaborated on a five-song EP under the band name

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...

, which was released on 15 February 2011. Martin contributed a new song, "La Reine", to the 2010 edition of CBC Radio 2's '' Great Canadian Song Quest''.

2011 to present

On 27 March 2011, Martin revealed via her Facebook page that she was to return to the studio to commence work on her second album the following day. Her second album, ''

Blonde Blond () or blonde (), also referred to as fair hair, is a human hair color characterized by low levels of eumelanin, the dark pigment. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can be ...

'', was released on 7 November 2011, in both digital and hard copy versions. "Adieu" and "Golden Baby" were released as singles from this LP. After announcing her pregnancy in February 2012, Martin stopped touring during the second half of the year and gave birth to a daughter in September. In early 2013, Martin returned from her hiatus with a music video for "Place de la République", the first for which she acted as director, and an international tour beginning in March. In 2013, she recorded music for the fifth season of the Canadian drama series '' Trauma'', with a soundtrack album released on 14 January 2014. In 2014 she composed the soundtrack for the

Ubisoft Montreal Ubisoft Divertissements Inc., doing business as Ubisoft Montreal, is a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Ubisoft based in Montreal. The studio was founded in April 1997 as part of Ubisoft's growth into worldwide markets, with subs ...

's video game production '' Child of Light''. The soundtrack includes a song, "Off to Sleep", sung in English. In April 2015, she released the single "Carry On" in both English and French. Both versions of the song appeared on her album, titled ''Roses''. The music video for it was filmed in the Ruins of St Raphael's Church, South Glengarry, Ontario. On 12 August 2015, it was announced by

PR Newswire PR Newswire is a distributor of press releases headquartered in Chicago. The service was created in 1954 to allow companies to electronically send press releases to news organizations, using teleprinters at first. The founder, Herbert Muschel, ...

that Martin has signed a record contract with American record imprints Cherrytree and

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. Upon signing, she made a statement on Facebook: "It feels wonderful to have Cherrytree Records/Interscope Records join the team," "When I first started listening to music seriously, my musical heroes were all on Cherrytree. I'm sure I'll feel right at home. Huge thanks to Martin Kierszenbaum for believing in me. I can't wait to discover what's in store as I embark on this new adventure." On 1 June 2018, she released the album '' En cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé'', her fourth album which also marks the tenth anniversary of her career. Described as her most personal album, the album's themes describe and confront the process of healing from anxiety and trauma. At the Juno Awards of 2019, the album was shortlisted for the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year. In 2020, Martin was featured as a coach on the eighth season of ''

La Voix ''La Voix'' () is a francophone Canada, Canadian reality television, reality talent show as part of the international television series franchise ''The Voice (franchise), The Voice'', based on the original The Voice of Holland, Dutch version o ...

''. Her final artist, Josiane Comeau, won the season making Martin the winning coach. On 30 April 2021, she released '' Perséides'', her fifth album. The album is composed of ten solo piano songs, and was inspired by her recovery from vocal cord surgery. The album was a

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

nominee for Instrumental Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022. On 15 October 2021, she released '' Impossible à aimer'', her sixth album. The album was the winner of the

for Francophone Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022.

Collaborations

Martin has appeared in concert with French singer Julien Doré, performing a duet of the

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

hit "

Umbrella An umbrella or parasol is a folding canopy supported by wooden or metal ribs that is mounted on a wooden, metal, or plastic pole. It is usually designed to protect a person against rain. The term ''umbrella'' is traditionally used when protec ...

". In 2009 she recorded a new version of her song "Pour un infidèle", with Doré featured as the male vocalist. They appeared together in the video for the song, styled as a 1960s-era celebrity couple. Martin contributed vocals on "Brutal Hearts", the fourth track on the 2010

album '' Light the Horizon''. Frontman Jay Malinowski and Martin subsequently collaborated under the band name Armistice, releasing a five-track self-titled album on 11 February 2011. In 2010 Martin also contributed vocals to the second track of David Usher's album '' The Mile End Sessions'', titled "Everyday Things". She also appeared in Peter Peter's eponymous debut album ''Peter Peter'' in the song "Tergivere". Martin co-wrote the song "

Jet Lag Jet lag is a temporary physiological condition that occurs when a person's circadian rhythm is out of sync with the time zone they are in, and is a typical result from travelling rapidly across multiple time zones (east–west or west–east). ...

" with

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...

and a demo was recorded with her voice. The final version was recorded with Marie-Mai. The final version is shorter. She appears on the track "Voila les anges", a cover of the song recorded originally in 1988 by Gamine on the 2012 album ''Couleurs sur Paris'' by

Nouvelle Vague The New Wave (, ), also called the French New Wave, is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of i ...

. Martin contributed vocals for "Peace Sign" by Canadian synth-pop artist Lights, on the acoustic version of her 2011 album ''

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

'', released on 30 April 2013. Martin also contributed vocals on "Suicide Bomber" and "All This (And More)" on the album " Shape Shift with Me" by punk band "

Against Me! Against Me! is an American punk rock band, formed in 1997 in Naples, Florida, by singer and guitarist Laura Jane Grace. That same year, Grace moved to Gainesville, Florida, which is considered the band's hometown. Since 2001, the band's lineup ...

" Martin collaborated on a 2023 remix of "Dernière danse" by the French band Kyo.

Personal life

In July 2009, it was revealed that Martin had been a nude model for the alt-porn website GodsGirls under the name Bea. About 800 naked pictures were featured on the website for many months. GodsGirls removed the pictures at her record company's request when she signed her contract, but the pictures keep reappearing on the web via some blogs and forums throughout the years. Martin always acknowledged that she had done these pictures but never wanted to talk about them before July 2009. On 29 February 2012, Martin announced on Twitter and Facebook that she was expecting a girl with her fiancé, Alex Peyrat, a tattoo artist. Martin and Peyrat were married later that year on 26 July and their daughter, Romy, was born on 4 September."Cœur de Pirate, maman d'une petite fille"
. ''quai-baco.com''. On 16 June 2016, in an

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

for ''

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...

'' magazine's Noisey, Martin came out as

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

as a response to the shooting at Pulse, a gay club in Orlando. The following day, she announced that she was filing for divorce from her husband. At the time, she was known to be in a relationship with Laura Jane Grace, who fronts

, although they later broke up. Martin and Peyrat remarried in March 2017, but were divorced again in 2018. On 17 August 2021, Martin announced her second pregnancy with partner Marc Flynn. Their son, Arlo, was born 16 January 2022. She has publicly revealed having

generalized anxiety disorder Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about events or activities. Worry often interferes with daily functioning. Individuals with GAD are often overly con ...

and

ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation that are excessive and pervasive, impairing in multiple ...

Discography

* '' Cœur de pirate'' (2008) * ''

'' (2011) * '' Trauma'' (2014) * ''Child of Light'' (2014, soundtrack for video game '' Child of Light'') * ''

Roses A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...

'' (2015) * '' En cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé'' (2018) * '' Perséides'' (2021) * '' Impossible à aimer'' (2021) * ''TBA'' (Fall 2025)

Awards

Cœur de pirate received a 2009

CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio 3 is a Canadian digital radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which plays a relatively freeform mix of indie rock, indie pop, alternative hip hop, folk, country and electronic music. The service, which la ...

" Bucky" award determined by listener votes. Her song "Comme des enfants" received the 2009 "Bucky" award for "Best Reason to Learn French". In 2010, Martin won the International Achievement Award at the Francophone SOCAN Awards in Montreal. Martin won the 2014 ''Original Light Mix Score, New IP'' award by National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers for her work on the video game '' Child of Light''.

Berlin Music Video Awards

The Berlin Music Video Awards is an international film festival that promotes the art of music videos.

Félix Awards

The Félix Awards are presented by the Association du disque, de l'industrie du spectacle québécois to artists from Quebec. Martin has won four awards from 13 nominations. , - , rowspan="3" , 2009 , rowspan="2" , Cœur de pirate , Debut Artist of the Year , , - , Female Singer of the Year , , - , ''Cœur de pirate'' , Pop Album of the Year , , - , rowspan="4" , 2010 , rowspan="3" , Cœur de pirate , Female Singer of the Year , , - , Concert of the Year , , - , Quebec Artist Most Celebrated Outside of Quebec , , - , "Pour un infidèle" , Music Video of the Year , , - , rowspan="2" , 2011 , rowspan="2" , Cœur de pirate , Quebec Artist Most Celebrated Outside of Quebec , , - , Female Singer of the Year , , - , rowspan="7" , 2012 , rowspan="2" , Cœur de pirate , Female Singer of the Year , , - , Quebec Artist Most Celebrated Outside of Quebec , , - , rowspan="2" , ''Blonde'' , Pop Album of the Year , , - , Best-Selling Album of the Year , , - , "Adieu" , Pop Song of the Year , , - , "Golden Baby" , Music Video of the Year , , - , Cœur de pirate (with Howard Bilerman) , Album Producer of the Year ,

Juno Awards

, - ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, ''Cœur de pirate'' , rowspan=2, Francophone Album of the Year , , - ,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, ''Blonde'' , , - , rowspan=2,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Cœur de pirate , Fan Choice , , - , "Carry On", "Crier tout bas", "Oceans Brawl" , Songwriter of the Year , , - ,

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, ''En cas de tempête, ce jardin sera fermé'' , rowspan=2, Francophone Album of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, ''Impossible à aimer'' , , - , ''Perséides'' , Instrumental Album of the Year ,

Victoires de la Musique

The '' Victoires de la Musique'' is an annual French award ceremony. Martin has won one award from four nominations. , - , rowspan="2" , 2010 , Cœur de pirate , Group or Artist Newcomer of the Year (Public Vote) , , - , "Comme des enfants" , Original Song of the Year , , - , 2011 , Cœur de pirate , Female Artist of the Year , , - , 2012 , ''Blonde'' , Album of the Year ,

Canadian Independent Music Awards

Martin has been nominated for five Canadian Independent Music Awards, of which she has won one.
/ref> , - , 2009 , Cœur de pirate , Favourite Francophone Artist/Group , , - , 2010 , Cœur de pirate , Favourite Solo Artist , , - , rowspan="3" , 2012 , rowspan="2" , Cœur de pirate , Francophone Artist/Group or Duo of the Year , , - , Solo Artist of the Year , , - , "Adieu" , Video of the Year ,

References

External links

*
Coeur de Pirate interview
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Coeur de pirate 1989 births Living people Canadian women pop singers Canadian indie pop musicians Canadian pop pianists Canadian women singer-songwriters French-language singers of Canada Canadian LGBTQ singer-songwriters Canadian queer people Melodica players Queer singer-songwriters Canadian queer women Singers from Montreal 21st-century Canadian pianists 21st-century Canadian women singers Félix Award winners 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year winners 21st-century Canadian women pianists Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal alumni 21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder LGBTQ women singers Canadian queer musicians