"Ella, elle l'a" ( French for ''"Ella Has It"'') is a single released by French singer

France Gall Isabelle Geneviève Marie Anne Gall (9 October 1947 – 7 January 2018), known professionally as France Gall, was a French ''yé-yé'' singer. In 1965, at the age of 17, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1965, tenth edition of the Eurov ...

. It was released as a single from her album '' Babacar'', on 24 August 1987, and became a hit across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

(especially in

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, ...

and the

Southern Cone The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pac ...

) and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

(especially in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

). It was covered live by French singer

Alizée Alizée Lyonnet ( Jacotey; born 21 August 1984), known professionally as Alizée, is a French pop singer. She is one of the best-selling French female artists of the 21st century, and the singer with the most exports out of France. Her best-k ...

at a TV show in 2002 and by Belgian singer

Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of ...

in a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

version in 2008.

Background

Written by

Michel Berger Michel Jean Hamburger (28 November 1947 – 2 August 1992), known professionally as Michel Berger, was a French singer and songwriter. He was a figure of France's pop music scene for two decades as a singer. As a songwriter he wrote for artists ...

, the song is a tribute to

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, but also a

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and an anthem to personal empowerment. Musically, "it swings between sheared rhythms of the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and flashed

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

". The song is also available on the CD maxi for " Évidemment", released in March 1988. In addition, a live version from her concert album '' Le Tour de France'' was released in November of that year.

Critical reception

"Ella, elle l'a" won two '' Victoires de la Musique'' in 1987 and in 1988. A 1987 review in Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' elected "Ella, elle l'a" single of the week and stated: "This moody and balanced, slowly rocking track, written by Michel Berger, deserves to be her next success outside France".

Chart performance

"Ella, elle l'a" enjoyed great success in 1987 and 1988, reaching number-one in Austria and Germany in the latter year; in addition, it reached the top ten in Denmark, Sweden, Spain and Argentina. In France, it was certified as silver disc by the

Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

, reached number two and charted for a total of 19 weeks, nine of them in the top ten.

Track listings

* 7" single # "Ella, elle l'a" (4:49) # "Dancing Brave" (3:06) * 12" maxi # "Ella, elle l'a" # "Papillon de nuit" # "Dancing Brave"

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Kate Ryan version

's version of "Ella, elle l'a" is the third single of her album '' Free''. It was released on 6 May 2008 in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and on 9 May 2008 in the rest of

as a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

. It had already topped number one on the ''Spanish Download Chart'', and number seven on the Belgian Singles Chart. It also reached the top ten in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It had entered the

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from IFPI Sverige. It was formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and has been known by its current name s ...

at number twelve, peaking at number two. In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, "Ella, elle l'a" also peaked at number two. English version "Ella, elle l'a" was sung live by Ryan during her 2008 UK tour and it was released on 25 May 2009 as first single from the UK version of ''Free''.

Track listing

German CD single #"Ella, elle l'a" (radio version) - 3:06 #"Ella, elle l'a" (extended version) - 6:07 #"L.I.L.Y." (radio edit) - 3:15 Belgian CD single #"Ella, elle l'a" (radio version) - 3:06 #"Ella, elle l'a" (extended version) - 6:07 European 12" single #"Ella, elle l'a" (extended version) - 6:07 #"Ella, elle l'a" (Bodybangers remix) - 6:05 #"Ella, elle l'a" (club remix) - 4:50

Official versions

*Extended version - 6:08 *Bodybangers remix - 6:05 *Club remix - 4:50 *Club remix short - 3:12 *Fugitive's Elle La Tout Remix *Jorg Schmid Remix

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

*In 1988, the song was also covered in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

as "Έλα ξανά" (Come back again) by Bessy Argyraki who had represented Greece in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1977 The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following the country's victory at the with the song " Save Your Kisses for Me" by Brotherhood of Man. Organised by t ...

. *In 2002, the song was covered by Emma Daumas, Eva Chemouni, Aurélie Konaté,

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 Anne-Laure Sibon, five contestants of the '' French Star Academy 2'', and in 2003, has been sung once by French singer

. The Star Academy version features on the album ''Star Academy chante Michel Berger''. *It was also covered by the French singer Pauline at the

Bastille Day Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. It is referred to, both legally and commonly, as () in French, though ''la fête nationale'' is also u ...

concert on the

Champ de Mars Champ, CHAMP or The Champ may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Champ (cartoon character), an animated dog introduced in 1960 * The Champ, played on radio and created by Jake Edwards (radio personality), Jake Edwards * Champ ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 2008. *On 29 December 2023, German producers Ely Oaks and Neptunica alongside fellow German singer Ambre Vallet released another version of the song.

References

{{Authority control 1987 singles 2008 singles France Gall songs Kate Ryan songs Number-one singles in Austria Number-one singles in Germany Songs written by Michel Berger Song recordings produced by Michel Berger Universal Music Group singles Warner Music Group singles Ella Fitzgerald Songs about jazz Songs about musicians Cultural depictions of jazz musicians Black-and-white music videos