Hélène Ségara
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Hélène Ségara (, born ''Hélène Aurore Alice Rizzo''; 26 February 1971), is a French singer of Armenian and Italian descent, who came to prominence playing the role of Esmeralda in the French musical ''
Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...
''. She has sold over 10 million records.


Biography


Childhood in the French Riviera

Hélène Ségara was born on 26 February 1971 on her grandfather's farm in Six-Fours-les-Plages. Her father, Bernardo Rizzo, is of Italian descent and her mother, Therese Kasbarian, is Armenian. She has cited her parents' divorce when she was eight and the death of her grandfather when she was 16 as defining moments of her childhood. As she wanted to become a singer, she left school and family at the age of 14. As a teenager, her jobs included performing in the piano bars of the
French Riviera The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...
. At 18, she gave birth to Raphael, her first son. Drawing on many musical influences she was a prolific songwriter during this period, and her repertoire grew to over a thousand songs in seven languages. In 1993, her first single, "Loin", was released, but failed to achieve success.


Life in Paris

In 1996, accompanied by her young son, she moved to Paris, where she met Christian Loigerot, who became one of her composers. She also met the famous producer Orlando Gigliotti,
Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...
's brother, who gave new impetus to her career. Although impressed by the experience and professionalism of this mentor, she was still under contract with her first producer. Ségara's first success came with "Je vous aime adieu," the first single from her debut album, '' Cœur de verre'' (1996), followed by the duet "
Vivo per lei "Vivo per lei" (English: "I Live for Her") is a 1995 song recorded by Italian artist Andrea Bocelli as a duet with Italian singer Giorgia, released on his album '' Bocelli''. The song was also released as a duet with other female artists, inclu ...
," performed with
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
. Her big break came when she was selected to play Esmeralda in Richard Cocciante's musical
Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...
. Although she auditioned for the role in 1997, she wasn't selected until 1999, following the withdrawal of the Israeli singer Noa. "When fate knocks at the door for a second time, we must not let it get away," said Ségara. However, her career was jeopardized after she was diagnosed with a cyst on her
vocal cord In humans, the vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The length of the vocal cords affects the pitch of voice, similar to a violin string. Open when breathing a ...
s although she continued to perform. During a show in Canada, she lost her voice. Her producer then resold her contract to Orlando, while a laser operation was carried out to treat her vocal cords.


A new start

After her recovery, she recorded her second album, ''Au Nom d'une femme'' in 2000 which topped the charts in France. Five singles were released from the album. Ségara then began a concert tour that lasted about two years. A video recording of the concert she gave at the Olympia in Paris on this occasion was released. According to a poll made by the IFOP, Segara was the French people's favourite French singer at the time. In March 2003, she released a third album, ''Humaine'', including "On n'oublie rien, on vit avec", a duet with
Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 1993, 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which becam ...
and "L'Amour est un soleil", composed by Romano Musumarra. The album sold around 700,000 copies. She began another tour in late 2003 but was forced to stop her performances because of a difficult pregnancy. In August 2003, Ségara married Mathieu Lecat (son of journalist Didier Lecat) in
Ajaccio Ajaccio (, , ; French language, French: ; or ; , locally: ; ) is the capital and largest city of Corsica, France. It forms a communes of France, French commune, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Corse-du-Sud, and head o ...
, with whom she had two further children: Matteo and Maïa. Her fourth studio album, ''Quand l'éternité ...'' came out in 2006. The first single from this album, "Méfie-toi de moi", was followed by "Rien n'est comme avant". This album has a different style from previous ones, with more pronounced rock influences, with lyrics largely written by the singer, discussing issues such as absence, death and hope. The album eventually achieved gold status three months after its release for more than 200,000 copies sold. In early 2007, she began a new concert tour in France, including the Palais des Sports in Paris. In 2007, having finished the first part of her tour, two other songs from the album received radio play, despite not being released as singles: "Tu ne seras jamais libre" and "Father". In late 2007, several editions came out: a box set with of 3 CDs (''Les 50 plus belles chansons d'Hélène Segara''), two boxes consisting of two CDs with a new cover (''Cœur de verre'' + ''Au Nom d'une femme'', ''Humaine'' + ''Quand l'éternité...'') and a CD 'Prestige' with 15 tracks. In February 2008, she released "La Moitié de nous", a duet with Bruno Pelletier, with a percentage of profits given to the charity ''Rêves''.Statement on the official website of the association
The tour "Quand l'éternité..." ran until summer 2008, in France and abroad.


Il Divo

In 2014 Hélène performed the song "
Memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...
" from the musical ''
Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...
'' with the quartet
Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...
. The song was included on the disk group '' A Musical Affair'' (2014).


Other activity

*In 1998, Ségara performed with Garou a duet for the album ''Ensemble contre le sida'' (Eng: ''Together Against AIDS''). The song is a cover version of "
L'amour existe encore "L'amour existe encore" (meaning "love still exists") is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her tenth studio album, '' Dion chante Plamondon'' (1991). It was written by Luc Plamondon and Riccardo Cocciante, and produced by Jannick Top an ...
", composed by Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante for
Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...
. *She is a supporter of the charities ''Rêves'', ''Les Restos du Cœur'', ''Les Enfants de la Terre'' et ''e-enfance''. *She sang on the album ''Le Cœur des femmes'' in aid of the Association Laurette Fugain, as well as charity programs on
France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...
. *She is also godmother of the charity ''Suisse, Espace Adoption'', which supports adoptive families and adopted children. *Hélène Ségara has been ambassador of the association ''Rêves'' since 1998. *On 4 November 2006, Hélène took part in the Concert for Tolerance in Agadir, Morocco, where she performed alongside artists including
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
, Samira Said,
Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (; born 25 September 1955), known professionally as Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero (), is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his primary school teacher used to ...
, Pascal Obispo,
Florent Pagny Florent Pagny (; born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and "Ma Liberté de p ...
, Faudel,
Cheb Mami Mohamed Khelifati (; born 11 July 1966), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (), is an Algerians, Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometimes in Mashriqi Arabic, Eastern Arabic dialects or ...
, Lorie and Amiina.


Awards

*Spring 1997: The Sacem awarded the Prix Rolf Marbot to Ségara, Thierry Geoffroy, Christian Loigerot and Christian Vié, for the song " Je vous aime adieu". *1999: Best Female Singer at the 'Trophy of Women in Gold' ceremony in Courchevel. *22 January 2000: Revelation of the year at the '
NRJ Music Awards An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisi ...
' in
Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
*17 November 2000: Female Artist of the Year "M6 Music Awards" in
Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
*16 December 2000: 'Petit Princes' Trophy for the Best Singer of the Year on
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...
*20 January 2001: Francophone album of the year at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes a 'NRJ Music Awards'. *17 February 2001: Female artist of the year at ' Victoire de la Musique' *2 May 2001: 'World Music Awards' in
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
for the highest selling disc in France for 2000/2001 *20 October 2001: IFOP poll, ordered by the magazine ''TV Star'', revealed that Ségara is the favourite French singer and the performer of the most beautiful love songs *25 October 2001: Ségara was featured in ''
Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...
''. *27 December 2001: Segara formed a part of 10 stars who made 2001, according to the French people, for the magazine ''
Gala Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush * Gala (singer), Italian singer and songwriter *'' Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman * GALA Choruses, an association of ...
''. *10 July 2002: 'IFPI Platinum Europe Awards' in Brussels *1 October 2002: Featured at the Grevin Museum in Paris *13 January 2005: 'Most beautiful love song' at the Fête de la Musique on
France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
, for "Il y a trop de gens qui t'aiment".


Discography


Albums

*1996: '' Cœur de verre'' *1998: '' Notre Dame de Paris (musical)'' *2000: '' Au Nom d'une Femme'' *2001: '' En concert à l'Olympia'' *2002: ''Hélène'' (in Spanish-language) *2003: '' Humaine'' *2004: '' Le Best of'' *2006: '' Quand l'éternité...'' *2007: ''Les 50 plus belles chansons'' *2007: ''Collection prestige'' *2008: ''Mon pays c'est la terre'' *2011: ''Parmi la foule'' *2013: ''Et si tu n'existais pas'' *2014: "Tout commence aujourd'hui" *2016: "Amaretti" (in Italian-language) *2021: "Karma"


Singles

*1993: "Loin" *1996: " Je vous aime adieu" *1996: "Une voix dans la nuit" *1997: "Les Larmes" (remix) *1997: "Auprès de ceux que j'aimais" *1997: " Vivo per lei (je vis pour elle)" (
duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...
with
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...
) *1998: "Loin du froid de Décembre" (soundtrack from ''
Anastasia Anastasia (from ) is a feminine given name of Greek and Slavic origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe. Origin The name Anastasia originated during the Early Christianity, early d ...
'') *1998: " Vivre" (soundtrack from the musical
Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...
) *1999: "Les Vallées d'Irlande" *1999: " Il y a trop de gens qui t'aiment" *2000: " Elle, tu l'aimes..." *2000: "Parlez-moi de nous" *2001: " Tu vas me quitter" *2001: "Au nom d'une femme" (
Remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...
) *2001: "Mrs Jones" (Live Olympia 2000) *2002: "Donner tout" *2003: " L'Amour est un soleil" *2003: "Encore une fois" *2003: " On n'oublie jamais rien, on vit avec" (duet with
Laura Pausini Laura Pausini (; born 16 May 1974) is an Italian Pop music, pop singer. She rose to fame in 1993, winning the newcomer artists' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 1993, 43rd Sanremo Music Festival with the song "La solitudine", which becam ...
) *2004: "Humaine" *2004: "On ne dit pas" *2004: "Ailleurs comme ici" *2006: "Méfie-toi de moi" *2007: "Rien n'est comme avant" *2007: "Tu ne seras jamais libre" *2007: "Father" *2008: "La Moitié de nous" (duet with Bruno Pelletier) *2008: "Qu'est-ce qu'on faire avec ce monde (Sodad)" *2009: "Danse à Nouveau" *2011: "La vie avec toi" *2011: "A la renverse" *2013: "Et si tu n'existais pas" (duet with
Joe Dassin Joseph Ira Dassin (; November 5, 1938 – August 20, 1980) was an American–French singer-songwriter. In his career spanning sixteen years (1964–1980), he enjoyed numerous successes in France and the French-speaking world, as well as singing ...
) *2014: "
Memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembe ...
" (duet with
Il Divo Il Divo (; ) are a multinational classical crossover vocal group. Formed in the United Kingdom in 2003, it is a male quartet that was created and then promoted by British media magnate Simon Cowell for Syco Music, a record label that he had ...
.) *2014:"Tout commence aujourd'hui" *2015:"Genre Humain" *2016:"L'envol(Il Envol)"


External links

*
Official Site of Hélène Segara

Biography of Hélène Ségara
from
Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...
*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Segara, Helene 1971 births Living people People from Var (department) French people of Armenian descent French people of Italian descent World Music Awards winners French women pop singers Warner Music France artists 21st-century French singers 21st-century French women singers La France a un incroyable talent