"L'Aziza" is the name of a 1985 song recorded by

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

singer

Daniel Balavoine Daniel Xavier-Marie Balavoine (; 5 February 1952 – 14 January 1986) was a French singer and songwriter. He was popular in the French-speaking world in the early 1980s; he inspired many singers of his generation such as Jean-Jacques Goldman, M ...

and released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his album '' Sauver l'amour'' in October 1985. The song was very successful, particularly after the singer's death, topping the chart in France for two months. This song was played at the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony.

Lyrics

Composed by Balavoine and produced by Léo Missir, "L'Aziza" has a title which means 'My dear' in

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, although it is sung in French-language. Lyrically, Balavoine pays tribute to his

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Moroccan wife Corinne and denounces

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. In France, "L'Aziza" became a standard song throughout the years. The song was remixed the same year of the album release and came out as a 7". It features on Balavoine's best of ''Balavoine sans frontières'', released about twenty years after the singer's death. The music video was directed by Oliver Chavarot.

Cover versions

"L'Aziza" was also recorded in 2000 by Khaled for the compilation album ''Balavoine: Hommages...'' on which various artists covered Balavoine's songs. The song was also covered in France by Star Academy 5 for its album ''Chante Daniel Balavoine'', on which it features as fifth track.''Chante Daniel Balavoine'', track listing and chart
Lescharts.com
(Retrieved July 10, 2008) The song L'aziza was also covered by hip-hop/rap artist Féfé in 2016. The B-side, "Tous les cris, les S.O.S.", was covered by many artists, including

Jeanne Mas Jeanne Mas is a French pop singer. She is well known in France, Switzerland, Canada and Belgium for a number of hit singles released in the 1980s. Her first success was "Toute première fois" in 1984. This song was simultaneously released in the ...

in 1987, Marie-Denise Pelletier, Lena Kann in 1998 (number 14 in France, Silver disc) and

Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés (, "The Tossers" or "The Bastards") is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur. Founded at the initiative of Coluche in 1986, a year after the Restaurants du Cœur, ...

in 2008.

Chart performance

"L'Aziza" entered the French Singles Chart at number 40 on 23 November 1985, gained a few places every week, and when the singer's death was announced in the media, jumped straight to number where it stayed for eight consecutive weeks. It cumulated 14 weeks in the top ten and for 26 weeks in the top 50. It was certified Platinum 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 ...

in 1985 for selling 1 million copies in France. On the overall

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, it peaked at number 20 in its 14th week of presence, and appeared on the chart for a total of 24 weeks.

Track listings

; 7" single # "L'Aziza" — 4:21 # "Tous les cris, les S.O.S." — 5:04

Certifications and sales

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aziza 1985 singles Daniel Balavoine songs SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Daniel Balavoine Barclay (record label) singles 1985 songs Songs about racism and xenophobia