Zaz (singer)

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Zaz
Zaz.JPG
Background information
Birth name Isabelle Geffroy
Born (1980-05-01) 1 May 1980 (age 33)
Origin Tours, Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France
Genres Jazz, Chanson
Occupations Singer
Years active 2001–present
Labels Play On
Website Official Site

Isabelle Geffroy[1] (born 1 May 1980 in Tours, France), better known by the nickname Zaz, is a French singer mixing jazzy styles, French variety, soul and acoustic. She is famous for her hit "Je Veux", from her first album, Zaz, released on 10 May 2010.[2]

Contents

Early life [edit]

Her mother was a Spanish teacher, her father worked for an electric company. In 1985, she entered the Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Tours with her sister and her brother, and attended courses from the ages of five to eleven. She studied music theory; specifically the violin, piano, guitar, and choral singing. In 1994 she moved to Bordeaux. In 1995, she took singing lessons, and played sports for a year in Bordeaux, all while studying kung fu with a professional coach.[3] In 2000, she won a scholarship from the regional council, which allowed her to join a school of modern music; the CIAM of Bordeaux (Centre for Musical Activities and Information). Her musical influences included 'Four Seasons' by Vivaldi, jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, and other singers such as Enrico Macias, Bobby McFerrin and Richard Bona, as well as African, Latin and Cuban rhythms. In 2006, she moved to Paris.

Singing career [edit]

In 2001, she started her singing career in the blues band "Fifty Fingers". She sang in musical groups in Angoulême, especially in a jazz quintet.[4] She became one of the four singers of Izar-Adatz (Basque for "Shooting Star"), a variety band which consisted of sixteen people with whom she toured for two years, especially in the Midi-Pyrenees and the Basque Country. She worked in the studio as a chorister in Toulouse and performed with many singers including Maeso, Art Mengo, Vladimir Max, Jean-Pierre Mader and Serge Guerao.

In 2011, Zaz won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards (EBBA) recognize the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.

In May 2010, French magazine Telerama announced: "Rumor has swelled in recent weeks: Zaz is a sacred voice, and she will be the revelation of the summer!".[5] On 10 May 2010, Zaz released her first album. It contains songs she wrote ("Trop sensible") and co-composed ("Les passants", "Le long de la route", "Prends garde à ta langue", "J'aime à nouveau", "Ni oui ni non"). Kerredine Soltani produced the album on the label "Play On", and wrote and composed the hit single "Je veux". The pop singer Raphaël Haroche wrote her songs "Éblouie par la nuit", "Port Coton" and "La fée". In 2010, she signed a contract for her tours with Caramba and publisher Sony ATV. She was invited to make several television appearances (such as Taratata or Chabada) and was featured in several programs on the radio.

Zaz then toured France (Paris, La Rochelle, Montauban, Saint-Ouen, Chateauroux, Landerneau, Fécamp...), performed at the Francofolies of Montreal (Canada), Monthey (Switzerland), Brussels, Berlin, and Milan... In autumn Zaz topped the charts in Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria. Matthieu Baligand, her manager and producer at Caramba Entertainment, explained to Liberation: "We talk a lot of her right now and people are waiting her at the turn... Despite the demand, it seems preferable to do her first tour in fifty small places which will render her credible. Zaz is a popular, intuitive artist, who is familiar with music, who can sing, but doing a quality show is something else (...)." In November 2010, the debut album Zaz became double platinum, and she was awarded "Revelation Song" by the Academy Charles Cros. Zaz also won the European Border Breakers Award: she was named the French artist most played abroad in 2010. According to a survey published by L'Internaute, Zaz was the most popular French singer in the 2010 ranking.[6]

In 2011, she joined the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble. Zaz held a concert in Novi Sad (Serbia). She is also featured on the song "Coeur Volant" for the soundtrack of the 2011 film, Hugo.

In 2012, Zaz went on tour and held concerts in various countries around the world including Japan, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Croatia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Turkey, among other countries.[7]

Discography [edit]

Albums [edit]

Year Title Chart[8][9][10][11] Certifications
AUT BEL (FL) BEL (WA) FR GER GR IT POL SUI NED RUS CZE ESP
2010 ZAZ 12 51 1 1 3 3 19 1 10 56 3 3 93
  • AUT: Platinum
  • BEL: 3× Platinum
  • FRA: Diamond[12]
  • GER: 2× Platinum
  • POL: 2× Platinum
  • RUS: Platinum
  • SWI: Platinum
2013 Recto Verso — 23 11 2 2 — — — 1 73 — — 72
Live albums
  • 2011: Sans tsu tsou Live Tour (FRA #24, BEL/WA #27)

Singles [edit]

Year Title Chart[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] Album
BEL (FL) BEL (WA) SWI AUT GER FRA POL BUL
2010 "Je veux" 34 2 23 16 22 34 23 26 Zaz
"Le long de la route" 321 16 — — — 62 39 —
2011 "La fée" — 7 — — — 40 17 —
"Éblouie par la nuit" 17 34 — — — 37 — —
2013 "On ira" — 36 15 — 47 12 — — Recto Verso
"Trop sensible" — — — — — 52 — — Zaz

1 Ultratip Chart

References [edit]

  1. ^ "Zaz : de saltimbanque chanteuse de rue... au sommet des charts !" (in French). Purepeople. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  2. ^ "interview et live de Zaz, chanteuse aux actualités A2" (in French). 2424actu. Retrieved 28 May 2010. 
  3. ^ "ZAz, cinq questions au finish" (in French). Berrysports. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  4. ^ "Zaz n'a pas la voix dans sa poche" (in French). Respectmag. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  5. ^ "Zaz – chanson". Telerama (in French). Retrieved 4 January 2011. 
  6. ^ "Musique: Zaz personnalité préférée de l'année" (in French). Linternaute. Retrieved 4 January 2011. 
  7. ^ https://www.facebook.com/zazofficiel?sk=app_123966167614127
  8. ^ "ZAZ – ZAZ, in various albums charts" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  9. ^ "ZAZ – ZAZ, in various albums charts" (in English). acharts. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  10. ^ "ZAZ – ZAZ, in various albums charts" (in Russian). lenta.ru. Retrieved 7 August 2012. 
  11. ^ "Zaz - Zaz, Czech Albums Chart" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 18 November 2011. 
  12. ^ http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html?year=&type=15
  13. ^ "ZAZ – "Je veux", in various singles charts" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  14. ^ "ZAZ – "Le long de la route", in various singles charts" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 5 January 2011. 
  15. ^ "ZAZ – "Je veux", in various singles charts" (in English). acharts. Retrieved 11 November 2011. 
  16. ^ "ZAZ – "Le long de la route", in various singles charts" (in English). acharts. Retrieved 11 November 2011. 
  17. ^ "ZAZ – "La fée", in various singles charts" (in English). acharts. Retrieved 11 November 2011. 
  18. ^ "ultratop.be - Zaz - La fée". Retrieved 13 November 11 2011. 
  19. ^ "Archiwum notowań Listy Przebojów Programu Trzeciego publisher=lp3.pl". Retrieved 25 March 2012. 
  20. ^ "ultratop.be - Zaz - Éblouie par la nuit". Retrieved 7 August 2012. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Zaz
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