Ouragan (song)

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“Ouragan”
“Ouragan” cover
Single by Stéphanie
from the album Besoin
Released 1986 (1986)
Format 7" single
12" maxi
Recorded France
Genre Pop
Length 3:40
Label Julisa
Carrere
Writer(s) Romano Musumarra
Marie Léono
Producer Yves Roze
Certification Platinium SNEP, 1986
Stéphanie singles chronology
"Ouragan"
(1986)		 "Flash"
(1986)

"Ouragan" (French for "windstorm") is the first single recorded by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, from her album, Besoin. Released in 1986, it was a great success in France.

Contents

[edit] Background and wrting

This song was written by the famous composer Romano Musumarra, who had already written several hits for Jeanne Mas and Elsa. Yves Roze, the song's producer, is known under the pseudonym of Jean-François Michael, who recorded "Adieu jolie Candy" in 1969[1].

With Jeanne Mas having refused to record this song, the composer decided to propose it to Stéphanie of Monaco, who finally accepted. The song was also recorded in English on the vinyl, under the name "Irresistible", in order to win over - without much success - the Anglophones[1].

Stéphanie in the music video for "Ouragan"
Stéphanie in the music video for "Ouragan"

In its initial weeks, there was no music video and only the shooting filmed in the recording studio, as the song's success was not expected. Eventually a video was made that features the Princess in various locations pursuing a mysterious stranger with a hat. On the video, the single is sung with verses which alternate between French and English, which are both on the vinyl.

[edit] Chart performances

The single remained on French Top 50 Singles Chart from April 5 to October 18, 1988, for a total of 29 weeks, and was number one from April 24 to June 28, 1986[2]. It peaked at #11 in Switzerland[3] and was also a hit in Germany, where it reached #2.

In 1986, the single was certified Platinum Single by the French certificator SNEP for a minimum of one million sales[4], and 1,030,000 sales according to Infodisc[5]. The sales of the single exceeded the two million copies worldwide. In France, the song is the 83th best-selling single of all time[6].

It was the first single to remain at the top of the French Singles Chart for at least ten weeks[7], beating the previous record performed in 1985 by Peter and Sloane with "Besoin de rien, envie de toi". It was also the second best-selling single in 1986, behind "Les Démons de minuit", by Images.

[edit] Cover version

The song was covered by many artists, including :

[edit] Formats and track listings

7" single

A-side :

  1. "Ouragan" — 3:40

B-side :

  1. "Irresistible" — 3:45
12" maxi

A-side :

  1. "Ouragan" — 7:00

B-side :

  1. "Ouragan" — 4:35
  2. "Irresistible" — 3:40
7" single (English version)

A-side :

  1. "Irresistible" — 3:44

B-side :

  1. "Ouragan" — 3:59
12" maxi (English version)

A-side :

  1. "Irresistible" (long) — 7:03

B-side :

  1. "Ouragan" — 4:26
  2. "Irresistible" (short) — 4:44
12" maxi (both versions)

A-side :

  1. "Ouragan" / "Irresistible" (extended version) — 7:00

B-side :

  1. "Irresistible" — 4:40
  2. "Ouragan" — 4:35

The single is also available on several of Stéphanie's other albums : Besoin (1986, #6 on French Albums Chart, Gold[4]), Stéphanie (1993), Rendez-Vous (2001, track 12)[9], and Ouragan (best of). Apart from that, the song is on numerous 1980s compilations.

[edit] Chart, certifications and sales

Chart (1986) Peak
position
French Singles Chart[2] 1
German Singles Chart1 [10] 2
Swiss Singles Chart[3] 11
UK Singles Chart1 [11] 84

1 Under the name "Irresistible"
Country Certification Sales
France Platinum[4] 1,030,000[5]
Preceded by
"Capitaine abandonné" by Gold		 French (SNEP) number one single
April 26, 1986 - June 28, 1986 (10 weeks)		 Succeeded by
"En Rouge et Noir" by Jeanne Mas

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, 2002, p. 74 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
  2. ^ a b "Ouragan", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved December 11, 2007)
  3. ^ a b "Ouragan", Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved December 11, 2007)
  4. ^ a b c Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, 2002, p. 614 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
  5. ^ a b Certifications of Stéphanie's singles Infodisc.fr (Retrieved December 11, 2007)
  6. ^ Best-selling singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved February 28, 2008)
  7. ^ Alex P. King, Hit-parade, 20 ans de tubes, 2005, Pascal Ed., p. 8 (ISBN 978-2350190099) Vingt ans de tubes (Retrieved April 23, 2008)
  8. ^ Leslie : "J'ai vécu un véritable conte de fée", December 18, 2007 Télé-loisirs.fr (Retrieved April 23, 2008)
  9. ^ Stéphanie, Rendez-vous Hitparade.ch (Retrieved December 11, 2007)
  10. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de (Retrieved February 29, 2008)
  11. ^ "Ouragan", UK Singles Chart Chartstats.com (Retrieved April 20, 2007)
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