| Stéphanie Lapointe | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 26, 1984 |
| Origin | Brossard, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, soft rock |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Les Disques Musicor |
Stéphanie Lapointe (born March 26, 1984 in Brossard, Quebec) is a Quebec singer, song writer, television and movie actress and humanitarian activist. She is best known as the winner of the second season of Star Académie, the Quebec version of Fame Academy.
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Lapointe discovered and developed her interest in music as a young kid. It was in 1992, at the age of 8, when she had her first piano courses at her elementary school in Brossard (formerly Longueuil) a southern suburb of Montreal. In 1996, just after she finished primary school, she traveled to France during a school extracurricular and educational activity. It was there she made her debut in theatrical plays. Her trip to France became the moment she discovered interest in the world of acting.
In 2001, at age 17, Lapointe became a member of a group which performed musical comedies. She then played in various other plays including a French remake of (Beauty and the Beast) as well as other French plays such as Aida, and Once on This Island. While in France, she also followed several dance courses. At the same time, she also gradually developed her skills in music and theatrical acting. The lessons later proved important for her future roles in Quebec television reality shows and movies since 2005.
While,preparing her acting skills, Lapointe went to Collège Édouard-Montpetit in humanity sciences.[1]
She is not related to the Québécois singer Eric Lapointe.
In 2003, TVA's newest reality show Star Académie, which is a remake of France's Star Academy debuted. Lapointe, while been in France, never auditioned for the French edition before returning to Quebec. She first auditioned for Star Académie in 2003 but had a greater success the following year, on the series second season, when she impressed the three judges. During the performances as a top-ten finalist, she delivered several impressive performances while being full of emotion and sensibility. Despite her timidity and calmness, she was known by the public for being very energetic and performed rock hits such as Green Day's American Idiot. During the season, she faced elimination only once in March 2004 but was saved by the public. While being in danger of being sent off, she considered abandoning everything. After being saved by the public, she gained more confidence during the remainder of the gala. At the end, she won the 2004 crown by defeating Marc-André Niquet. She is currently the only female winner during the reality show's three-season history.
Her hits L'infidèle (previously performed by Claude Dubois and Si fragile (previously performed by Luc de la Rochelière) from the Star Académie 2004 album also aired on French radio stations across Quebec prior to her debut album. The Star Académie 2 album was certified double platinum within two days after its release date.[2]
After her province-wide tour with the 2004 Star Académie finalists, in which she acquired more confidence and self-esteem, she immediately started recording her first album Sur le fil, produced by Francis Collard.[3] The album was launched and debuted on August 30, 2005 at the Vidéotron headquarters in Montreal. The event was held in front of several personalities including Star Académie and Le Banquier host Julie Snyder and one of the competition's judges and La Presse editor Stéphane Laporte. The album itself is composed of many ballads and love songs. Her first two hits, "Nous sommes" and "La mer", performed very well on the French charts with the first one hitting the top spot on the RockDétente Top 20 Countdown. A third hit, "Je sais déjà", played on French radio stations and TV station MusiquePlus in December 2006.
Singers Catherine Durand, Projet Orange frontman Jean-Christophe Boies and Sylvie Paquette as well as writers Dave Richard and Martine Coupal participated in the composition of Sur le fil. Lapointe wrote portions of the final two songs, "Love You" and "Interlude", along with Dave Richard. As of November 2006, 30 000 copies of the album were sold across Quebec and was at one point in September 2005, the francophone album with the most copies sold provincewide.[4] In 2006, she also participated in the debut album of writer and journalist Tristan Malavoy as she provided background vocals in one of Malavoy's songs.[5]
The videoclip of "La Mer" was directed by video and scene director Dominique Laurence who also directed clips for songs by Ariane Moffatt, Jean-François Breau, former Star Académie season 2 finalist Martin Giroux and Season 1 winner Wilfred Le Bouthillier.[6]
She ended her contract with Musicor and, in March 2009, she released her second album entitled "Donne-moi quelque chose qui ne finit pas" (Give me something that doesn't end). Pierre Lapointe (not related) wrote two songs for it, "Une fleur" (A flower) and the duet "À quoi" (What are you thinking). She also recorded a French version of Cher's Bang Bang song.
Due to the success generated by the album, she was nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year in 2006 at the ADISQ music gala and was a Juno nominee for Francophone Album of the Year.[7]
At the 2006 MuchMusic Video Awards, she won the award for Best Francophone Video for her song la Mer[8]
Lapointe started to performed various shows as guest artist across the province in 2004 including concerts with Quebec singer Isabelle Boulay as well as on Quebec television shows. She also performed at the Saint-Jean Chrysostome Hot Air Balloon Festival and another, entitled Show de filles, at the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival in September 2006 which also featured Marjo and fellow Star Académie contestants Émily Bégin and Annie Villeneuve from the first season. Heavy rain due to the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto affected the turnout at the show which was estimated at 15 000 spectators.[9] She also made a province-wide tour in 2006 and 2007 called Sur le fil which debuted in Montreal's le Gésu. Most of the critics have praised her softness and her charming voice.
While her musical debut was a success despite modest record sales, she also appeared on television in the mini-seriesLe Négociateur (The Negotiator) which aired on the French television network TVA starting in 2005 with the second season airing during the Fall of 2006.[10] Lapointe played the role of Colette Cloutier, the sister of the show's main character, Mac Cloutier, a journalist and a negotiator, played by Frédérick de Grandpré. She returned as the same role in the series third chapter that was filmed during the Fall of 2006 and airing in 2008.
In movie roles, she played in Aurore, which played in French theaters across the province of Quebec starting during the summer of 2005.[11] She played the role of Marie-Anne Caron, the young biological mother, of Aurore Gagnon, a girl who was mistreated by her stepmother and her father after the death of her mother from tuberculosis. Film director Luc Dionne initially refused her to participate in the movie but was later accepted after Denise Robert, the co-founder of Quebec movie company Cinémaginaire Inc. suggested Dionne to give Lapointe a chance for the role of Marie-Anne Caron.[1]
Lapointe is also involved in the community for various causes and participated at the Opération Enfant Soleil telethon in 2005 while performing Sting's Fields of Gold song.[12] She adores the outdoors, wildlife and nature and was the spokesperson for the project "Au sommet pour Care" launched by Care Canada.[13] In order to raise funds for the organization, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro the highest peak in Central Africa in 2005 along with 24 other Canadians. During an interview with reporter Nathalie Petrowski of the Montreal newspaper La Presse, Lapointe revealed that if she was to abandon music, she would like to be heavily involved in helping humanitarian groups as she travelled across several countries in addition to her participation at the Care Canada mission.[1] Lapointe also made in 2007 a Quebec-wide tour for Unicef-Quebec as the Ambassador along with actress Catherine Brunet, to discuss and sensitize the public on the issue of worldwide child poverty, particularly in Africa prior to the Halloween period.[14][15] In May 2007, she made a humanitarian trip to Mali and in the Sahel region and met an NGO organization which planned to set up a new school in the region. In April 2008, Lapointe along with Laurence and producer Eza Paventi will tour the Darfur region of Soudan and produce several small documentaries on African migrations for Radio-Canada.[16]
In addition of her humanitarian work, Lapointe had also been pro-active in regards to global environment. During her participation on Star Académie, she made a statement towards the Quebec government of Jean Charest for an improved provincial policy on recycling. Lapointe mentioned in the Quebec magazine Le Privé that the environment and other world issues will be significant topics for her upcoming album. In addition, she also encouraged schools to discuss more on the major global issues.[17]
| Preceded by Wilfred Le Bouthillier |
Winner of Star Académie 2004 |
Succeeded by Marc-André Fortin |