Joue pas

"Joue pas"
Single by François Feldman and Joniece Jamison
from the album Une Présence
B-side Instrumental
Released July 1989
Format 7" single, 12" maxi
Recorded France, 1991
Genre Pop, Funk
Length 4:02
Label Phonogram, Metronome
Writer(s) François Feldman
Thierry Durbet
Producer(s) Jean Fredenucci
François Feldman and Joniece Jamison singles chronology
"Le Mal de toi"
(1989)		 "Joue pas"
(1989)		 "Les Valses de Vienne"
(1989)

"Joue pas" is a 1989 song recorded by French artist François Feldman, in duet with the American singer Joniece Jamison. It was released as a single from Feldman's album Une Présence in July 1989, and was his fifth single overall. The song achieved great success, becoming a number two hit and a popular song throughout the years.

Song information

Written and composed by François Feldman and Thierry Durbet, "Joue pas" has funky sonorities and starts with a brief guitar riff. It was "very well received by the public".[1] It was the singer's first duet in his career, and he recorded other two ones with Joniece Jamison : "J'ai peur" in 1991 (#7 in France) and "Love platonique" in 1996.

In France, the single debuted at #47 on July 15, 1989, climbed quickly and finally entered the top ten in its fourth week. It hit number 2 for five non consecutive weeks, but was unable to dislodge Kaoma's smash hit "Lambada" which topped the chart then. Thereafter, it dropped and totaled 14 weeks in the top ten and 22 weeks on the chart (top 50).[2] "Joue pas" is currently the 640th best-selling single of all time in France.[3]

The song was included on many French compilations released in the 1990s and the 2000s, such as Les années tubes spécial 80, Tubes d'un jour tubes de toujours spécial années 80, Nostalgie Classiques 80 and La Discothèque du XXè siècle - 1989. It also features on Feldman's compilations Two Feldman and Gold.

Cover versions

The song was covered in 2000 by Karen Mulder, Roch Voisine and Ophélie Winter on Les Enfoirés' album Les Enfoirés en 2000. This 3:46 version is the 11th track.[4] It was also covered in 2002 by Houcine and Anne-Laure Sibon, two contestants of Star Academy 2, on the album Fait sa boum.[5] In 2008, French DJ Soma Riba, who covered many 1980s songs, made his own version of the song and, as for the original one, recorded it as a duet with Joniece Jamison.[6]

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Joue pas" — 4:02
  2. "Joue pas" (instrumental) — 4:00
12" maxi
  1. "Joue pas" (maxi) — 6:45
  2. "Joue pas" (instrumental) — 6:10

Certifications and sales

Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales
France[7] Gold 1989 400,000 476,000[8]

Charts

Chart (1992) Peak
position
Eurochart Hot 100 22
French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 2

References

  1. ↑ Elia Habib, Muz hit. tubes, p. 165 (ISBN 2-9518832-0-X)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Joue pas", French Singles Chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved November 16, 2008)
  3. ↑ Best-selling singles of all time in France Infodisc.fr (Retrieved November 16, 2008)
  4. ↑ Enfoirés en 2000, track listing and charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved November 16, 2008)
  5. ↑ Fait sa boum, track listing and charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved November 16, 2008)
  6. ↑ "Soma Riba & Joniece Jamison, le nouveau clip "Joue Pas"", TF1 Video.TF1.fr (Retrieved November 16, 2008)
  7. ↑ François Feldman's certifications in France Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved November 16, 2008)
  8. ↑ François Feldman's certifications and sales in France See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "FELDMAN Fedlman & JAMISON Joniece" Infodisc.fr (Retrieved November 16, 2008)