Kendji Girac
| Kendji Girac | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Kendji Maillé |
| Born |
July 3, 1996 Bergerac, France |
| Genres | Spanish/French music, acoustic, gypsy pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels | Mercury Records |
| Website | kendji.fr |
Kendji Girac (born Kendji Maillé, July 3, 1996) is a French singer of Spanish Romani descent. He is the winner of Season 3 of the French music competition series The Voice: la plus belle voix as part of Team Mika.
Before The Voice
The youngest of a family of travellers, Kendji grew up in Saint-Astier and was taught to play the guitar and sing by his grandfather. He left school at 13 to follow the family business as an arborist.[1] Although he is able to speak Spanish and French, his first language is Catalan.[2]
The Voice: la plus belle voix
He auditioned with "Bella" from Maître Gims in the first episode of season 3 broadcast on January 11, with only judge Mika turning his chair, whereas the three others, Florent Pagny, Jenifer and Garou refrained.
- Performances
- Audition (11 January): "Bella" from Maître Gims (only one judge Mika turned chair, in Team Mika by default)
- Musical Battle Round (8 March): "Tous les mêmes" from Stromae (Kept by coach, Youness eliminated)
- L'épreuve ultime Round (29 March): "Hotel California" from The Eagles (Saved by coach alongside Fréro Delavega. Cloé eliminated)
- Prime 1 Live (5 April): "Ma philosophie" from Amel Bent (Saved by public vote, with Caroline Savoie saved by coach and Spleen eliminated)
- Prime 3 Live (19 April): "Mad World" from Tears for Fears (Saved by public vote alongside Fréro Delavega, Élodie Martelet saved by coach, Caroline Savoie eliminated)
- Prime 4 - Quarter-finals (26 April): "Allumer le feu" from Johnny Hallyday (Saved by public vote with Élodie Martelet saved by coach. Fréro Delavega eliminated)
- Prime 5 - Semi-finals (5 May): "Belle" from Garou, Daniel Lavoie and Patrick Fiori (Public vote 72.7/100 and coach vote 23/50. Qualified to the final. Élodie Martelet eliminated)
- Final (12 May):
- "Amor de mis amores" & "Volare" from Gipsy Kings
- "Temps à nouveau" from Jean-Louis Aubert (duet with original artist)
- "L'Aigle noir" from Barbara (duet with coach Mika)
- Result: Won with 51% of the public vote. Maximilien Philippe runner-up with 21%, Amir Haddad third with 18%, Wesley fourth by 10%.
After The Voice
The first official single was the bilingual French/Spanish "Color Gitano", released in June 2014 from his EP,[3][4] his official album released in September. In December 2014, he won two NRJ Music Awards for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year and "Color Gitano" as Francophone Song of the Year.[5] His album Kendji sold 600,000 copies by January 2015,[6] certifying Diamond and becoming France's second highest selling album of 2014 after Racine Carrée by Stromae.
Kendji started his official national tour in January 2015.[7] On February 16, 2015, he appeared in the French version of Ariana Grande's "One Last Time", renamed "One Last Time (Attends-moi)" that was released in France and Belgium.[8][9] A lyric music video was released on February 19, 2015.[10]
Kendji first performed his fourth single "Conmigo" on his tour,[11] and it was officially released as a digital single on March 16, 2015 on iTunes.[12] The music video, filmed in Cuba,[13] was released two days later,[14] as well as an "alternate" ending.[15]
A repackaged version of Kendji is to be released on May 4, 2015.[16]
Discography
Albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [17] |
BEL (Wa) [18] |
SWI [19] | ||
| Kendji |
|
1 | 1 | 30 |
EPs
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| FR [17] | ||
| Kendji Girac EP |
Tracklist
|
44 |
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [17] |
BEL (Vl) [18] |
BEL (Wa) [18] |
POL [20] | |||
| "Color Gitano" | 2014 | 11 | – | 12 | – | Kendji |
| "Andalouse" | 3 | 37* | 3 | 10 | ||
| "Elle m'a aimé" | 22 | – | 4* | – | ||
| "Cool" | 20 | – | – | – | ||
| "Je m'abandonne" | 25 | – | – | – | ||
| "La bohème" | 61 | – | – | – | Aznavour, sa jeunesse | |
| "One Last Time (Attends-moi)" (featuring Ariana Grande) | 2015 | 10 | – | – | – | non-album-singles |
| "Conmigo" | 10 | – | 13 | – | ||
| *Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts. | ||||||
- Other charting releases
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| FR [17] | |||
| "Amor de mis amores" / "Volare" (credited as Kendji) |
2014 | 94 | The Voice 3 - La Plus Belle Voix (2014) |
| "Belle" (credited as Kendji) |
96 | ||
| "Mi amor" | 118 | Kendji | |
| "Avec toi" | 179 | ||
| "Baïla amigo" | 187 | ||
| "Mon univers" | 192 | ||
Collaborations
- 2015 : One Last Time (Attends-moi) - Ariana Grande (feat. Kendji Girac) (French remix)[21]
Awards
| Year | Award | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NRJ Music Awards/Francophone Song of the Year | Color Gitano |
| 2014 | NRJ Music Awards/Francophone Breakthrough of the Year |
References
- ↑ VIDEO. Kendji: « Avant The Voice, j'avais une vie de gitan » (French)
- ↑ Kendji Girac et le français : "Parfois, c'est un peu compliqué pour moi" (French)
- ↑ MetroNews (Paris): "The Voice" : Découvrez Color Gitano, le premier single de Kendji Girac (French)
- ↑ Charts in France: Clip de "Color Gitano" : Kendji Girac ("The Voice") profite de la vie et impose son style (French)
- ↑ Les grands vainqueurs des NRJ Music Awards sont... sur le site leparisien.fr
- ↑ Kendji franchit le seuil des 600.000 ventes avec son premier album (French)
- ↑ TOURNÉE 2015
- ↑ J.M. (February 16, 2015). "Ecoutez "One Last Time (Attends-moi)", le duo entre Ariana Grande et Kendji Girac". Programme-tv.net (in French). Retrieved February 16, 2015.
- ↑ "One Last Time (Attends-moi) [feat. Kendji Girac] - Single by Ariana Grande". iTunes Store. Belgium: Apple. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ↑ Ariana Grande - One Last Time (Attends-Moi) (Lyric Video) ft. Kendji Girac
- ↑ Discover "Conmigo" the single by Kendji Girac
- ↑ "Conmigo", the new single from Perigord Kendji Girac
- ↑ MAKING OF - Kendji "Conmigo"
- ↑ "Conmigo" music video on Youtube
- ↑ Conmigo - Fin alternative
- ↑ Bientôt une nouvelle réédition de son premier album !
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 Lescharts.com; Kendji Girac discography
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 ultratop.be/fr/ Kendji Girac discography
- ↑ hitparade.ch Kendji Girac discography
- ↑ "Kendji Girac - Andalouse (Airplay Top 20 - 11.04. - 17.04.2015)" (in Polish). ZPAV. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ↑ Ariana Grande Et Kendji Girac : Écoutez Un Extrait De Leur Duo