Mignon Mignon

"Mignon Mignon"
Single by René la Taupe
from the album Les Aventures de Réné la Taupe
B-side Remix, music video
Released July 2010
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2010
Genre Pop
Length 2:29
Label Emi Music France
Writer(s) Christian Büttner, Hank Hobson, Marcello Pagin
Producer(s) Christian "TheFatRat" Büttner, Marcelio Pagin for Famties Productions, Hank Hobson
René la Taupe singles chronology
"Merde"
(2009)		 "Mignon Mignon"
(2010)		 "Tu parles trop"
(2010)

"Mignon Mignon" is a 2010 song recorded by virtual singing groundhog René la Taupe. It was the second single from the album Les Aventures de René la Taupe and was released in July 2010. It became a number-one hit in France.

Background and lyrics

Commercial Director of Fox Mobile France Stéphane Boulissière said: "We had a big commercial success with "Merde" with over 100,000 downloads. At the time we proposed this song to a record company but nobody wanted it. We believed in it and we launched "Mignon Mignon"". The song was initially composed for being just a ringtone.[1] The music video was released on the Internet and the music video became immediately an Internet meme, with over 5 million views on YouTube in two months.[2] A few time after, the song was available digitally, then was released as CD single in the late August 2010. The single, remixed, instrumental and music video versions were all included in the album.

The lyrics, written by Christian Büttner, Hank Hobson and Marcello Pagin, suggest the chubby look of the animal that makes it adorable. The song deals with topics of overweight and scatology. According Boulissière, the lyrics are "naive and funny. Success comes from there. These lyrics are a simple opposing view to everything that takes place in French music. And the substance of lyrics - a character who accepts and enjoys the beads - goes against the cult of thin and tanned body." He admitted that the song was performed to generate controversy, and the vulgarity and grammar mistakes in the lyrics were "wanted to create a marketing buzz, to get people talking". The song was not finely-worked.[3]

There was also a derivative version by Jamba, a brand of Fox Mobile Group under the title "Mauvais, Mauvais" (English: "Bad, Bad") released after the failure of the France team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup but it was not successful.

Chart performances

"Mignon, Mignon" debuted at number 12 on the French Digital Chart on 17 July 2010, then climbed to number two where it remained for three weeks and topped the chart for two weeks,[4] then fell off and totaled 18 weeks in the top 50. The success of the single generated an increase of the ringtone sales, becoming one of the most downloaded of the middle of 2010 with help from Fun Radio. On the chart edition of 4 September, the single entered the French Physical Chart at number one. With over 17,300 units sold in this first week, the single performed the highest weekly sales of a single in 2010 in France.[5] The single stayed atop for 13 weeks and eventually become the best-selling single of the year.[6]

In 2010 only, the song sold 114,546 units and 117,389 downloads.[7]

Controversy

In September 2010, pianist and composer Serge Gamany stated that "Mignon Mignon" was actually a plagiarism of one of his songs, "Au Parc de Mougins", a medley for piano and accordion, which was publicly performed weekly during over a year by the chorister residents of a retirement home. Gamany certified that he composed the music "a decade ago", i.e. in the late 1990s or the early 2000. He said he was determined to "assert his legitimate rights", the legal department of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique being on his side.[8]

According to Jamba, the song's melody is not a plagiat of Serge Gamany's work but a reprise of the "3 Chinesen mit dem Kontrabaß" song (which is a famous popular German song) ; the melody of "Mignon Mignon" and "3 Chinesen mit dem Kontrabaß" is effectively the same, making Serge Gamany losing his trial.

Track listings

No. Title Length
1. "Mignon Mignon"   2:29
2. "Mignon Mignon" (remix) 2:19
3. "Mignon Mignon" (music video) 2:29

Credits

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles[9] 5
French SNEP Digital Chart[4] 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[6] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Eurochart Hot 100[10] 40
French SNEP Singles Chart[11] 1

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified
France[12] Gold 24 November 2010 150,000

Succession boxes

Preceded by
"Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" by Shakira		 French SNEP number-one single
4 September 2010 - 27 November 2010 (13 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Oui mais... non" by Mylène Farmer
Preceded by
"Ça m'énerve" by Helmut Fritz		 French SNEP single of the year
2010 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

References

  1. ↑ Vogel, Magali (12 August 2010). "Musique - La crème de la crème des tubes de l'été" (in French). France Soir. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  2. ↑ Walther, Juliane (2010). "René La Taupe occupe le top 10 depuis plus de 6 semaines — Fox Mobile Group: Le Hit de René La Taupe numéro 1 des ventes digitales en France" (in French). Bourse LCI. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Chapon, Benjamin (25 August 2010). "René la taupe: Un prout au taupe des ventes". 20 Minutes (in French). Retrieved 20 November 2010.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Les classements des téléchargements Singles - Semaine du 15/08/2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  5. ↑ Decant, Charles (10 September 2010). "Disques: Yannick Noah plus fort que Michel Sardou, René La Taupe contre-attaque" (in French). Ozap. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "René la Taupe - "Mignon Mignon", French Singles Chart" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  7. ↑ Hamard, Jonathan (25 January 2011). "Bilan du marché du disque en France : ventes, chiffres et évolution" (in French). Chartsinfrance. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  8. ↑ Classe, Gérard (14 September 2010). "Musique: Un compositeur quimpérois plagié par "René La Taupe"". Le Télégramme (in French). Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  9. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, week of November 20, 2010". Billboard. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "2010 Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  11. ↑ "Classement Singles - année 2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Certifications Singles Or - année 2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 2 March 2011.