Weekend French Playlist #5
Including Hoshi, Aden Foyer, and a vampire love song.
Hello and happy weekend!
This week’s playlist contains some random samplings of favorites. But in the spotlight is the new single Mauvais Rêve from Hoshi, which was released this week in advance of her new album.
Hoshi’s real name is Mathilde Gerner, but her passion for Japanese culture inspired her to adopt this stage name, which means star. Her career started with appearances on the French versions of talent shows The Voice and Rising Star. She released her first EP in 2017, and then 3 subsequent hit albums that have gone gold in France.
She’s also become a role model for many because of the way she’s responded to criticism of her physical appearance and sexuality. In 2018, she was outed in an article in Paris Match. In 2021, an aging male French commentator said she wasn’t pretty enough to be a pop star (who would put a poster of her on their wall, he wondered) and suggested she write songs for more attractive women. Female singers rallied to criticize the remarks and Hoshi simply tweeted that maybe he should look in the mirror.
Even more remarkable, perhaps, is that Hoshi has suffered hearing loss since childhood from Meniere's disease. She has become an advocate, speaking out to raise awareness about the disease which can in some cases lead to permanent hearing loss.
Also making a notable appearance on this week’s list is Aden Foyer. Previously working under the name of Jonas Aden, he had become one of France’s most successful songwriters and producers. Two years ago, he announced that he no longer loved what he was doing and was quitting the music business.
He retreated into a remote cabin, built a mini-studio, and set about re-defining who he was and what kind of music he wanted to make. He emerged from hibernation last year with the single The Ballet Girl which became a huge hit. The self-made video tells the story of his journey.
He signed with Columbia Records, moved to LA, and, well, things didn’t go as planned. This week he released a new single and video that tells the story of how he bounced back.
Finally, a bit of randomness. I saw on Twitter that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart. I noted on Twitter that I am not psychologically ready for such anniversaries. Twitter friend Steven Seggie in response shared this clip of a version in French that Tyler recorded in 2003 with Kareen Antonn, called Si Demain… (If Tomorrow..)
A couple of interesting things to note. In Tyler’s original, a male voice is imploring her to “turn around.” In the French version, however, the singer simply says Je tourne en rond (I’m going in circles) to herself.
The other thing I learned while going down the Eclipse rabbit hole is that apparently, the original song is about a woman falling in love with…a vampire. Tyler denies this (see her comments on Genius). But the song was written by Jim Steinman (best known as Meat Loaf’s producer) for a musical called Nosferatu which he abandoned. He later included it in his 1997 musical Dance of the Vampires.
Enjoy!
Chris O’Brien
Le Pecq