Weekend Playlist #15: Les Victoires De La Musique Edition
France's Grammys (finally) embraced the nation's rising rap scene after years of controversy. But the big winner may be newcomer Zaho de Sagazan.
(Updated Feb. 10 with winners highlighted below.)
By the standards of the sprawling Grammy Awards with its 92 categories, France’s national music awards — Les Victoires De La Musique — is much more stripped down with just 9 categories and a total of 33 nominations. Those categories tend to be general, recognizing, for example, Best Male Artist across all music styles.
In recent years, the ceremony has faced growing controversy because those categories have squeezed out nominees that tend to be especially popular with younger generations, especially Rap and R&B, which otherwise are the most successful genres in France based on streams and sales.
Last year, Spotify launched a competing awards show, Les Flammes, specifically to showcase these overlooked genres in France.
Weekend Playlist #9: Les Flammes
Think of French music and you’ll likely imagine accordions and jazz-inflected tunes sung with powerful emotion. But these stereotypes don’t reflect the reality of modern France, which has become the world’s second-largest market for rap behind the United States.
Subsequently, organizers of the Victoires reformed the way artists are nominated and winners are selected, and — Shazaam! — the 2024 class of nominees are far more diverse with 8 rap artists receiving nominations. The winners will be announced tonight (February 9).
"The massive nominations of rap/hip-hop artists this year illustrate the rise of this musical style in France,” said Nicolas du Roy, Editorial Director of Spotify France & Benelux in a statement. “Since its launch in France, Spotify has been a privileged witness to the meteoric rise of rap and hip-hop. By supporting the first Flammes ceremony last year, the second of which will take place on April 25, 2024, we're proud to have been able to contribute to this evolution by encouraging the rest of the industry to mobilize to consolidate the legitimacy of rap and hip-hop in mainstream awards ceremonies in France.”
The other major storyline at the Victoires is the meteoric rise of singer-songwriter Zaho de Sagazan, 24, who released her first album last year and received 5 nominations, the most of any artist this year. Spotify notes that streams of Sagazan's album have exploded since nominations were announced. Her blend of pop, and electronica, with hints of traditional French styles, have made her a sensation in her home country.
Here’s a Spotify playlist of the nominees:
If you’re not a Spotify user, you can check out the playlists on :
And the nominees are:
1. Artiste Masculin
Gazo: co-winner
Vianney: co-winner
According to Spotify, rapper Gazo is the most popular in this category with more than 8.7 million monthly listeners. Pop singers Vianney, Pierre de Maere, and Etienne Daho are second, third, and fourth place respectively.
2. Artiste Féminine
Weekend French Playlist #13: The Jain Edition
I first heard about Jain because while the singer-songwriter is a global nomad, she was born in Toulouse where we were living when she released her first album in 2015, “Zanaka.” That disc included the massive hit, “Makeba,” which propelled her into the international spotlight (performed on the Colbert Show, sang at Coachella, was featured in a Levi’s c…
Aya Nakamura : winner
Nakamura and Jain have already amassed global followings, with 7.2 million and 8.3 million monthly listeners respectively, according to Spotify. And Louane (who starred in the French movie that was remade as Oscar Winner “Coda”) has about 2.6 million. Sanson, who released her first album in 1969, has about 1.2 million and she’s where you want to go to get your more traditional French music fix.
3. Révélation Masculine (best new artist)
Nuit Incolore
Aime Simone
Yamê: winner
The French-Cameroon Yamê also had a breakout year thanks to his hit Becane. The rapper and pianist has a unique style, mixing falsetto, keyboards, and strong rhythms. He’s already gaining a big international following, according to Spotify.
4. Révélation Féminine
Zaho de Sagazan: winner
5. Album
“à 2 à 3”, Vianney
“http://J.OOO.$”, Josman
“La symphonie des éclairs”, Zaho de Sagazan: winner
“The Fool”, Jain
“Tirer la nuit sur les étoiles”, Étienne Daho
6. Chanson Originale
“Douce”, Clara Ysé
“Enfant de”, Pierre de Maere
“La symphonie des éclairs”, Zaho de Sagazan: winner
“Secret”, Louane
7. Best Concert Tour
Bigflo & Oli, “Le grand Tour”
Damso, “Qalf Tour”: winner
Pomme, “Consolation”
Shaka Ponk, “The Final Fu—ed Up Tour”
8. Création Audiovisuelle
“Commando”, Shay: winner
“Flamme”, Juliette Armanet
“La symphonie des éclairs”, Zaho de Sagazan
9. Révélation Scène
Julien Granel
Meryl
Zaho de Sagazan: winner
Chris O’Brien
Le Pecq
Thank you, Chris! I don’t always have time to study French, so listening to French music is sometimes my easy way of studying. I’ve been listening to the playlist, happy to have a few new-to-me artists to follow.
Fantastic - thanks for the link. I have TV5Monde at home in San Francisco and already have the Victoires emission to tape this weekend so will be well prepared. Keep the great content coming.