Cherie |
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Thu. April 22.2004 12:00 AM EDT |
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Cherie: Giving It Her GaulThe hot young vocalist from France sang to Michael Jackson vids as a kid, and brings her lucky pillow everywhere she goes. by C. Bottomley |
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(Lava Records) |
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With Celine Dion settled in her Las Vegas coliseum like a pearl in a rhinestone-studded clam, it's time for pop to embrace a new pair of lungs. Josh Groban's operatic style has the male side taken care of. But who will represent for those women who
In person, this 20-year-old from Marseilles, France, is exotically beautiful and charmingly straightforward. On record, she's a vocal force of nature. The Foreigner-sampling single "I'm Ready" is but one side of her persona - the frisky kid looking for the next emotional high. But take a ballad like "Older" and, yep, "My Way Back Home," and get ready to grab the tissues and an umbrella. This is tempestuous stuff. All Cherie needs to be the next Celine is to have the Titanic slipping beneath the waves under her. After practicing in front of Michael Jackson and Madonna videos, she made her singing debut at a karaoke night when she was nine. She went on to win the French National Vocalist Award, and still in her teens, cut a club track called "I Don't Want Nobody." Lava Records took note. Cherie had to move to Los Angeles to make her self-titled debut album, and she got plenty of help from "Sunglasses at Night" star-turned-songwriter Corey Hart as well as other pros that have worked with icons like Celine, Cher, and Barbara Streisand. The songs are solid, and the sound is contemporary, but it would be nothing without Cherie providing that throbbing heartbeat. VH1 sat down with the young singer to discover the woman behind the voice. It turned out she loves shopping, interpreting the tortured chansons of Belgian songwriter Jacques Brel, and Gone with the Wind. And just how passionate is she? Ah, but that would be telling. VH1: Was moving from Marseilles to Beverly Hills a jarring experience? Cherie: Of course it was different, but to me it was like being in a movie or on an American sitcom. It was funny, because we are used to seeing Melrose Place or Beverly Hills 90210 a lot on TV. I remember the first time I got out of the airport, seeing the palm trees and the sun. I have that in Marseilles, so it was a little bit like being at home. [Watch Clip] VH1: Did you bring anything with you so that you wouldn't get homesick? C: Promise you don't laugh at me! I used to bring my pillow everywhere - on the plane, in the hotel, everywhere. I can't sleep if it's not my bed, so I bring my pillow. VH1: Are people in L.A. a little weirder than in Marseilles? C: Not really. Actually, they are really nice! I was really surprised because they were very open and smiling all the time. When you are walking in the street they say "hello," and don't even know you! That is not what we're used to in France. VH1: Tell me about Marseilles. What are the hot spots? C: The port is the most famous thing of Marseilles. When I'm home, I like to go by the Azure coast, to see the beach and enjoy the wonderful weather. I also like to go to St. Ferreol Street, because that is where all the great shops are for girls. VH1: What are you are looking for when you go shopping? C: I am more an accessory girl then clothes. I will go for jewels or shoes or glasses, more for that than clothes. I have four pairs of glasses, because I have to see - that's why I have to wear those glasses! VH1: When was the first time you sang in public? C: It was in a holiday camp in the South of France by the beach, where there was karaoke. I was nine years old, and it was difficult for me to read English. One of my friends said to the guy doing the karaoke thing, "One of my girlfriends wants to sing!" He made me go on the stage, and I sang "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston, and I can tell you that at that time I don't know what I was [singing about]! VH1: Were you holding onto the mic for dear life? C: No. When you are nine, you are kind of unconscious about that. It is a cool thing. I wish I could be in that state of mind, where you are not conscious about the pressure and responsibility, and just do what you like. I think things should always be like that. VH1: When did you know that singing was going to become your career? C: Always, because I was watching [music] videos. TMC was the channel at the time playing all these videos. All day long I was in front of it, dancing, and trying to imitate the artists, and I loved it. I can't tell you that one day it was like all of a sudden "Oh, I will become a singer." It came naturally to me. At nine I was singing onstage, and people were reacting really well, so I said "OK, I can do it. Why not?" VH1: Which music video was your favorite? C: All the Michael Jackson videos. Because when I was five or six I couldn't sing. I was doing everything - acting and being like a clown and singing and dancing. You would be in front of the TV and you would want to imitate everything. It would be like Michael Jackson and Madonna when I was a little girl, because you are just watching them dancing and I love that. I would try to do the same thing.[Watch Clip] VH1: Who were you a fan of growing up? C: Celine Dion. I like Lenny Kravitz, Marc Anthony, Shania Twain. VH1: Were they artists a typical French teenager might listen to? Were your friends fans? C: They were listening to other French artists as well, but I think yes, they were. Probably not Marc Anthony, 'cause we don't know him as much in France. I fell in love with his voice when I heard him sing "I Need to Know." I went to Virgin [Megastore] and asked to hear his album. I like the Latin sound. But yes, all the teenagers were listening to Celine Dion, of course. She made it big in France. VH1: So where did your love for Jacques Brel come from? C: Because I was singing and meeting other singers, I was learning a lot more about music, you know? You meet someone that likes jazz, and he says, "You should hear this artist." So you go to Virgin, and discover more things. That's what happened with Jacques Brel. Celine Dion did a duet with a French artist of "Quand on n'a que l'Amour." It was amazing, so after that I wanted to sing that song. VH1: Is it more demanding to sing something like "I Will Always Love You," or a Jacques Brel song? C: I would say Jacques Brel. Jacques Brel was someone really important in France, and he was known for his great performances. Being on stage for him wasn't only being a singer, he was like an actor. He was really living his songs, he was there. And the words of those songs are really deep and intense, so it's a challenge to interpret those words and be believable. VH1: Is there a bit of acting involved in performing the songs on your album? C: You have to be an actor, yeah. The songs on my album are not just talking about me and only me. I'm talking about subjects that can happen in anyone's life. If you never lived those emotions, you have to imagine how to feel in those situations. VH1: So who are you thinking about when you are singing a song like "Older," addressed an older man? C: I didn't really have that love story in "Older." Paul Mosel, who wrote the music of the song, went to his friend so he could write the lyrics. He told him, "I think Cherie is older than her years." That's how the song came about. It's probably because I started to sing professionally at ten years old, and I always had to be an adult. I was never with people that were my age. I was with my friends at school, but when it came to music it was completely different. So when I am singing "Older," I'm thinking about my life, and being young. I mean, when you are ten years old you are not even a teenager. VH1: What do you do when you want to unwind? C: I love to watch movies and go dancing. I love Gone with the Wind, maybe because I'm a girl, and [Scarlett O'Hara is] wearing big dresses and all that. I am impressed by the story, and all the color. I am fascinated by the character of Scarlett O'Hara, by her strength. She is fighting and really independent. I think she is a good example for all women.[Watch Clip] VH1: What music gets you dancing? C: House music! We have Benny Benassi in France, but it is hard to say [who is my favorite], 'cause in the club all you hear is the mixes. I also love all those old standards like Aretha Franklin and Barry White, too. I love Latin sounds, like Marc Anthony, and Cuban things, and Eastern music, too. VH1: What do you wish you could change about yourself? C: I would like to not put everything to the last moment. 'Cause when everything is at the last moment you rush, and you are putting more pressure on yourself. The last time that happened was when I was packing my luggage. I am a girl so I have a lot of things. At the last moment I was trying to close [my suitcase], and it is really hard cause you didn't organize anything, 'cause you didn't have enough time. VH1: Did you forget the pillow? C: No, not the pillow...all my jewels. I would rather forget all my jewels then my pillow! |
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