Post by davidhr on Mar 29, 2022 7:57:17 GMT -5
Lara continued the new tradition of featuring her outfit for the latest edition of the Star Academie on her Facebook and Instagram sites, at
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554455709372060
and
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554455706038727
or
with the caption, “Variety #9 at Star Académie TVA. Thank you to my wonderful beauty team: Dennis Voltan in hair, Marco Marsolais in makeup and Patrick Vimbor in styling. Thank you Bertrand Exertier for the beautiful photos, good show! #nationstarac”
It was indeed the ninth show, and a review of the program can be found at (https://www.journaldequebec.com/2022/03/27/star-academie-olivier-sauve-par-le-public) (now without most of the videos); here’s the translation:
---------------------------------
“Star Académie”: Olivier, saved by the public
The Stromae madness spread throughout the Mels studio on Sunday evening during the Variety of "Star Académie", thanks to a number as festive as it was unifying. Despite voice problems, Olivier Bergeron was again chosen by the public, while the teachers decided to protect Julien Charbonneau.
The appearance of Stromae on the set of “Star Académie” could not leave anyone indifferent, and the Belgian star lived up to expectations. Between new songs and unmissable successes, the singer has shown great generosity, leaving all the room to the Academicians in his songs. They had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and it seems to have had a liberating effect for them.
Put in Danger
On the advice of Gregory Charles, Julien Charbonneau had bet on “Je t’aime”, by Lara Fabian, to try to keep his place. If he has the vocal power to do justice to this huge song, he added a few flourishes that weren't always to the best effect. "You have immense talent," Marc Dupré told him, before giving the floor to Lara Fabian. "It's so moving to live this moment," she explained.
Édouard Lagacé wanted to send a message to his girlfriend by singing "Ce soir l’amour est dans tes yeux" to defend himself. Accompanied by his guitar, he was deeply invested in his interpretation, through which we could feel all his emotion. “You are of such richness and such depth, analyzed Guylaine Tremblay. “When you open the doors, nothing can stop you. You are a beautiful artist, I love you very much”.
Despite discomfort in the vocal cords, Olivier Bergeron wanted to give everything in his interpretation of “Mon ange”, by Éric Lapointe. Only accompanied by a piano, he defended himself with the intensity that we know him, while appearing completely vulnerable. “You are lucky because you have something that cannot be bought and that we cannot teach you, it is so true what comes out of you”, congratulated Gregory Charles.
Back to origins
Guest artistic director, Serge Denoncourt immersed the Academicians in post-war Paris, with a repertoire of essential French songs. The number opened with “Il n’y a plus d’après”, solidly interpreted by Éloi, while the images were in black and white.
"Ne me quitte pas”, “Déshabillez-moi”, “La foule” or again “Je vais t’aimer" were part of the repertoire chosen by the artistic director. “They made me cry when it never happens to me, said Denoncourt at the end of the number. “I chose these songs because these young people do not know where they come from”.
We also learned that the album of “Star Académie 2022” will officially be released next Thursday, March 31. The entire cohort will present excerpts from this disc during the next Variété.
Special request
During the week, Marc Dupré surprised Geneviève Beauchesne at her residence following her wish to pay tribute to her son William, who was diagnosed with ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder] at the age of two. Together, they went to the auditorium of her son's secondary school, where he performed, in the company of the dislodged Academicians, the song "Comme tout le monde" by 2Frères.
The Academicians then took over the torch by continuing the song on the set, before the surprise arrival of 2Frères, who came to surprise Geneviève and William.
Colorful
The presence of the German duo Milky Chance obviously pleased the Academicians who were able to share the stage with a group that most of them adore. In particular, they were able to cover “Stolen Dance”, “Colorado” or even “Synchronize”.
Verdict
For the second time, the public has chosen to keep Olivier Bergeron at the Academy. "I'm doing this for you," he exclaimed spontaneously. “Thanks very much." The choice of teachers was announced by Guylaine Tremblay. "It's more and more difficult, because we have two exceptional singers," she said. "The faculty has chosen to protect the one who, this evening, responded to the order and who approached us, that is to say Julien."
STROMAE'S PARTY
Ten years after his stint at “Star Académie”, Stromae was back for a wild number. The opening of the Academicians in harmony on "Formidable" launched the festivities with intensity. We then found the singer in a monochrome living room setting where he performed “L’enfer” with Édouard and Julien, as well as a choir of women. Sarah-Maude and Camélia then distinguished themselves by sharing the song “Santé”. Stromae was wrong in his words, which destabilized Sarah-Maude, but the pleasure was obvious, as much on the side of the Academicians as on the excited public in the studio. The finale on “Alors on danse” was hyper vitaminized with Academicians whose pleasure and happiness shone through the screen. Even Olivier and Éloi swayed their hips like crazy. Big happiness for everyone!
Stromae will be performing at the Videotron Center in Quebec City on December 11, and additionally at the Bell Center in Montreal on December 14.
Flamboyant retro
In an atmosphere reminiscent of post-war Paris, both in the sets and in the costumes, Serge Denoncourt, the guest artistic director, wanted the Academicians to reconnect with the great French songs that populate our collective unconscious. The musicians were installed near the Academicians, while Marc Dupré played the role of bartender. We will especially remember the magnificent performance of Sarah-Maude on " La foule", by Edith Piaf, which was mixed with "La valse à mille temps", by Jacques Brel, interpreted by Édouard. The two finished in a magnificent duet. Éloi was also exceptional on “Mr le Président”, by Boris Vian. A song that has taken on an even more serious meaning due to the current war in Ukraine. A masterful number, which will remain among the best of the season.
------------------------------
And another take on the show, from (https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/chroniques/2022-03-28/star-academie/pour-une-histoire-de-gars.php):
-----------------------------
A Guy’s Story
100% male vigil at Star Académie, Sunday evening on TVA, with Belgian popstar Stromae, the duo Milky Chance, Saint-Germain-des-Prés by director Serge Denoncourt and the three guys on the sofa who fought for their bed at the manor of Waterloo.
No surprise here: Olivier Bergeron, 20, of Kedgwick, New Brunswick, won the popular vote (again) after his raucous rereading of Mon ange, by Éric Lapointe. It was not the best performance of the three competitors in danger, let's say it.
And no, Olivier does not have the most beautiful voice of the cohort, but he has heart, determination and he is working hard not to return to his job at the sawmill. Result: viewers fall for his inspiring life story. It's hard to kick out such an endearing young man, for whom singing is the only way to get out of a professional environment he hates and which pushes him to consume too much alcohol.
The public will remain faithful to him until the final, probably.
Julien Charbonneau, 23, from Montreal, played bold in resuming Je t'aime, from Lara Fabian, the current director of Star Académie and also his former coach at La voix 6. He was excellent and in control on this difficult and classic Lara Fabian piece. The teachers logically protected him from elimination.
It was therefore Édouard Lagacé, 27, of Cowansville, who was fired. His impostor complex got him in trouble until the very end. Too bad, because his version of Ce soir l’amour est dans tes yeux, by Martine St-Clair, was charming and very close to that of Louis-Jean Cormier.
This ninth Star Académie gala on TVA took off with the inspiring Belgian artist Stromae, who was energetic, invested and generous towards the academicians. Superb staging for this talented singer-songwriter, who had the humility to reveal, after returning from a commercial break, that he had misled Sarah-Maude Desgagné during the number Santé. What a nice artist, though.
The portion devoted to the classics of French song allowed 17-year-old Camélia Zaki to stand out on Ne me quitte pas. Krystel Mongeau, 25, was also solid on Non, je ne regrette rien, by Edith Piaf. Fake cigarettes, use of black and white and period costumes, this journey through time has been beautifully cobbled together by Serge Denoncourt.
As for the passage of the German duo Milky Chance, it was correct, far from ecstasy. And what about the humorous segment concocted by Patrick Groulx with the best friends of the candidates in danger? It deserved an immediate elimination. A big “skip” (without food).
---------------------------------
The admitted mistake by Stromae did throw Sarah-Maude off, and Lara discussed it (https://www.awanireview.com/star-academie-lara-fabian-returns-sarah-maudes-mistake-in-stromae-%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%AF-count/) and (https://showbizz.net/tele/star-academie-lara-fabian-revient-sur-la-faute-de-sarah-maude-dans-le-numero-de-stromae); here are the key points:
----------------------------------------
Sunday evening, we could see that Sarah-Maude forgot her words during her medley with Stromae.
But, behind the scenes, the singer indicated that he had made a mistake, which destabilized one of the academicians.
First, Sarah-Maude humbly confesses: “ I forgot the lyrics”, before indicating: “ Stromae started singing at the same time as me ”.
The director then speaks. "I'm going to tell you a little story. We were backstage with Stromae and he was a little stressed because his biggest fear in life is lyrics. And, it can happen to anyone.”
She adds: “When it happens to an artist, [...] in a duet, it is the one who witnesses the slippage who has the responsibility of taking back the puck. You, at that moment, someone stepped on the flowerbeds that were intended for you and you didn't have the presence of mind to take the puck back. [...] When that happens, you just have to be a little faster on your skates.”
-----------------------------
As we know, Lara is an exceptional duet singer, so she probably has a lot of experience in that situation…and obviously one who first recognizes the problem has to react, yet one can hardly blame an amateur for failing to immediately do so...Stromae is Lara's friend and countryman, as emphasized in the pictures she put on her FB and Instagram sites, at
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554686096015688
and
As for the results of the competition: To say that the program seems quite successful in removing candidates who sing well should by now be no surprise to anyone (a point emphasized in some of the comments on the Star Academie FB site). This was just another case in point, though, as in most of the other examples, the audience vote is a contributing reason for it. There’s no telling why the public sympathizes with below-average singers/performers - one of the articles above tried to give some reasons - but some reality shows try to minimize that by preventing the audience from voting until the quarter or semi-finals, when (presumably) only the worthwhile candidates remain. A prime example of that is La Voix. The Star Academie is set up differently, and the experiences this year have exposed its weakness, if one cares about the competition.
Next season we won’t have to be concerned about it, because for one reason or another, Star Academie will be replaced by La Voix, as discussed in the following article (https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/03/28/une-pause-pour-star-academie-la-voix-de-retour-en-janvier-prochain-a-tva):
-----------------------------------------
“Star Académie” will take a break at the end of this season and give way to “La Voix”, which will be back on TVA next January with Charles Lafortune in charge.
The news was confirmed on Monday by TVA, Quebecor Content and Productions Déferlantes.
The latter produces both “Star Académie” and “La Voix”, which bowed out two years ago after eight seasons in a row. TVA has the luxury of being able to alternate between two big millionaire guns who dominate the race for ratings on Sunday evening, in winter and spring, as explained to the QMI Agency.
The current season of “Star Académie” got off to a rocky start due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among the cohort of contestants. This situation delayed the first Variety by two weeks, last January. But that's already far behind and the success is undeniable in terms of ratings and the interest of fans.
According to the most recent figures confirmed by the firm Numeris – which include delayed viewing over seven days – 1,628,000 curious people watched the Variety on March 13 [NB: before the recent controversies]. That week (March 7 to 13), only the police daily "District 31" beat "Star Académie", but narrowly, with an average over four evenings of 1,684,000 followers.
Marc Dupré as coach?
Will the host of "Star Académie", Marc Dupré, be back as a coach at "La Voix", he who has been there for four seasons, including the last two? It will be necessary to be patient to know the identity of the artists who will settle in the famous red armchairs during the ninth season, we are told. In addition to Marc Dupré, the last season of “La Voix”, presented in 2020, had Cœur de Pirate, Garou and Pierre Lapointe as coaches.
The details surrounding the recruitment of candidates for the next vintage of “La Voix” will also be revealed in the coming weeks.
Grand finale on April 24
As for "Star Académie", whose Sunday Variety was marked by the passage of the great Stromae and by a tasty number created by Serge Denoncourt giving pride of place to songs from post-war Paris, the show is entering the last stage in view of the grand finale on April 24. There are only four Sunday Varieties left, in addition to the daily broadcast from Monday to Thursday…
------------------------------------
So now we know Lara will not be returning as director, and it remains to be seen whether she will be involved in the next season of La Voix. It was suggested here last week that she would not be unhappy to get back her freedom, time for herself and her family – and now she would appear to have that opportunity. It then also remains to be seen if she stays in Quebec if she is not otherwise employed there, especially if she really does move towards establishing her own school – which she implied would not be focused in only one country. One wonders whether Lara has known for some time that Star Academy would not be on the air next year, and that has led to her recent comments about deciding her future after her concerts in the fall. We didn’t understand how that could happen given that the Star Academie would have had to know what she was planning before then, but it’s now clear they will not.
Speaking of those concerts…Lara said in her recent interviews that her tour of France and eastern Europe next fall would be done differently, that Gabriel and Lou would join her and they would travel by car/bus from one place to another, keeping the family together. But how would that work? Lou will be 15 at the time – is she going to be missing school for a month or more? If so, special arrangements would presumably have to be made to keep her up-to-date with her schoolwork, if she’s still enrolled in the Quebec school system.
Interesting photo(s) of the week: Lara put on her Instagram site a picture of herself with her mother,
This is the two year anniversary of her mother’s death…
Lara the Ring Fabian put together a number of clips from Lara’s show in Helsinki back in October 2014, and made them available on youtube at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yQ5GGIFFO4
[Thanks to the Lara Fabian America FB site for the link]. It has an interesting setlist (see the info below the video), and includes English subtitles.
And she also uploaded Lara’s ‘En toute Intimite’ concert from the Olympia in 2003, complete with English subtitles (quite necessary for that concert), at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMHym4N4UXo
Both of these are high quality videos (the second from Lara’s own DVD), and so while it will still be some months before Lara has any new concerts, these perhaps can fill in the vacuum that has now extended for two years.
Another week of Lara’s focus on the Star Academie show coming up. The program ends in one month; and it now seems as if it will end for her as well. Stay safe everybody,
David
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554455709372060
and
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554455706038727
or
http://instagram.com/p/CboAneMLDPB
with the caption, “Variety #9 at Star Académie TVA. Thank you to my wonderful beauty team: Dennis Voltan in hair, Marco Marsolais in makeup and Patrick Vimbor in styling. Thank you Bertrand Exertier for the beautiful photos, good show! #nationstarac”
It was indeed the ninth show, and a review of the program can be found at (https://www.journaldequebec.com/2022/03/27/star-academie-olivier-sauve-par-le-public) (now without most of the videos); here’s the translation:
---------------------------------
“Star Académie”: Olivier, saved by the public
The Stromae madness spread throughout the Mels studio on Sunday evening during the Variety of "Star Académie", thanks to a number as festive as it was unifying. Despite voice problems, Olivier Bergeron was again chosen by the public, while the teachers decided to protect Julien Charbonneau.
The appearance of Stromae on the set of “Star Académie” could not leave anyone indifferent, and the Belgian star lived up to expectations. Between new songs and unmissable successes, the singer has shown great generosity, leaving all the room to the Academicians in his songs. They had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and it seems to have had a liberating effect for them.
Put in Danger
On the advice of Gregory Charles, Julien Charbonneau had bet on “Je t’aime”, by Lara Fabian, to try to keep his place. If he has the vocal power to do justice to this huge song, he added a few flourishes that weren't always to the best effect. "You have immense talent," Marc Dupré told him, before giving the floor to Lara Fabian. "It's so moving to live this moment," she explained.
Édouard Lagacé wanted to send a message to his girlfriend by singing "Ce soir l’amour est dans tes yeux" to defend himself. Accompanied by his guitar, he was deeply invested in his interpretation, through which we could feel all his emotion. “You are of such richness and such depth, analyzed Guylaine Tremblay. “When you open the doors, nothing can stop you. You are a beautiful artist, I love you very much”.
Despite discomfort in the vocal cords, Olivier Bergeron wanted to give everything in his interpretation of “Mon ange”, by Éric Lapointe. Only accompanied by a piano, he defended himself with the intensity that we know him, while appearing completely vulnerable. “You are lucky because you have something that cannot be bought and that we cannot teach you, it is so true what comes out of you”, congratulated Gregory Charles.
Back to origins
Guest artistic director, Serge Denoncourt immersed the Academicians in post-war Paris, with a repertoire of essential French songs. The number opened with “Il n’y a plus d’après”, solidly interpreted by Éloi, while the images were in black and white.
"Ne me quitte pas”, “Déshabillez-moi”, “La foule” or again “Je vais t’aimer" were part of the repertoire chosen by the artistic director. “They made me cry when it never happens to me, said Denoncourt at the end of the number. “I chose these songs because these young people do not know where they come from”.
We also learned that the album of “Star Académie 2022” will officially be released next Thursday, March 31. The entire cohort will present excerpts from this disc during the next Variété.
Special request
During the week, Marc Dupré surprised Geneviève Beauchesne at her residence following her wish to pay tribute to her son William, who was diagnosed with ASD [Autism Spectrum Disorder] at the age of two. Together, they went to the auditorium of her son's secondary school, where he performed, in the company of the dislodged Academicians, the song "Comme tout le monde" by 2Frères.
The Academicians then took over the torch by continuing the song on the set, before the surprise arrival of 2Frères, who came to surprise Geneviève and William.
Colorful
The presence of the German duo Milky Chance obviously pleased the Academicians who were able to share the stage with a group that most of them adore. In particular, they were able to cover “Stolen Dance”, “Colorado” or even “Synchronize”.
Verdict
For the second time, the public has chosen to keep Olivier Bergeron at the Academy. "I'm doing this for you," he exclaimed spontaneously. “Thanks very much." The choice of teachers was announced by Guylaine Tremblay. "It's more and more difficult, because we have two exceptional singers," she said. "The faculty has chosen to protect the one who, this evening, responded to the order and who approached us, that is to say Julien."
STROMAE'S PARTY
Ten years after his stint at “Star Académie”, Stromae was back for a wild number. The opening of the Academicians in harmony on "Formidable" launched the festivities with intensity. We then found the singer in a monochrome living room setting where he performed “L’enfer” with Édouard and Julien, as well as a choir of women. Sarah-Maude and Camélia then distinguished themselves by sharing the song “Santé”. Stromae was wrong in his words, which destabilized Sarah-Maude, but the pleasure was obvious, as much on the side of the Academicians as on the excited public in the studio. The finale on “Alors on danse” was hyper vitaminized with Academicians whose pleasure and happiness shone through the screen. Even Olivier and Éloi swayed their hips like crazy. Big happiness for everyone!
Stromae will be performing at the Videotron Center in Quebec City on December 11, and additionally at the Bell Center in Montreal on December 14.
Flamboyant retro
In an atmosphere reminiscent of post-war Paris, both in the sets and in the costumes, Serge Denoncourt, the guest artistic director, wanted the Academicians to reconnect with the great French songs that populate our collective unconscious. The musicians were installed near the Academicians, while Marc Dupré played the role of bartender. We will especially remember the magnificent performance of Sarah-Maude on " La foule", by Edith Piaf, which was mixed with "La valse à mille temps", by Jacques Brel, interpreted by Édouard. The two finished in a magnificent duet. Éloi was also exceptional on “Mr le Président”, by Boris Vian. A song that has taken on an even more serious meaning due to the current war in Ukraine. A masterful number, which will remain among the best of the season.
------------------------------
And another take on the show, from (https://www.lapresse.ca/arts/chroniques/2022-03-28/star-academie/pour-une-histoire-de-gars.php):
-----------------------------
A Guy’s Story
100% male vigil at Star Académie, Sunday evening on TVA, with Belgian popstar Stromae, the duo Milky Chance, Saint-Germain-des-Prés by director Serge Denoncourt and the three guys on the sofa who fought for their bed at the manor of Waterloo.
No surprise here: Olivier Bergeron, 20, of Kedgwick, New Brunswick, won the popular vote (again) after his raucous rereading of Mon ange, by Éric Lapointe. It was not the best performance of the three competitors in danger, let's say it.
And no, Olivier does not have the most beautiful voice of the cohort, but he has heart, determination and he is working hard not to return to his job at the sawmill. Result: viewers fall for his inspiring life story. It's hard to kick out such an endearing young man, for whom singing is the only way to get out of a professional environment he hates and which pushes him to consume too much alcohol.
The public will remain faithful to him until the final, probably.
Julien Charbonneau, 23, from Montreal, played bold in resuming Je t'aime, from Lara Fabian, the current director of Star Académie and also his former coach at La voix 6. He was excellent and in control on this difficult and classic Lara Fabian piece. The teachers logically protected him from elimination.
It was therefore Édouard Lagacé, 27, of Cowansville, who was fired. His impostor complex got him in trouble until the very end. Too bad, because his version of Ce soir l’amour est dans tes yeux, by Martine St-Clair, was charming and very close to that of Louis-Jean Cormier.
This ninth Star Académie gala on TVA took off with the inspiring Belgian artist Stromae, who was energetic, invested and generous towards the academicians. Superb staging for this talented singer-songwriter, who had the humility to reveal, after returning from a commercial break, that he had misled Sarah-Maude Desgagné during the number Santé. What a nice artist, though.
The portion devoted to the classics of French song allowed 17-year-old Camélia Zaki to stand out on Ne me quitte pas. Krystel Mongeau, 25, was also solid on Non, je ne regrette rien, by Edith Piaf. Fake cigarettes, use of black and white and period costumes, this journey through time has been beautifully cobbled together by Serge Denoncourt.
As for the passage of the German duo Milky Chance, it was correct, far from ecstasy. And what about the humorous segment concocted by Patrick Groulx with the best friends of the candidates in danger? It deserved an immediate elimination. A big “skip” (without food).
---------------------------------
The admitted mistake by Stromae did throw Sarah-Maude off, and Lara discussed it (https://www.awanireview.com/star-academie-lara-fabian-returns-sarah-maudes-mistake-in-stromae-%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%AF-count/) and (https://showbizz.net/tele/star-academie-lara-fabian-revient-sur-la-faute-de-sarah-maude-dans-le-numero-de-stromae); here are the key points:
----------------------------------------
Sunday evening, we could see that Sarah-Maude forgot her words during her medley with Stromae.
But, behind the scenes, the singer indicated that he had made a mistake, which destabilized one of the academicians.
First, Sarah-Maude humbly confesses: “ I forgot the lyrics”, before indicating: “ Stromae started singing at the same time as me ”.
The director then speaks. "I'm going to tell you a little story. We were backstage with Stromae and he was a little stressed because his biggest fear in life is lyrics. And, it can happen to anyone.”
She adds: “When it happens to an artist, [...] in a duet, it is the one who witnesses the slippage who has the responsibility of taking back the puck. You, at that moment, someone stepped on the flowerbeds that were intended for you and you didn't have the presence of mind to take the puck back. [...] When that happens, you just have to be a little faster on your skates.”
-----------------------------
As we know, Lara is an exceptional duet singer, so she probably has a lot of experience in that situation…and obviously one who first recognizes the problem has to react, yet one can hardly blame an amateur for failing to immediately do so...Stromae is Lara's friend and countryman, as emphasized in the pictures she put on her FB and Instagram sites, at
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=554686096015688
and
http://instagram.com/p/Cbo9kWgt2r8
As for the results of the competition: To say that the program seems quite successful in removing candidates who sing well should by now be no surprise to anyone (a point emphasized in some of the comments on the Star Academie FB site). This was just another case in point, though, as in most of the other examples, the audience vote is a contributing reason for it. There’s no telling why the public sympathizes with below-average singers/performers - one of the articles above tried to give some reasons - but some reality shows try to minimize that by preventing the audience from voting until the quarter or semi-finals, when (presumably) only the worthwhile candidates remain. A prime example of that is La Voix. The Star Academie is set up differently, and the experiences this year have exposed its weakness, if one cares about the competition.
Next season we won’t have to be concerned about it, because for one reason or another, Star Academie will be replaced by La Voix, as discussed in the following article (https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2022/03/28/une-pause-pour-star-academie-la-voix-de-retour-en-janvier-prochain-a-tva):
-----------------------------------------
“Star Académie” will take a break at the end of this season and give way to “La Voix”, which will be back on TVA next January with Charles Lafortune in charge.
The news was confirmed on Monday by TVA, Quebecor Content and Productions Déferlantes.
The latter produces both “Star Académie” and “La Voix”, which bowed out two years ago after eight seasons in a row. TVA has the luxury of being able to alternate between two big millionaire guns who dominate the race for ratings on Sunday evening, in winter and spring, as explained to the QMI Agency.
The current season of “Star Académie” got off to a rocky start due to an outbreak of COVID-19 among the cohort of contestants. This situation delayed the first Variety by two weeks, last January. But that's already far behind and the success is undeniable in terms of ratings and the interest of fans.
According to the most recent figures confirmed by the firm Numeris – which include delayed viewing over seven days – 1,628,000 curious people watched the Variety on March 13 [NB: before the recent controversies]. That week (March 7 to 13), only the police daily "District 31" beat "Star Académie", but narrowly, with an average over four evenings of 1,684,000 followers.
Marc Dupré as coach?
Will the host of "Star Académie", Marc Dupré, be back as a coach at "La Voix", he who has been there for four seasons, including the last two? It will be necessary to be patient to know the identity of the artists who will settle in the famous red armchairs during the ninth season, we are told. In addition to Marc Dupré, the last season of “La Voix”, presented in 2020, had Cœur de Pirate, Garou and Pierre Lapointe as coaches.
The details surrounding the recruitment of candidates for the next vintage of “La Voix” will also be revealed in the coming weeks.
Grand finale on April 24
As for "Star Académie", whose Sunday Variety was marked by the passage of the great Stromae and by a tasty number created by Serge Denoncourt giving pride of place to songs from post-war Paris, the show is entering the last stage in view of the grand finale on April 24. There are only four Sunday Varieties left, in addition to the daily broadcast from Monday to Thursday…
------------------------------------
So now we know Lara will not be returning as director, and it remains to be seen whether she will be involved in the next season of La Voix. It was suggested here last week that she would not be unhappy to get back her freedom, time for herself and her family – and now she would appear to have that opportunity. It then also remains to be seen if she stays in Quebec if she is not otherwise employed there, especially if she really does move towards establishing her own school – which she implied would not be focused in only one country. One wonders whether Lara has known for some time that Star Academy would not be on the air next year, and that has led to her recent comments about deciding her future after her concerts in the fall. We didn’t understand how that could happen given that the Star Academie would have had to know what she was planning before then, but it’s now clear they will not.
Speaking of those concerts…Lara said in her recent interviews that her tour of France and eastern Europe next fall would be done differently, that Gabriel and Lou would join her and they would travel by car/bus from one place to another, keeping the family together. But how would that work? Lou will be 15 at the time – is she going to be missing school for a month or more? If so, special arrangements would presumably have to be made to keep her up-to-date with her schoolwork, if she’s still enrolled in the Quebec school system.
Interesting photo(s) of the week: Lara put on her Instagram site a picture of herself with her mother,
http://instagram.com/p/CbrYpZBOnG6
This is the two year anniversary of her mother’s death…
Lara the Ring Fabian put together a number of clips from Lara’s show in Helsinki back in October 2014, and made them available on youtube at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yQ5GGIFFO4
[Thanks to the Lara Fabian America FB site for the link]. It has an interesting setlist (see the info below the video), and includes English subtitles.
And she also uploaded Lara’s ‘En toute Intimite’ concert from the Olympia in 2003, complete with English subtitles (quite necessary for that concert), at
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMHym4N4UXo
Both of these are high quality videos (the second from Lara’s own DVD), and so while it will still be some months before Lara has any new concerts, these perhaps can fill in the vacuum that has now extended for two years.
Another week of Lara’s focus on the Star Academie show coming up. The program ends in one month; and it now seems as if it will end for her as well. Stay safe everybody,
David