Nolwenn Leroy

All Music Guide:

Chanteuse Nolwenn Leroy was one of a generation of French pop luminaries who rocketed to overnight fame via the television amateur showcase Star Academy. Born September 28, 1982, in the Breton city of St. Renan, Leroy was the daughter of professional footballer Jean Luc le Magueresse. Raised in a series of different locales per her father's team transfers, she later attended college at Saint-Yorre's Collège des Célestins, where a music teacher encouraged her to study violin. Leroy also exhibited a talent for graphic arts, and at age 13 won a national drawing contest that awarded her the opportunity to distribute art supplies in Mali. After a brief return to France, she entered a foreign exchange program and spent a year studying in the U.S., including a two-day course at Cincinnati's Performing Arts School. The experience was pivotal in convincing Leroy to pursue a career as a singer, and upon arriving home she enrolled in classical vocal classes at the Clermont-Ferrand Conservatoire, concurrently studying law with an eye on a fallback calling in international diplomacy. A fan of the fledgling TV series Star Academy, Leroy in 2001 signed up to study under program judge and music teacher Armande Altaï, who encouraged her new pupil to audition for the show's sophomore season. The night she was selected as a finalist, Leroy also received word she was chosen to star as Scarlett O'Hara in Autant en Emporte le Vent, a French stage musical adaptation of the classic novel Gone with the Wind. Leroy ultimately opted for Star Academy and her faith was rewarded on December 21, 2002, when she was crowned champion in viewer voting. Her self-titled debut LP followed in March 2003, launching the hit singles "Cassé" and "Suivre une Étoile." For the 2005 follow-up, Histoires Naturelles, Leroy teamed with legendary French pop composer Laurent Voulzy, forging a mystical, deeply romantic record that earned critical comparison to the likes of Kate Bush and Tori Amos.

Wikipedia:

Nolwenn Leroy, (born 28 September 1982 in Saint-Renan, Finistère, Brittany), is a French singer and songwriter, discovered by the French television reality show Star Academy. She is best known for her two Number One singles "Cassé" and "Nolwenn Ohwo!".

Biography

Leroy's parents left Saint-Renan, with her, when she was four years old. After living in Paris, Lille, and Guingamp, her mother Murielle Leroy and her younger sister settled with Leroy's grandparents in Saint-Yorre. Her mother had been divorced from her father, professional footballer Jean-Luc Le Magueresse, in 1993.

She studied at the "Collège des Célestins" in Vichy. When Leroy was eleven, her music teacher noticed her musical talents and encouraged her to learn the violin. At the age of thirteen she won "Les écoles du désert", a contest sponsored by the Cora supermarket chain, consequently travelling with a humanitarian mission from Gao to Timbuktu, Mali; she later claimed this had a profound influence on her.

In July 1998, she was awarded a scholarship by the Vichy Rotary Club to travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, as an exchange student. While there, she also attended the Performing Arts School. Returning to France, and speaking fluent English, she began classical singing classes at the Vichy music conservatory. From 2001 she studied law at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, for a potential alternative career to music.

Star Academy

Having watched the first series of Star Academy in 2001, Leroy was impressed by Armande Altaï, one of the show's judges, and decided to try to join Altaï's singing classes. In 2002, after applying, and being selected, for the second season of the show, the French public voted and made her the overall winner, ahead of her fellow finalist, Houcine.

Recordings

Nolwenn (2003)

Leroy's first album, Nolwenn, was released in March 2003 and was certified a Platinum record by November that year indicating that more than 300,000 copies had been sold. In 2006, the Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique awarded a Double-Platinum certificate for more than 600,000 sold items. Four songs from the album, "Cassé", "Une Femme cachée", "Suivre une étoile" and "Inévitablement" were released as singles. From December 2003, songs from the album were performed on Leroy's tours of France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Histoires Naturelles (2005)

Leroy's second album, Histoires Naturelles, was produced by Laurent Voulzy. Five singles were released from the album. "Nolwenn Ohwo!", written by Alain Souchon and Voulzy, topped the French music charts. The second single was the title track, "Histoire Naturelle". Music videos were made for both songs; the video for "Histoire Naturelle" expressed the main theme of the album with Leroy being portrayed as natural history museum exhibits. Of the other single releases, "Mon Ange" was distributed digitally while "J'aimais tant l'aimer" and "Reste Encore" were promotional-only. Songs from Histoires Naturelles and Nolwenn were performed on Leroy's second tour entitled "Histoires Naturelles Tour", which started in September 2006. Leroy's first live album was subsequently released in late October 2007.

Le Cheshire Cat & Moi (2009)

Le Cheshire Cat & Moi was a project that began in 2007, co-written by Leroy and Teitur Lassen, with contributions from Jonatha Brooke, Michelle Featherstone, Mike Errico and Rupert Hine. It was arranged and produced by Lassen, and recorded in Sweden and the Faroe Islands. Leroy was observed to feature "a lighter sound than on previous releases" and the album gave the opportunity for her to write all the lyrics. The album was released in December 2009. A tour entitled "Le Cheshire Cat & Vous" to promote the record was held in 2010.

Bretonne (2010)

Leroy released a fourth studio album, Bretonne, on 6 December 2010. Cover versions of traditional celtic songs such as "Mná na h-Éireann", and contemporary songs such as Christophe Miossec's "Brest" were included on the album. Most of the songs related to Brittany, the singer's birthplace, four sung in Breton. Leroy collaborated with Jon Kelly for the musical arrangements. The album topped the French album charts for 7 weeks.

The album was re-released in November 2011 as a Deluxe Edition which added 7 English language tracks, including "Amazing Grace", "Scarborough Fair" and two Mike Oldfield tracks, "Moonlight Shadow" and "To France"

Research

Leroy's music was studied for its neurological impact in geriatric populations. Researchers found that Leroy's recordings might have a more beneficial effect than other music, noting that: "the music of Nolwenn Leroy was found to be significantly superior to other music tested". To describe the phenomenon they coined the term the Nolwenn Effect, saying: "the music of Nolwenn Leroy appears to have a different effect on brain-based modulation of gait and stance than other music tested to date".

Mozart and Dutch and French singers were tested; only Mozart and Leroy's music were specified. The U.S. study was completed in February 2008, but no substantial results appear to be published.