French pop music is pop music sung in the French language. It is usually performed by singers from France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, or any of the other Francophone areas of the world. The target audience is the Francophone market (primarily France), which is considerably smaller than and largely independent from the mainstream Anglophone market.
History The first distinct French pop music styles that emerged were the French rock and the yé-yé, which originated in France during the 1960s. They were influenced by the American rock & roll of the 1950s. In the early days, this style of French pop music was easily distinguishable from the earlier category of French music called chanson in English. Eventually the early French pop music and the chanson styles crossed over and combined.
Radio in France French pop music can be heard on radio stations in France, such as NRJ, RTL 2, Virgin Radio (formerly Europe 2), Radio Nova, Chérie FM, and others. (There are Francophone radio stations outside France, but the ones in France are the most influential with respect to French pop music.) Besides French pop music, these radio stations typically play mainstream pop music (in English) as well as Latin pop, Italian pop, and African pop depending on the station.
Radio stations in France are required to play at least 40% of their songs in French, during prime hours. France's Pelchat amendment to the 1994 Broadcasting Reform Act is the law which requires this.Loi n°94-88 du 1er février 1994 modifiant la loi no 86-1067 du 30 septembre 1986 relative à la liberté de communication; article 12 imposes the 40% rate.
Francophone pop music artists
A list of Francophone pop music artists and the decades when they rose to prominence.
1920s Josephine Baker
1930s Charles Trenet
1940s Juliette Gréco Edith Piaf
1950s
Hugues Aufray Charles Aznavour Brigitte Bardot Georges Brassens Annie Cordy Dalida Jean Ferrat Henri Salvador
1960s
Adamo Barbara Michel Berger Jane Birkin Mike Brant Éric Charden Robert Charlebois Christophe Julien Clerc Nicole Croisille Joe Dassin Michel Delpech Jacques Dutronc Jean-Pierre Ferland Nino Ferrer Claude François Michel Fugain Serge Gainsbourg France Gall Françoise Hardy Johnny Hallyday Marie Laforêt Serge Lama Eddy Mitchell Nana Mouskouri Georges Moustaki Claude Nougaro Michel Polnareff Raphaël Serge Reggiani Dick Rivers Sheila Les Surfs Michèle Torr Sylvie Vartan Nanette Workman
1970s
Dick Annegarn Daniel Balavoine Francis Cabrel Alain Chamfort Louis Chedid Richard Clayderman Riccardo Cocciante Harmonium Jacques Higelin Michel Jonasz Patrick Juvet Daniel Lavoie Maxime Le Forestier Gérard Lenorman Offenbach Michel Pagliaro Ginette Reno Renaud Nicole Rieu Véronique Sanson Michel Sardou William Sheller Alain Souchon Téléphone Laurent Voulzy
1980s
Arno Alain Bashung Patrick Bruel Axel Bauer Calogero Manu Chao Etienne Daho Céline Dion Claude Dubois Mylène Farmer Liane Foly Jean-Jacques Goldman Les Innocents Patricia Kaas Bernard Lavilliers Marc Lavoine Maurane Florent Pagny Vanessa Paradis Luna Parker Mario Pelchat Les Rita Mitsouko Têtes Raides Roch Voisine
1990s
Air Anaïs Isabelle Boulay -M- Gérald De Palmas Lara Fabian Thomas Fersen Patrick Fiori Philippe Katerine Lynda Lemay Louise Attaque Mano Solo Pascal Obispo Kevin Parent Bruno Pelletier Axelle Red Red Cardell Hélène Ségara Zazie Zebda
2000s
AaRON Myriam Abel Alizée Keren Ann Chimène Badi Bénabar Amel Bent Benjamin Biolay Carla Bruni Bertrand Burgalat Cali Caroline Costa Cœur de pirate Emma Daumas Vincent Delerm Julien Doré Sofia Essaïdi Élodie Frégé Garou Grégoire Sophie Hunter Jenifer L5 Grégory Lemarchal Nolwenn Leroy Leslie Loane Lorie Renan Luce M83 Christophe Maé Priscilla M. Pokora Phoenix Quynh Anh Kate Ryan Shy'm Natasha St-Pier Stromae Tahiti 80 Sébastien Tellier Tété Andrée Watters Christophe Willem Yelle Julie Zenatti
2010s
Angèle Angelina Ben l'Oncle Soul Charlotte Cardin
Kendji Girac Bilal Hassani Indila Jain Joyce Jonathan Julia Carla Lazzari Lou Louane Clara Luciani Madame Monsieur Maëlle Aya Nakamura
Slimane Tal Wejdene Zoë
2020s
Zaho de Sagazan Valentina
See also Music of Belgium Music of Canada Music of France Music of Switzerland Volume!, The French Journal of Popular Music Studies
References
David Looseley, Popular Music in Contemporary France: Authenticity, Politics, Debate, Berg Publishers, 2004 () Hugh Dauncey & Steve Cannon (editors), Popular Music in France from Chanson to Techno: Culture, Identity, and Society, Ashgate Publishing, 2003 () Hugh Dauncey & Philippe Le Guern, Stéréo. Sociologie comparée des musiques populaires – France / Grande-Bretagne, Nantes, Éditions Mélanie Seteun, 2008 (). Published in English: Stereo: Comparative Perspectives on the Sociological Study of Popular Music in France and Britain, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2010 () Barbara Lebrun & Catherine Franc, "French Popular Music. Actes du Colloque de Manchester, juin 2003", Volume! La revue des musiques populaires, Nantes, Éditions Mélanie Seteun, 2003 (ISSN 1634-5495) Collectif (Auteur) Un Siècle de chansons françaises 1979–1989 (Partition de musique),Csdem, 2009 ()