French might be a complicated language to learn, but it doesn’t stop foreign artists from singing their heart out on beautiful French songs… If you want to shake up your playlist of French songs, here are 11 French covers from international singers. Some of these covers of French songs are timeless classics, while other covers are unexpected.
French Covers From International Singers
Lady Gaga, “La Vie En Rose” (From “A Star Is Born” Soundtrack)
Surely, you’ve heard this cover from “La Vie En Rose”, sung by Lady Gaga in the award-winning movie “A Star Is Born”. It’s not “Shallow”, the song written by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt, which has won the Best Original Song award at the Oscars, but still. “La Vie En Rose” is an iconic song first performed by Edith Piaf in the 1940’s and it’s been one of the most famous French songs ever since. It is no coincidence that “La Vie En Rose” is probably the song with most covers.
Shakira, “Je l’aime à mourir”
When you think about French covers, you might mention songs from Francis Cabrel. His song “Je l’aime à mourir” has become a classic in French music, and many artists like to cover it. But did you know that Shakira sings it too? Sure, she begins to sing in Spanish, but if you listen to the whole thing, you will hear her sing in French.
Grace Jones, “La Vie en Rose”
Like we said, most of the French covers you might know are the covers of “La Vie en Rose” song. If so, you certainly know the Grace Jones’ version, released in 1977 with the first album of the top model. The song is 3,5 minutes on the album, but for the album version, it has been edited to last more than seven minutes.
Iggy Pop, “La Javanaise”
Who could have imagined this cover? Iggy Pop, who was the vocalist of the punk group The Stooges, decided to release a studio album full of French covers in 2012. On this album, he revisits tubes from Serge Gainsbourg, Joe Dassin, Édith Piaf and even Georges Brassens. If you only know the punk songs of Iggy Pop, you should definitely listen to him sing in French for “La Javanaise”.
Worlds Apart, “Je Te Donne”
Sometimes, a cover song is so popular that most people forget about the original song. It might be what happened with “Je Te Donne”, released by the Backstreet Boys in 1996. This song was very popular in France and even reached the 3rd place of the single chart. Yet, the original song was recorded in English and French by Jean-Jacques Goldman and Michael Jones in 1985. It stayed for eight weeks as number one on the French singles chart, becoming one of the best-selling singles of the 1980s in the country. What is your favorite version?
Jo Hye-ryun, “Nuit de folie”
French songs travel further than we think… Jo Hye-ryun, a Korean singer and comedian, released a new album in 2010, including the cover of the song “Nuit de Folie”. Originally, this song was first released by the band Début de Soirée in 1984, but didn’t meet success. Fortunately, they convinced a record company to re-release a new version in 1988, which became the classic dance music song we know. More than 30 years later, Jo Hye-ryun offers a new and unexpected version.
Dakis, “L’Été Indien” (Oneira)
Do you know Dakis? He’s a Greek singer, born in Alexandria in 1943. Surprisingly enough, he decided to cover a song from Joe Dassin, “L’Eté Indien”. In the song, he sings in both French and Greek, while using a modern and quicker rhythm.
Eurythmics, “Tous les garçons et les filles”
Do you know who sang this song? Françoise Hardy. It was first telecast on the evening of Sunday 28 October 1962 in France, in a musical interlude during the results of the 1962 referendum. Many people covered this song in the past years, Mia Frye, Laurent Voulzy and Carla Bruni, Coeur de Pirate… This version from Eurythmics was released in 2005 as a bonus track on the new edition of the album “Be Yourself Tonight”.
If you really like this song, then you should know that Françoise Hardy also recorded the song in English (“Find Me a Boy”, 1964), in Italian and in German.
Eartha Kitt, “C’est si bon”
It’s difficult to really know who is the original singer for this song. As a matter of fact, “C’est si bon” was composed in 1947 by Henri Betti, who sang it in Nice before offering it to other singers. In 1948, Jean Marco performed the song with his orchestra, as did Lucien Jeunesse, the Etienne Sisters, and Yves Montand. But this version, one of the most famous French covers, was recorded by the singer, model, activist and actress Eartha Kitt in 1953.
First Aid Kit, “Complainte pour Ste. Catherine”
Sometimes, international artists take a spin on a French song during a live performance. The Swedish band “First Aid Kit” decided to sing a Québec tube during the Swedish TV show “På Spåret”. They chose “Complainte pour Ste. Catherine”, a song written in the beginning of the 70’s by Kate and Anna McGarrigle, two Montrealer sisters. When Sweden meets Québec, it creates something beautiful.
Il Divo, “Pour Que Tu M’aimes Encore”
What is more international than an international boys band? Il Divo was created in the United Kingdom in 2003 and is made up of Urs Bühler (from Switzerland), Carlos Marín (from Spain), David Miller (from the USA), and Sébastien Izambard (from France).Obviously, they do a lot of covers, including French covers. They recorded “Pour Que Tu M’Aimes Encore”, which is a classic song from Céline Dion, for their 2013 album, “Ancora”. While the French member sings it perfectly, it’s interesting to hear all the accents from the other members of Il Divo.
Did you know these French covers? If you like French music and rap in particular, here a some French rappers you should listen to.
