Patricia Kaas
(born December 5, 1966 in Forbach, France) is a French singer and actress.
Kaas is one of the most successful French-speaking singers in the world. Stylistically her music is not classical chanson, but is closer to a mixture of pop music, jazz and chanson.
Since the appearance of her debut album Mademoiselle chante...
in 1988 Kaas has sold over 16 million records worldwide. [1] She had her greatest success in, e. g., Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, Russia, Finland, and Korea with her third album Je te dis vous
. Kaas is almost constantly on tour internationally. In 2002 Kaas had her film debut in And now... Ladies and Gentlemen
beside Jeremy Irons. Kaas is currently on "Kabaret" world tour since the end of 2008. Kaas represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in Moscow, Russia and finished in 8th place. [2]
|
PATRICIA KAAS TICKETS
|
Career
1966–1984: Early life
Patricia Kaas was born as the youngest of seven children (five boys and two girls) on 5 December 1966 in
Forbach,
Lorraine,
France, near the border of Germany. Her father, Joseph (a miner), was French, and her mother, Irmgard, German. Kaas grew up in
Stiring-Wendel, between Forbach and
Saarbrücken on the French side of the border. Until the age of six she spoke only a German dialect. Her Franco-German heritage resulted in a constant interest in improving the relationship between the two countries.
Her mother encouraged Kaas to become a singer from a very young age. At the age of eight Kaas was already singing songs by
Sylvie Vartan,
Dalida,
Claude François and
Mireille Mathieu, but also English-language songs such as
New York, New York
, at various small events; among others the marriage of her brother. Her first great success came when she received first place at a pop song contest. At her first appearances Kaas was already displaying the throaty, smoky voice that would lead to comparisons with
Édith Piaf and
Marlene Dietrich.
Kaas took her first step into the professional music business at the age of 13, when, with the help of her brother Egon, she signed a contract with the Saarbrücken Club
Rumpelkammer
. Kaas took the name
Pady Pax
, after the brass band
Pax Majorettes
from Stiring-Wendel, of which she and her sister Carine were members, and for seven years appeared with the band
Dob's Lady Killers
. At 16 she took a placement with a model agency in
Metz. Kaas' first attempts to break into the music business once and for all initially failed, however; a producer rejected her on the grounds that the world did not need a second Mireille Mathieu. Kaas' producer at this time was the architect Bernard Schwartz, who would lead her to her first great success.
1985–1986: Jalouse
and The Beginnings
In 1985 Kaas was finally produced by the French actor
Gérard Depardieu at the age of 19. Schwartz saw her singing at the Rumpelkammer in Saarbrücken and introduced her to the songwriter François Bernheim. Bernheim worked with her and convinced Depardieu to produce her.
Depardieu produced Kaas' first
single Jalouse
(Eng:
Jealous
), written by Bernheim and Depardieu's wife Elisabeth. The single was published by
EMI, but was a flop. Nonetheless her encounter with Depardieu was one of the most important events in the beginning of Kaas' artistic career.
1987–1989: Mademoiselle chante le blues
Through
Jalouse
and Bernheim the French songwriter
Didier Barbelivien became aware of Kaas. His song
Mademoiselle chante le blues
(Eng:
Lady sings the blues
) was the singer's first big hit. The single was published in 1987 by
Polydor, and reached 7th place in the French
singles chart. The next year Kaas' second single
D'Allemagne
(Eng:
Of Germany
) was recorded, written by Barbelivien and Bernheim.
Shortly afterwards Kaas' first
album Mademoiselle chante...
was produced. It reached 2nd place in the French album charts and stayed there for two months, remaining in the Top 10 for 64 weeks and 118 weeks in the top 100. Shortly after its appearance the album went
gold in France (over 100,000 sold) and after three months it went platinum (over 350,000 sold). The album also went platinum in
Belgium and
Switzerland, and gold in
Canada. In the same year Kaas won
Victoires de la Musique in the category of "Discovery of the Year", one of the most important French music awards.
In 1989 Kaas suffered a traumatic personal experience when her mother fell ill from
cancer and died. The
teddy bear Kaas sent to support her mother's convalescence today accompanies Kaas everywhere as a mascot.
1990–1992: Scène de vie
In 1990 Kaas began her first world tour, which lasted 16 months in total. She sang in front of about 750,000 fans in over 196 concerts in 12 countries. Among others Kaas sang daily for a week in
Olympia and Zenith, one of the most famous concert halls in
Paris. The concerts were sold out four months before they began. Kaas also gave other successful concerts in
New York and
Washington D.C. in the
U.S.. At the end of the tour
Mademoiselle chante...
had sold 1 million copies in France alone and had achieved diamond status. Kaas received the
Goldene Europa, one of the biggest German music awards.
In 1990 Kaas moved from her former record company Polydor to
CBS/Sony. Cyril Prieur and Richard Walter of the firm
Talent Sorcier
from
Paris replaced Bernard Schwartz to become her managers in 1987. Prieur and Walter contributed significantly to the singer's success, in return for which Kaas referred to them as her "family".
With a new record company she produced
Scène de vie
(Eng:
The Stage of Life
) in 1990. It reached the top of the French charts and stayed there for 10 weeks, going diamond in the process as
Mademoiselle chante...
had done before it. With the song
Kennedy Rose
Kaas again worked with Elisabeth Depardieu and François Bernheim; this collaboration was more successful than
Jalouse
, reaching 34th place in the French singles charts. The song was dedicated to
Rose Kennedy, matriarch of the
Kennedy clan and mother of former U.S. president
John F. Kennedy.
While on the
Scène de vie
tour the singer performed 210 concerts before 650,000 spectators in 13 countries, among them
Japan, Canada and the
USSR, where she sang in
Moscow and
Leningrad. At the end of 1991 her first live album
Carnets de scène
(Eng:
Stage Notebooks
) appeared, which achieved popularity beyond her dedicated fans. 13 years later Sony also published the album as a live DVD.
In 1991 Kaas received two further internationally renowned music awards, the
World Music Award and a
Bambi. In the following year she received 3rd place in the category of 'Best International Female Singer' at the
ECHO awards in
Cologne, nominated alongside
Cher (who received first place),
Tina Turner,
Madonna and
Whitney Houston, four of the biggest names in the music business.
1993–1994: Je te dis vous
Kaas' 1993 album
Je te dis vous
(Eng.:
I address thee as you
) was her definitive breakthrough in the international music scene, selling 3 million copies in 47 countries. It was produced in
Pete Townshend's
Eel Pie Studio
in
London,
England by
Robin Millar, who had already worked for
Sade and the
Fine Young Cannibals. In the
U.S. and
United Kingdom it appeared under the name of
Tour de charme
(not to be confused with the live album of the same name). On the album Kaas sang her first song in
German: the song
Ganz und gar
(Eng:
Absolutely
) came from the pen of the German singer and songwriter
Marius Müller-Westernhagen. The album also featured three tracks in English, including a cover of the
James Brown number
It's A Man's World
. The British rock musician
Chris Rea accompanied Kaas on the tracks
Out Of The Rain
and
Ceux qui n'ont rien
(Eng:
Those who have nothing
) on guitar.
Je te dis vous
is currently Kaas' most successful album in the German-speaking world, only just missing out on the German top 10 (it spent 2 weeks at 11th place), but spending 36 weeks in the top 100. In Switzerland Kaas reached 2nd place in the album charts, and in France 1st. It was her third album to go diamond, 11 months after its appearance. With the single
Il me dit que je suis belle
(Eng:
He tells me I'm beautiful
) by Sam Brewski (aka
Jean-Jacques Goldman) Kaas achieved her second top five single in France. A remix of
Reste sur moi
(Eng:
Stay on me
) reached the top 20 of the US dance charts.
The following world tour covered 19 countries. Among others she was the first western singer to appear in
Hanoi,
Vietnam after the
Vietnam War, and she also toured in
Korea,
Japan,
Cambodia and
Thailand. During the tour she also gave a benefit concert in
Chernobyl in front of 30,000 spectators. In total her audience counted 750,000 in 150 concerts. In 1994 her second live album
Tour de charme
(Eng:
A tour with charm
) was published, which, like
Carnets de scène
, was remade as a live DVD in 2004.
1995–1996: Black Coffee
In the middle of the 1990s the album
Black Coffee
was produced, an enigma in Kaas' career. In 1995 it was decided to produce a work specially for the American market containing exclusively English lyrics. Rumours state that the album was never officially sold. It occasionally becomes available in online auctions, however, but the authenticity of these records is in doubt.
The title track of the album is a cover version of the
Billie Holiday song of the same name and was likewise published by Kaas on the 1997 sampler
Jazz à Saint-Germain
(release by Virgin). Other cover versions on the album include classics such as the
Bill Withers number
Ain't No Sunshine
(which was taken for advertissement music for the Club Mediterranée) from 1971 and
If You Leave Me Now
by
Chicago from 1976.
1997–1998: Dans ma chair
In 1997
Dans ma chair
(Eng:
In my flesh
) was made. It was produced in New York by Kaas and
Phil Ramone, who had previously worked with
Ray Charles,
Billy Joel and
Paul Simon. The album marked the second time the singer officially worked with the French songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman (They start to work together in 1993 for the song "Il me dit que je suis belle".) The collaboration with Goldman, which continues to this day, was one of the most important of Kaas' career.
Further contributors to the success of the album were the American songwriter and singer
Lyle Lovett, with the song
Chanson simple
(Eng:
Simple song
), and
James Taylor with
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
, on which he duetted with Kaas. The track
Quand j'ai peur de tout
(Eng:
When I'm afraid of everything
), written by
Diane Warren, was later remade in 2003 by the band
Sugababes under the name
Too Lost In You
.
In 1998, following the
Dans ma chair
tour, the live album and video cassette (later a DVD)
Rendez-vous
was produced. Among the tracks are
L'aigle noir
(Eng:
The black eagle
) by the French singer and songwriter
Barbara, whom Kaas had admired for a long time and that Depardieu present her before she was famous.
In December 1998 Kaas sang with the tenors
Plácido Domingo and
Alejandro Fernández in the Guildhall of
Vienna,
Austria. The three were accompanied by the
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert was made into a CD and DVD in 1999 as
Christmas In Vienna Vol. VI
.
1999–2000: Le mot de passe
In 1999
Le mot de passe
(Eng:
The password
) was produced by
Pascal Obispo, on which Kaas was accompanied by an orchestra on several tracks. Jean-Jacques Goldman again contributed to the making of the studio album, among others with 2 songs
Une fille de 'l'Est
(Eng:
A girl from the East
) in which Kaas praised her East French heritage and
Les chansons commencent
. The French singer
Zazie wrote the track
J'attends de nous
. The song
Les éternelles
(Eng:
The eternals
) was also published in Germany as a duet with the
Swiss tenor Erkan Aki under the title of
Unter der Haut
(Eng:
Under the skin
), and was the theme music of the five-part
ZDF serial
Sturmzeit
(Eng:
Stormy Times
), based on a book by
Charlotte Link.
In June 1999 Kaas appeared at the benefit concert
Michael Jackson & Friends
in
Seoul,
South Korea and
Munich. Apart from Kaas and Jackson,
Mariah Carey,
Luther Vandross and
Status Quo also put in appearances. The special events, in aid of
UNESCO, the
Red Cross and the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, were broadcast to 39 countries.
In September 1999 Kaas came third in
Marianne
, a poll for the national symbol of France, behind supermodels
Laetitia Casta (first) and
Estelle Hallyday (second). Most pictures of Kaas from her last albums (from
Dans ma chair
to
Sexe fort
in 2003) show the singer in very figure-accentuating clothes and suitably daring poses, and her music videos are seldom restrained performances.
On the
Le mot de passe
tour Kaas was accompanied at some concerts in Germany and Switzerland by the
Hannover Pops Orchestra
of
Norddeutscher Rundfunk under the conductor's baton of
Georges Phelivanian. With this ensemble she was the star guest at, among others, the
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival of 1999. The concert of 24 July 1999 at the Guildhall Market of
Hamburg was broadcast live on the German-French television station
Arte. The orchestra can be heard on the 2000 live album
Ce sera nous
, but is nowhere to be seen on the live DVD.
In 2000 an elaborately produced box set was published, which contained almost all the previous studio albums published by Sony and a comprehensive booklet with numerous pictures. In October 2000 Kaas received the
Adenauer-
de-Gaulle Award in Berlin.
2001–2002: Piano Bar
In April 2001 Kaas gave a concert before 50,000 spectators on the occasion of
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg's accession from his father
Jean. Kaas was again accompanied by a large orchestra, on this occasion the
Luxembourg Philharmonic.
In the same year Kaas began her acting career with
And now... Ladies and Gentlemen
with Jeremy Irons, directed by Claude Lelouch, her record company published the best of album
Rien ne s'arrête
(Eng:
Nothing stops
), as it was a best-of, only the title track was new.
In 2000, Kaas decided to live in
Zürich, Switzerland from then on. This also had consequences for her management, which likewise moved from Paris to Zürich and renamed itself
International Talent Consulting
. Cyril Prieur and Richard Walter remained by Kaas' side.
To accompany the film the concept album
Piano Bar By Patricia Kaas
was released in 2002, which was explicitly not a soundtrack to the film; the real soundtrack has never been released.
Piano Bar...
was Kaas' first published album that was sung mainly in English, and is a homage to the great French chanson artists of history. It includes cover versions of
Where Do I Begin
(originally on the soundtrack to
Love Story
) and an English version of
Jacques Brel's
Ne me quitte pas
(Eng:
Don't leave me
), here named
If You Go Away
. The album in France reached 10th place in the charts, but it was the second most successful of Kaas' albums in Germany, reaching 12 place. In 2002 Kaas again received the Golden Europa.
The
Piano Bar Live
tour began in September 2002 in France and lasted until April 2003. It included six sellout concerts in the US, including appearances in
Los Angeles,
Chicago,
San Francisco and
Detroit, as well as at the
Beacon Theater in
Broadway, New York before 6,000 fans. Despite the intensive efforts of Kaas' fans the tour has not been published as a live album.
2003–2007: Sexe fort
On 1 December 2003 released the album
Sexe fort
(Eng:
Strong gender
), reaching the 9th place in France. Again Jean-Jacques Goldman contributed with
C'est la faute à la vie
(Eng:
That's the problem with life
) and
On pourrait
(Eng:
You can
), which he also produced himself, just as Pascal Obispo, the producer of
Le mot de passe
, did with
L'Abbé Caillou
(Eng:
The Abbot Caillou
). Kaas sang
On pourrait
as a duet with the Swiss singer
Stephan Eicher.
Following the release of
Sexe fort
Kaas received a particular distinction on 8 December 2003 when she received the
First Class Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her contribution to friendship between France and Germany, an honour that until then had been awarded to only a few international artists.
Until the end of 2005 Kaas was on what was now her seventh world tour. In total she performed in 25 countries, including further performances in China and Russia. In all she gave 175 concerts before more than 500,000 spectators. Despite the relative failure of
Sexe fort
the tour was a huge success.
By the beginning of 2005 the live album accompanying the tour
Toute la musique...
and the live DVD of the same name had been released, in combination with a 'best of' album. The title track
Toute la musique que j'aime
(Eng:
All the music I love
)
was written by the French singer and songwriter
Johnny Hallyday. The album contains a bonus track
Herz eines Kämpfers
(Eng:
Heart of a Fighter
), which Kaas had worked on together with
Peter Plate of the German pop band
Rosenstolz. With the TV broadcast of the German auditions for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in March of that year, Kaas performed the song for the first time live before an audience of millions.
2008–present: Kabaret
, world tour and Eurovision 2009
After the end of the
Sexe fort
tour in November 2005, Kaas took a break until the beginning of 2008, interrupted by only a few live performances. In February 2008, Kaas released the song ''Ne pozvonish
(You Will Not Call) with the Russian group
Uma2rman'', which was a big hit in Russia.
[3]
The new double album, "Kabaret", was released on
March 30,
2009 [1]. To support her new album, Kaas is currently giving touring
France,
Germany,
Switzerland,
Belgium,
Luxembourg,
Finland,
Russia,
Ukraine,
Poland,
Latvia,
Lithuania,
Estonia,
Romania and other countries during her "Kabaret" tour. Kaas is claimed to be the first international artist to visit 28 Russian cities. The entire tour includes at least 170 dates.
[1]
File:Patricia Kaas.jpg|thumb
|right|200px
|
Patricia Kaas at Moscow (
2009)
On January 28, 2009 it was confirmed that Patricia would represent
France in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2009 in
Moscow,
Russia. Kaas' fans took part in an online poll in several countries where they selected their favourite song from her
Kabaret
album. The song
Et s'il fallait le faire (And if it had to be done) received a clear majority of the votes and was then chosen as the lead single and also as the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
where on May 16, 2009 she finished in 8th place.
The song has received positive reviews in several newspapers and polls and a clear majority of 62% of all voters in a questionnaire believed in her chances to win the competition.
[6]
Discography
- Mademoiselle chante...
(1988)
- Scène de vie
(1990 )
- Je te dis vous
(1993)
- Dans ma chair
(1997)
- Le Mot de passe
(1999)
- Piano Bar
(2001)
- Sexe fort
(2003)
- Kabaret
(2008)
Acting career
Patricia Kaas has harboured acting ambitions for a long time, and indeed many of her music videos feature her acting in a short passionate or melancholy story, but her attempts to break into film have thus far met with little success.
Germinal
& Falling in Love Again
In 1993 Kaas was offered a role in the
Claude Berri film
Germinal
, but at the time she was working on her third album
Je te dis vous
. In 1994 Kaas was offered the main role in the film
Falling In Love Again
by the American
director Stanley Donen. Kaas needed no better model than the German-American singer and actress
Marlene Dietrich, whose song
Lili Marleen
she had often sung as a child. However, the project foundered due to financial problems.
Her first successful encounter with the film industry remained in the field of singing, when she sang the
title song to the 1995 film
Les Misérables
, based on the novel of the same name by
Victor Hugo and directed by Frenchman
Claude Lelouch. Her earlier hit
Il me dit que suis belle
from the 1993 album
Je te dis vous
was also used by
Bertrand Tavernier in his film
L'appât
(Eng:
The bait
).
And now... Ladies And Gentlemen
Kaas had her acting debut in 2001, when she played the
jazz singer Jane beside
Jeremy Irons in Claude Lelouch's
And now... Ladies and Gentlemen
. The film was shown at the
Cannes Film Festival among others. In Germany the film was first seen in October 2002 at
19 Days of French Film
in
Tübingen, but only came to German cinemas in 2003. The film, however, fared poorly at the box office.
Filmography
| Year
| Film
|
| 2002
| And Now... Ladies And Gentlemen
Director: Claude Lelouch
Actors: Patricia Kaas, Jeremy Irons, Claudia Cardinale
Premiere: 29 May 2002 (France)
at the Internet Movie Database
|
Awards
| Year
| Awards
| Category
|
| until 1989
|
| 1988
| Victoire de la Musique
| "Discovery of the year" for D'Allemagne
|
| 1989
| Victoire de la Musique
| "Female musician with most record sales abroad"
|
| 1990–1999
|
| 1990
| Golden Europa
| "Female singer of the year"
|
| 1991
| Victoire de la Musique
| "Female interpreter of the year", "Female musician with most record sales abroad"
|
| World Music Award
| "Best French female artist of the year"
|
| Bambi
| "Female artist of the year"
|
| 1992
| Victoire de la Musique
| "Female artist with most record sales abroad"
|
| ECHO
| 3rd place "Best international female singer"
|
| 1994
| L’Oscar de la musique
|
|
| 1995
| Victoire de la Musique
| "Artist with most record sales abroad"
|
| La femme en or
|
|
| World Music Award
| "Best French female artist of the year"
|
| 1996
| Platinum Europe Award
| for Tour de charm
|
| 1998
| IFPI Platinum Europe Award
| for Dan ma chair
|
| from 2000
|
| 2000
| Victoire de la Musique
|
|
| Adenauer-de-Gaulle Prize
|
|
| 2002
| Goldene Europa
| "International female artist of the year"
|
| 2003
| Bundesverdienstkreuz
| Order of Merit First Class of the Federal Republic of Germany for her efforts in improving German-French relations
|
| 2004
| Radio Regenbogen Award
|
|
| 2008
| Zolotoy Gramofon (Gold Gramophone)
| Song "Ne Pozvonish (You Won't Call)" with Uma2Rman
|
Films
PATRICIA KAAS - MY LIFE / MA VIE. A documentary by Horst Mühlenbeck. 52/45 min. portrait for ZDF/arte series "My Life / Ma vie" (my life). By gebrueder beetz filmproduktion (www.gebrueder-beetz.de)
References
- kabaretkaas.com
- [1] (17 May 2009)
- umaturman.com: News in Bands Webpage (2 February 2008)
- kabaretkaas.com
- kabaretkaas.com
- internaute.com: [1] (31 january 2009)