Alizee's Bio
Early years
Also known by her nickname Lili, Alizée got drawn to dancing[2] early in her life. By the age of four, she became quite proficient in jazz, tap and classical dance, and got drawn to show business. She is also quite proficient in painting — in 1995, she won a coloring competition organised by Air Outre Mer, a former French airline (now partly acquired by Swissair). Alizée's design won first prize and ended up being reproduced on the cabin of one of the airline's aircraft, which was named after her. Alizée won a trip to the Maldives, flying first class.
In 1999, Alizée appeared on the TV talent show "Graines de Star"[3] (broadcast on Métropole 6). Alizée had originally wanted to sign up for the programme's dance contest. However, as the dance category was reserved for groups, Alizée contested in the singing category instead, performing the song Ma Prière. She went on to win the "Meilleure Graine" award for most promising young singing star of tomorrow.
Alizée's winning performance was seen by veteran French pop diva Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, who were looking for a young and fresh voice to do their new project. They approached Alizée, who was selected after the studio auditions and the trio joined hands to launch her career, with the single Moi... Lolita.
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Personal life
Alizée, even though she has a singing career, prefers dancing[4]. She is quite proficient in jazz, ballet, tap and flamenco. Alizée also likes[5] football. She is a supporter of AC Ajaccio, and was once invited to kick off one of their matches.
Alizée is actively involved in charity work through Les Enfoirés, which is a group of French celebrities who organize fund-raising concerts every year. The proceeds from these concerts go to Les Restaurants du Coeur. The organisation, set up by French comedian Coluche, helps to feed the poor. Alizée had participated in these concerts in 2001 and 2002.
Alizée married fellow French singer Jérémy Châtelain, whom she met at the Eurobest awards function in 2003. They got married on November 6, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, and had their first child, a girl they named Anny-Lee (Annily), on April 29, 2005.
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Career
Alizée, in a promotional photograph.
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Alizée, in a promotional photograph.
Alizée made her debut with the single, Moi... Lolita, which is her most successful to date. It enjoyed success throughout most of Europe and parts of east Asia, reaching the number 1 spot in music charts of most countries it was released in. Indeed, Alizée's image was that of a seductive Lolita character, referring to the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. Her second single "L'alizé" was also successful (hitting number 1 in France). Both the singles were from her debut album, "Gourmandises"[6], which translates to "Delicacies" in English. The album, written by Farmer and composed by Boutonnat, sold over 800,000 copies in France. It went Platinum in just 3 months. In 2001, the album was launched internationally, and she became the highest-selling female French singer in 2001[7].
In 2003 she returned with her second album Mes Courants Électriques[8], or "My Electric Currents" in English translation. With the release of this album, she changed her image for the second album, going from that of a Lolita to a more subtle teenager image. This album also was written by Farmer and Boutonnat. The first single from this album, J'en Ai Marre, known as "Mon Bain de Mousse" in Japan, had some success in and outside France, but this second album, featuring English versions of four tracks, was not as well received as her first one, Gourmandises. It sold a little over 200,000 copies. The album was supported by a countrywide tour in the fall of 2003. A live CD and DVD a year later, in the fall of 2004, by the name "Alizée En Concert", followed. The DVD featured footage of her rehearsals.
Alizée has sold more than four million albums throughout Europe. She has starred in a Japanese commercial and has taken part in various stage shows and live performances outside of Japan. The female Night Elf dance in the computer game, World of Warcraft, published by Blizzard Entertainment, is rumored to be inspired by the choreography of her performance of J'en Ai Marre, and the stage costume for the same performance is considered by many to be inspired by a blue sailor outfit seen in the 1997 remake of Nabokov's Lolita, due to a striking similarity in design.
Since her marriage, Alizée has taken a hiatus from singing and has avoided appearing in the media since February 2004. Her first television appearance since her marriage was on MTV France on February 18, 2006. She currently resides in Paris, France.
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Future
Alizée's message for the fans.
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Alizée's message for the fans.
There has been no confirmed official word regarding Alizée's comeback into the music business for almost two years, and her official site has been down since the summer of 2005. Since then, many rumors had surfaced, only to turn out to be false.
After almost two years of fan speculation, on April 3, 2006, Alizée sent a handwritten message for the fans to the webmaster of the fansite Le Nid d' Alizée, stating that she is working on the third album. Translated to English the message is as below.
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