Song #010: Marie-Mai - La Prochaine Fois (off Dangereuse Attraction - 2007)
I was going to wait a while before going bilingual on you, but I finished my summer course today and I am celebrating my victory over FR 2082 - Communication Orale with my favourite French tunes.
There’s one chanteuse who DOMINATES my francophone playlist - sometimes called “The Québecoise Kelly Clarkson,” Marie-Mai got her start on the French-Canadian equivalent of Idol. She was the “rebellious” rocker chick, but she’s certainly got a set of pipes on her. And my GOD. I don’t normally go for the Avril type, but she’s definitely in my top 5 girlcrushes of all time. So. Effing. Hot. I even like her as a blonde, and I’m not attracted to blonde chicks… but this isn’t a WhyThey’reHot post (note to self: get on that!)
Anyway, I discovered Marie-Mai thanks to a now-defunct French-Canadian teen magazine called Rebelle. I think I bought the issue in a bus stop in Ottawa because my Greyhound was delayed… little did I know that spending $4.25 on a magazine too young for me (who reads teen rags at 19?) would open up a whole new world of music for me?
Marie-Mai writes her own songs, and they’re GOOD. She can sound like Hayley Williams or Gaga or Kelly Clarkson. She’s done a duet with David Usher. As much as I love her for being “La Vraie Rebelle,” I love her most doing acoustic ballads. Actually, her stripped-down songs are the only time I prefer sap over sass. Check out this live performance of “Avec Elle,” my favourite French song of all time.
La Prochaine Fois should be every girl’s post-breakup anthem. The lyrics lose something in translation, but it’s a take-me-as-I-am empowerment ballad. The chorus ends with, “Next time, I’ll think of myself first.” I am SUCH A SUCKER for that kind of thing. It’s not even cheesy because it’s in French (my rule).
I know Toronto’s francophone population isn’t huge. I know she probably can’t draw the kind of crowds she’s used to here, but I would punch a penguin to see her live. She’s my ringtone. She’s my French songwriting inspiration. Elle est ma préférée.
