Alizee Jacotey (born August 21, 1984) is a French singer. Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, she goes by the stage name Alizee the feminine form of aliza, the trade wind. She was discovered by Mylane Farmer, a successful Quebec-born French singer, following her winning performance in the talent show, Graines de Star, in 1999. While collaborating with Mylane Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, Alizee came up with two albums both of which were hits inside and outside of France. Alizee is considered the protege of Mylane Farmer.
Alizee entered the music business in the year 2000. Since then, she has released two studio albums, composed by Laurent Boutonnat and written by Mylane Farmer. Her first album was Gourmandises, which received Platinum certification within three months of release. Gourmandises was a success both in France and abroad after it had its international launch in 2001 earning Alizee the distinction of being the highest selling female French singer in 2001. The album featured her most successful single "Moi... Lolita" which reached number one in several countries in Europe and East Asia. The marketing campaign around the single affixed Alizee's image as that of a seductive lolita. Gourmandises was followed by a second studio album, Mes Courants A?lectriques in 2003, which was also quite successful, though not as big a hit as Alizee's debut album. Following its release, Alizee toured France during the fall of 2003, performing in 43 concerts throughout France, along with Belgium and Switzerland.
Alizee married fellow French singer Jeremy Chattelain in late 2003. Since her marriage she has taken a break from singing, but is returning with a new album, titled Psychlices in November 2007.
Early years
Also known by her nickname Lili, Alizee started dancing early in her life. By the age of four, she became quite proficient in it. A year later, she enrolled herself in Corsica's renowned dance school, Ecole du Spectacle de Monique Mufraggi, and received her training there until she was 15. In 1995, at the age of eleven, she won a coloring competition organized by Air Outre Mer, a former French airline now partly acquired by Swissair. Her design won first prize and was reproduced on the cabin of one of the airline's aircraft. The aircraft was subsequently named after her and for her efforts, Alizee won a trip to the Maldives.
In 1999, she appeared on the TV talent show "Graines de Star", broadcast on Matropole 6. She initially intended to sign up for the programme's dance contest. However, the dance category was reserved for groups only. Alizee therefore participated in the singing category instead, performing the song Ma Priare. She went on to win the "Meilleure Graine" award for most promising young singing star of tomorrow.
Her winning performance was seen by veteran Canadian-born French pop diva Mylane Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat, who were looking for a young, fresh voice to partake in their new project. They approached Alizee and she was selected after studio auditions. The duo architected her debut with a meticulously orchestrated launch, controlling her image and public appearances. In 2000, they produced her maiden album, Gourmandises which was a great success in France. The first single was Moi... Lolita, which set the tone of the album, portrayed Alizee as a Lolita who was capable of "melting the hearts of the local male population". She returned with a follow up album, Mes Courants Alectriques, in 2003. This second album was also quite successful, though not to the same extent as Gourmandises. It was followed up with a live album of her countrywide tour.
Personal life
Even though the albums have portrayed her in a sexy, lolita-like image, Alizee had a "squeaky-clean public image as the perfect teenager" during her teens. Though described as a very shy and a reserved person, she likes performing in front of audiences. Although she has a singing career, Alizee prefers dancing, and is quite proficient in classical dance, jazz, ballet, tap and flamenco. Alizee also likes football. She is a supporter of AC Ajaccio (Corsica), and was once invited to kick off one of their matches.
Alizee is actively involved in charity work through Les Enfoiras, a group of French celebrities who organize fund-raising concerts every year. The proceeds from these concerts go to Les Restaurants du Coeur. The organization, set up by French comedian Coluche, helps feed the poor. Alizee participated in these concerts in 2001 and 2002.
Alizee married fellow French singer Jeremy Chattelain, whom she met at the Eurobest awards function in 2003. They were married on November 6, 2003 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. The couple had their first child on April 29, 2005 a girl they named Anny-Lee (Annily). She currently resides in Paris, France.
Career
Alizee debuted in the year 2000 with the album Gourmandises. It went on to become a hit both in Europe and outside. It was followed up with a studio album in 2003, Mes Courants Alectriques, and a live album "Alizee In Concert" in 2004.
Alizee has sold more than five million albums throughout Europe. She has taken part in various stage shows and live performances throughout Europe and Russia. She has also starred in a Japanese commercial. Though not nearly as popular in North America as she is in much of Europe, Alizee's dance from "J'en Ai Marre" was the influence for the Night Elf female dance in Blizzard Entertainment's best-selling game World of Warcraft.
Following her marriage in late 2003, Alizee has taken a hiatus from singing and has avoided appearing in the media since. Her first television appearance since then was on MTV France on February 18, 2006.
Alizee made her debut with the single, Moi... Lolita, her most successful to date. It enjoyed success throughout most of Europe and parts of east Asia, reaching number one in several countries. Indeed, Alizee's image was that of a seductive Lolita character, referring to the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The video for the single, which incidentally was the first to be filmed on her, showed Alizee as a village girl visiting a night-club. The song was later used in the UK trailer of the 2006 film, A Good Year, and was a part of the film's soundtrack.
The single was from her debut album, "Gourmandises", which translates to "Delicacies" in English. The album, written by Farmer and composed by Boutonnat, sold over 1,300,000 copies in France. It went Platinum in just three months. In 2001, the album, most of whose songs featured "risque lyrics", was launched internationally, and she became the highest-selling female French singer in 2001. The album went on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide. Farmer and Boutonnat kept a tight rein how the album was marketed and controlled the image in which Alizee was portrayed. In the mean time, Alizee gave very few interviews, and even when she did, they did not stretch beyond 20 minutes per journalist. Neither did she agree to any photoshoots.
Her second single L'Aliza, also from the same album, followed soon after. It was also successful in hitting number one in France, and gained some success internationally. The video of the "sexily alliterative" song shows Alizee amidst soap bubbles against a pink backdrop singing about herself. The video was shot in a studio in Brussels which had a 25 metre by 10 metre painted canvas to serve as the background with real bubbles. This single was followed up with another single from the same album - the title song, Gourmandises. The video, which shows a group of young boys and girls out on a picnic, was shot in a day. The last single from this album was Parler Tout Bas, which deals with the theme of dreams and a loss of innocence.
