When Amandine Bourgeois broke onto the scene, she stood firmly at the intersection of Rock and Soul music. Before winning the 6th season of Nouvelle Star (French American Idol), she sang in both Rock and R&B/Funk bands.
Her bluesy sound hints at her wide range of influences, among which she counts Led Zeppelin, Rachelle Ferrell (an underrated American R&B singer) and Joss Stone.
Though Rock ‘n’ Soul has always been Bourgeois’ shtick, she later founds herself with a lot of company. Everybody and their mother was doing “Retro Soul” in the 2010’s, even in France — Chimene Badi, Ben l’Oncle Soul, etc. — and she hoped to stand out in the crowd.
The material on her debut album 20 m2 was more Pop oriented, but her soulful vocals added a deep-fried coating to many of the tracks, whether intentional or not. But she also took the opportunity to flaunt her range, showing off a delicate, Joni Mitchell-esque soprano on the Folk track “Etranger” (written by fellow French singer Jeanne Cherhal). Another Folk offering is “Du Temps,” which was written by Rose.
The singer scored a minor hit with her catchy leadoff single “L’homme de la situation”, which helped the album reach the top 5 when she was fresh off her Nouvelle Star win:
Sans Amour Mon Amour
Given her style, it’s no surprise that her 2012 sophomore album, Sans Amour Mon Amour, sounds A LOT like the late Amy Winehouse. That’s because 1) that’s always been Bourgeois’ style, and 2) she recorded her album using Winehouse trumpeter Steve Sidwell, at the same studio in Brighton where Winehouse recorded her albums. Bourgeois also famously covered Winehouse’s “Rehab” during her run on the Nouvelle Star competition. The only thing left was for Mark Ronson to call her up and get her in the studio with the Dap Kings, and the circle would’ve been complete.
Does Bourgeois have what it takes to stand out? Listen to the title track from the album, “Sans Amour,” and leave a comment with your thoughts.
In 2013, Amandine Bourgeois was selected to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest. (It’s like an international American Idol, but with sequin jumpsuits.)
Her edgy Rock performance (in French) placed 23rd out of 26th in the 2013 competition, but don’t put the blame on her. Blame a longstanding under-appreciation of French music: France hasn’t won the contest since 1977. Plus, the winning song was in English, yet it was sung by a Dane. Go figure.
In 2014, Bourgeois released the Pop/Rock album Au Masculin. I really liked the debut single, “Ma Guele.” She followed that project with the 2018 album, Omnia. If you enjoy female-fronted bands, or the Power Pop vocals of Pink, then I think you’d enjoy this artist.
What do you think this French artist? Leave a comment below:
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