Camelia Jordana: Grown-Up Sound from the Girl Next Door

The talented young singer Camelia Jordana has a certain je ne sais quoi, and I think she’s just adorable. Her songs are catchy, yet her sound is timeless — almost deliberately so. Her girl-next-door vibe makes her all the more endearing.

Born in the south of France, Camélia Jordana Riad-Aliouane was introduced to the world as a contestant on Season 7 of Nouvelle Star (France’s American Idol), when she was just 16 years old and still in high school. In her debut performance, she breathed new life into Carla Bruni’s “Quelqu’un m’a Dit” and won a standing ovation from the judges, resulting in one of the most buzzed about moments of the season.

Camelia Jordana

Having no formal vocal training, she learned to sing from her mother, who was an opera singer. After finishing in third place in the competition, she released her debut, self-titled album in 2010.

Jordana collaborated with skilled writers like Mathieu Boogaerts, Séverin, L (Raphaële Lannadère) and Babx on the album, resulting in a polished album of with a range of sounds from 60’s Pop to subdued jazz, delivered in her beautifully raspy vocals. She was nominated for the Prix Constantin (France’s equivalent of the Mercury Prize) for emerging artists.


Her Nouvelle Star following and catchy first single “Non, Non, Non (Ecouter Barbara)” propelled her album into the French top 10 in its first week before eventually going platinum, making her yet another reality show contestant to successfully transition into a professional music career. “Barbara” is a reference to the legendary 60’s French singer (of “L’aigle Noir” fame). I wish the official music video was still online. It was really cute. Take a listen:

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She got some radio play with her second single, “Calamity Jane.” (In the video, Camelia rides a horse down the streets of Paris.)

But my favorite song of all was her third single, “Moi C’est.” I just found the rhythm of her vocals to be super catchy, plus the video (no longer available online) is really cute and creative. Who knew you could do so much with a couch? Check out a lyric video instead:

You can find Jordana on the duet “Avant la Haine” on Alex Beaupain’s 2011 album, Pourquoi mon cœur battait, and most recently on the 2013 duet “Je ne t’ai jamais aimé” with Babx. She also appears on the Le Soldat Rose 2 children’s album with Tété, Vanessa Paradis, M, Thomas Dutronc and others.

The singer made her film debut in the hilarious 2013 comedy “La Stratégie de la poussette.” In recent years, Jordana has been spoken out against police brutality. She included an English-language song called “Freddie Gray” on her third album, Lost, a project that was a bold departure from her catchy Pop style.

She’s back with more new music, closer to the style she’s known for. Here’s “Facile.”

What do you think of this French singer? Leave a comment below.