Corneille Enchants Across Boundaries

A French singer, Canadian transplant, and genocide survivor, Corneille has always stood between worlds. His universal appeal has made him a worldwide star.

With every Nico & Vinz hit and Bro Country single, it seems the racial fault lines in music are being erased. France, being way more sophisticated than us, figured this out long ago.

Corneille (pronounced Kor-NAY) launched his career in his adopted home of Montreal, but it was France that first embraced him as a beloved Pop singer back in 2003. This platinum-selling artist triumphed over personal tragedy to become one of today’s most popular singers in French-speaking countries around the world.

Though he was inspired by the usual R&B legends — Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince, and Michael Jackson — his music has a universal appeal that has largely kept him from being pigeonholed.

Born in Germany to Rwandan students who were studying abroad, Corneille (Nyungura) moved to Rwanda at age 6. He formed his first singing group at 16, recorded a demo, and enjoyed some minor success.

His parents and siblings were gunned down during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. (He survived the attack on his home by hiding behind a sofa.) After taking refuge with friends of his parents in Germany, he moved to Quebec in the late 1990s. There, he teamed up with the singer (Pierre) Gage and Gardy Fury to form the R&B group O.N.E., and the trio scored a major Quebecois hit with the song, “Zoukin.”

Solo Career

In 2002, the young singer /songwriter released his solo debut Parce qu’on vient de loin in Canada. But his breakthrough didn’t come until a year later when his album was released in France, packaged with a bonus acoustic disc (the best part, IMO). He captured the public with his French Acoustic Soul and autobiographical lyrics about his life experiences.

Parce qu’on vient de loin

Parce qu’on vient de loin reached the top 5 in France (and Belgium), and spent almost 2 years on the charts. The double platinum album was entirely written, arranged, and produced by the artist himself. It includes the hit singles “Ensemble,” “Avec classe,” “Rêves de star,” “Seul au monde,” “Comme un fils,” and the top 10 title track.

Check out the acoustic version of the song:

His 2005 sophomore album Les Marchands de rêves was also well received, going platinum and reaching number 3 on the charts. It was more ballad-based than the first, and included the singles “Le bon dieu est une femme” and the moving title track “Reposez en Paix” (Rest in Peace) — a tribute to his slain parents.

That same year, he reteamed with Gage from his former R&B group to write and produce most of the songs on HIS debut album, Soul Rebel.

In hopes of reaching an American audience, Corneille signed with Motown and released an all English, 1960’s/70’s inspired album called The Birth of Cornelius in 2007.

He followed that up with the mysteriously titled Sans Titre (French for “untitled”), in 2009. He said at the time that he was trying to distance himself from labels the industry was trying to pin on him. I would characterize this groovy little album as the French answer to John Legend’s Evolver. The project was largely panned, but I thought it was hot. You can judge for yourself.

Consider this your PG-13 warning for the video for “Elle me Ment.”

Recent Recordings

Les Inséparables

After a lukewarm reception for his previous two projects, Corneille topped the charts again in 2011 with his fifth studio album, Les Inséparables. The album went gold mainly on the strength of the singles “Des Pères, des Hommes et des Frères” featuring La Fouine, and the EDM-lite track “Le jour après la fin du monde” (the day after the end of the world).

Here’s “Des Pères, des Hommes et des Frères.”

In 2012, Corneille penned a couple of songs for M. Pokora’s album, À La Poursuite Du Bonheur. The singer also appeared on the wildly popular Generation Goldman compilation albums.

Entre Nord et Sud

Corneille’s 6th studio album is Entre Nord et Sud (between North and South). Meant to represent the wide spectrum of music he makes, the title is also an obvious reference to his personal life and his part-African, part-Western background.

(Please note: This album is only available as a physical CD in the U.S. No digital formats are available.)

There are no Soul/R&B songs, strictly speaking, but Hip Hop, Reggae, and AfroPop are all represented, along with copious amounts of Pop, and a smidgen too much EDM for my personal tastes. But it was very “of the moment” and the French ate it up.

Check out the radio single “Les sommets de nos vies.”

I’ve always preferred his music stripped down — the way it was on his early albums. Corneille thoughtfully gives us longtime fans a nod with acoustic renditions of a couple of songs.

Overall, it’s another solid effort with mass appeal, which has always been his signature style.

Download: “Beaux,” “Toujours là,” “Nostalgie” featuring the Nigerian rapper Ice Prince, “Sans raccourcis” (featuring French rapper Kery James), “Au bord du lac,” and “Touché.”