On Ecoute…Pierre Garnier

You may have reason to believe that France Today deems itself above the kind of cultural output derived from TV talent shows such as Star Academy – the French reality singing competition that made a return to primetime TFI in 2022. Normally you would assume correctly, but in the case of the most recent winner, singer-songwriter Pierre Garnier, we are more than happy to make an exception.

Garnier, who was born in Caen (Calvados), won season 11 in February with 55% of the vote, and just five days later released his single, Ceux qu’on était (Who We Were), which reached number 1 in less than 24 hours. As we went to press, the number of streams on Spotify alone had topped 60m. The song was written with musicians DAYSY and Joseph Kamel in Garnier’s bedroom in Villedieu-les-Poêles (Manche), where he grew up.

The brilliantly catchy, piano-led and minor-chord melancholy of the tune, allied to lyrics of regret about a relationship ending, became the tube (hit song) of the early summer, while Garnier’s debut album, Chaque seconde (Every Second), was one of the top 10 most-listened-to albums in the world on the day of its June release. And thus was born a new raspy-voiced, home-grown singing sensation…

From France Today Magazine