Thursday, June 14, 2007

And the Winner is....

JULIEN!! Last night was the grand final-ey of Nouvelle Star, the French version of Pop Idol. It's taken sixteen - count 'em - weeks to whittle down the contenders from fifteen to the final two. In the red corner, ukulele-playing Julien, with his hairslide, who describes his greatest quality as being "frigid or precise" and claims to be a fan of crusty old French novelist/literary historian Jean d'Ormesson. And in the blue corner, Tigane, who says his "kind nature" is his strong point and cites Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys and Stevie Wonder as his biggest influences. I need not tell you, dear reader, that Miss Kitty and I were GLUED to the sofa at Rhino75 Towers, biting our nails and licking our bottoms, respectively. Though Tigane has a pleasant enough voice, bless him, he suffers from something of a charisma by-pass and is just a smidgin' karaoke. Julien, on the other hand, had our vote from the start and his version of "Le Mal-Aimé" (a French cover of "Daydreamer" as sung by David Cassidy - watch the original here) brought a tear to my eye and a lump to my throat. Another highlight was his jazzy performance of "Smells like Teen Spirit" (ok, bit of a Paul Anka rip-off, but he does it well) in a red velvet suit that inspired this wonderful haiku from AussieLass. I didn't like the "Ebony & Ivory" duet with Tigane, though - it's a grisly song at the best of times and they had the harmonies all wrong. ::sigh:: Ah well, at least we got the right result IMHO. Now only a couple of months to go before "Star Academy" (the French version of "Fame Academy") starts again...In the meantime, watch Julien in action here. I think I may start wearing a hairslide myself...

10 comments:

Mrs B said...

Not to mention how damn foxy he is. Katia and I may have to fight over him. r0wr.

rhino75 said...

Keep it clean, ladies, keep it clean. No hair pulling, no biting etc. :-D

Katia said...

Oh yes, foxy indeed. We'll just have to learn how to share, Kimmeh.

Btw, I am wearing a hairslide today, in recognition of my adoration for the wonderful Julien.

Anonymous said...

"keep it clean ladies" said the man who apparently licked his own bottom and Miss Kitty's" in front of Julien...

Anyway, I watched it too and was in a trance from beginning to end. This guy is a star. My favorite performance with him: Lolita. I almost cried of desire when I saw him doing it.

PS: Can't stand the fact that I will be out of town when the famous Sis is finally in Paris...

rhino75 said...

Micke, he's SO good, isn't he? But what's this? Out of town?? And suspiciously at the same time as Meg ... I may have to crank the rumour mill into life...

Anonymous said...

A hairslide ???? If you are in any way referring to Julien's haistyle, I really do hope that that was written in jest ;-))

The Late Bloomer said...

I have to say that I'm fully regretting the fact that I have never actually seen Nouvelle Star and completely missed out on the entertainment that is this incredible Julien. I've got to get back in the loop! Oh, and when I'm back home from the office, I'll be watching him a bit on YouTube...

Five years ago I was an avid fan of Star Academy, but I've aged just a wee bit too soon since then!

negrito said...

well i think this time he upgraded the thing to premium levels, i mean, for once it was worth turning on TV :)

rhino75 said...

hehe Tiresia, never underestimate my ability to slavishly follow a trend (even without hair!). Late Bloomer, I am living proof that one is NEVER to old for reality TV, trust me!! 'tain't nothing but a premium-line phone or text vote :-). Negrito, I am in complete agreement (though I'm not too picky about turning on the TV, I confess).

Rob7534 said...

You know Rhino, call me a pessimist, but I was a bit suspicious about listening to a rendition of Team Spirit done up all Jazzy-like... but I must admit that I do like it!

I'm a sucker for a swing rhythm and a walking bass line. He's definitely got that star quality, that certain... je ne sais qua!