French Electro

Hip Versailles electro duo Air enjoyed phenomenal success in 2004, kicking off the year in January with Talkie Walkie. The album went down in history as the second French album (after Manu Chao's Proxima Estacion : Esperanza in 2001) to rocket directly to no.1 in the European Albums chart compiled by Music & Media. Talkie Walkie also shot to no.1 in Ireland, no.2 in the UK, Flanders and Portugal, no.3 in Italy, Norway and Greece, no.4 in Switzerland, no.5 in Germany,  no.6 in Iceland, no.8 in Finland, no.9 in Wallonia, no.11 in Denmark, no.14 in South Korea, no.17 in the Netherlands, no.18 in Australia, no.19 in Austria, no.33 in Canada, no.37 in Estonia, no.40 in Poland, no.43 in Sweden, no.51 in the Czech Republic, no.61 in the US and no.69 in Estonia. Meanwhile, Talkie Walkie also did well in Japan where it reached no.8 in the Recofan charts and no.18 on the Amazon score table.

Phoenix scored a major hit in 2001 with their single If I Ever Feel Better and now they have proved they are far from being one-hit wonders! The group recently rocketed back into the spotlight with a new album, Alphabetical, which sailed up the charts in Norway (no.9), Sweden (no.11), Wallonia (no.41), Japan (no.53 in the HMV charts), Germany (no.68) and Italy (no.72).

Meanwhile, following his stormy break-up with the actress Isabelle Adjani, Jean-Michel Jarre made newspaper headlines again when he performed a mega-concert in Beijing to mark the inauguration of the 'Year of France' in China. But the highlight of Jarre's year was the release of his innovative new album Aero (recorded in Dolby 5.1 surround). Aero reached no.7 in Slovenia, no.8 in Wallonia, no.11 in Spain, no.14 in the UK, no.15 in Estonia ("Pedro Beat" record stores), no.20 in Greece, no.25 in Hungary, no.26 in Denmark, no.27 in Poland, no.33 in the Netherlands, no.39 in Italy, no.57 in Germany, no.61 in Switzerland and no.95 in Flanders.

Dimitri from Paris continued to make his mark on the Anglo-Saxon music scene, producing a well-reviewed mix for the In The House series which reached no.2 in the UK, no.17 in the electronic music charts in the US and no.91 in the HMV charts in Japan. Dimitri's solo album Cruising Attitude cruised to no.62 in Italy. Meanwhile, electro fans in the US rushed out to buy two cult French compilations: Buddha Bar and Hôtel Costes. Volume six in the Buddha Bar series, mixed by Ravin, reached no.23 in Billboard's electronic music chart. A few notches higher in the same chart Stéphane Pompougnac's Hôtel Costes Volume 7 came in at no.12.

Pop and Chanson

Following the sucess of Arabesque, Jane Birkin headed chartwards once again with Rendez-vous. Jane's album proved a big hit in Belgium (no.2 in Wallonia and no.65 in Flanders) and made it to no.33 in Switzerland and no.41 in Italy. French chanson star Patricia Kaas reinvented herself as a rock chick in the autumn of 2003 with Sexe fort. The album enjoyed ongoing success throughout the summer of 2004, charting at no.6 in Estonia, no.7 in Switzerland, no.11 in Wallonia, no.13 in Poland, no.14 in Russia ("Bolero" record stores), no.31 in Finland, no.36 in Greece, no.63 in Germany and no.99 in Flanders.

Meanwhile, the Quebecois diva Isabelle Boulay released a best-selling album Tout un jour which climbed to no.2 in Canada, no.3 in Wallonia and no.11 in Switzerland. The award for surprise hit of the year went to Keren Ann (who made her name writing material for Henri Salvador). Keren Ann's album Not Going Anywhere took South Korea by storm, reaching no.10 in the Tube Music charts and hanging on in the Top 20 for a whole two months! Last but not least, French pop Lolita Lorie retained a firm grip on the teen market. Her latest album Attitudes shot to no.6 in Wallonia, no.52 in Canada and no.59 in Switzerland.

Five years after his last album, Francis Cabrel enjoyed renewed sucess with Les Beaux Dégâts which rocketed to no.1 in France and Wallonia, no.3 in Switzerland and no.9 in Canada. Les Beaux Dégâts also reached no.75 in Flanders. Meanwhile, Calogero has also been carving out a niche for himself in the European charts. The singer's third album, 3, shot straight to no.1 in Wallonia and no.14 in Switzerland and also spawned the summer smash Face à la mer recorded with rap star Passi. The single made it to no.6 in Wallonia and no.12 in Switzerland and received extensive airplay in Eastern Europe (particularly in Russia and Kazakhstan).

Gérald de Palmas has spent the last few years penning hits for Johnny Hallyday and Céline Dion. But he recently made a comeback in his own right with Un homme sans racine. The album climbed to no.6 in Wallonia and no.36 in Switzerland. Meanwhile, Florent Pagny experimented with "classical" sounds on his new album Baryton. Pagny's classical and operatic airs went down a treat with fans and the album climbed to no.1 in Wallonia and no.19 in Switzerland.

Michel Sardou's album Du plaisir rocketed to no.1 in France and Wallonia and no.9 in Switzerland. At the end of 2004 the team from Star Academy paid their own tribute to the creator of Le Lac du Connemara, recording a best-selling album of covers of his songs. Sacha Distel faced the final curtain in July this year, passing away at his home near St Tropez. But before his death France's favourite crooner scored one final hit in the UK with the album When I Fall In Love which reached no.79.

Rap/R&B

A new generation of French R&B artists have emerged in the wake of Corneille. French duo Tragédie racked up phenomenal sales of their album Sans retenue which spawned a series of chart-topping singles including Sexy pour moi and Hey ho. Tragédie's album climbed to no.14 in Wallonia, no.65 in Switzerland and no.82 in Canada. The other hot discovery of the year was K-Maro whose album La Good Life shot to no.7 in Wallonia, no.26 in Switzerland, no.89 in Flanders and no.130 in Canada. Meanwhile, his single Femme Like U rocketed to no.1 in Wallonia, no.3 in Switzerland and also received extensive airplay in Belarus, Poland, Guatemala and his native Lebanon.

Over in the rap world, MC Solaar made it into the Greek Top 50 for the first time in his career, charting at no.47 with Mach 6. Meanwhile, Kool Shen separated from his NTM sidekick, Joey Starr, and released his first solo album. Dernier round climbed to no.30 in Switzerland and no.39 in Wallonia, countries where Booba's album Panthéon also did well (no.25 in Switzerland and no.29 in Wallonia).

Film soundtracks & musicals

The French musical Don Juan - produced by Charles Talar (Notre-Dame de Paris) and set to music by Félix Gray - enjoyed a first run in Quebec before coming to France. And the album of the show performed extremely well in the Canadian Top 100. Meanwhile, the album from Gérard Presgurvic's musical Roméo et Juliette took the Hungarian charts by storm, rocketing to number 1. Last year, it was Yann Tiersen's soundtrack to Amélie that made a huge impact on the international charts. This year, soundtracks to two French films share that honour. Les Choristes reached no.4 in Switzerland, no.14 in Wallonia, no.20 in Canada and no.48 in Germany, while Les Triplettes de Belleville climbed to no.1 in the World Music charts in the US and no.33 in Greece and Canada.

World Favourites

Youssou N'Dour's album, Egypt, inspired by the singer's Muslim faith, made it to no.70 in Wallonia, no.81 in Switzerland, no.100 in the Netherlands, no.148 in the UK and no.9 in the World Music chart in the US. Meanwhile, The Gipsy Kings were back strumming their guitars again on a new studio album, Roots which reached no.9 in Estonia, no.42 in the Netherlands, no.71 in the Czech Republic, no.83 in Flanders, no.168 in the HMV chart in Japan, no.177 in Canada and no.187 in the US. The Gipsies' Greatest Hits compilation (1994) also resurfaced in Ecuador, reaching no.22 in the Tower Records chart.

Cesaria Evora had no less than five albums in the charts all the way from Poland, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia to Greece, Venezuela and the US, causing a stir with two studio albums (Voz d'amor and Café Atlantico) and three compilations (Anthology, a Best Of and Club Sodade). As for the indefatigable pianist Richard Clayderman, he continued the globe-trotting tour he began in the late 70s. His album Everybody Loves Someone reached no.38 in Venezuela while the Richard Clayderman Collection climbed to no.70 in Italy.