Isabelle Boulay | |
|---|---|
 Boulay in March 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Isabelle Boulay |
| Born | (1972-07-06)6 July 1972 (age 52) |
| Origin | Sainte-Félicité, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Folk,country, pop music[1] |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Polydor,Universal Music Group,Audiogram |
| Partner(s) | Stéphane Rousseau (2000–2003) Éric Dupond-Moretti (2016–present) |
| Website | isabelleboulay |
Isabelle Boulay,CQ (French pronunciation:[izabɛlbulɛ]; born 6 July 1972) is a Canadian singer.
Born inSainte-Félicité, Quebec, where her parents owned a restaurant, Boulay moved to the nearby city ofMatane at the start of her adolescence, and studied literature atCégep Limoilou. In 1988, her friends signed her up, without her knowledge, for a singing contest in Matane, where she made the acquaintance ofJosélito Michaud, who later became her agent. In 1990, at thePetite-Vallée song festival, she won an award for her performance of "Les gens de mon pays" (Gilles Vigneault). The following year, in 1991, she won theGranby Song Festival for her renditions of "Amsterdam" (Jacques Brel) and "Naufrage" (Dan Bigras). She was also invited to take part in the festivalLes FrancoFolies de Montréal. In 1992, she performed in France at theThéâtre Dejazet, introducingBill Deraime. In 1993, she representedRadio Canada at the "Truffe de Périgueux" festival held inPérigord, France, and was awarded the prize for Best Singer in the "Chanson francophone" category.[2][3][4]
Following Boulay's success in France, she was noticed by songwriterLuc Plamondon, who was looking for emerging talents to perform in a new production of hisrock operaStarmania. There, Boulay portrayed the role of Marie-Jeanne from 1995 to 1998. She also provided the singing voice for Quebec singerAlys Robi in the TV miniseries of the same name, adding to her popularity in Quebec.[2][3][4]
In 1996, Boulay released her debut album,Fallait pas, written and produced byDaniel DeShaime.[4][5] She also participated again in Les FrancoFolies de Montréal.[4] She began recording her second album,États d'amour, in 1997; it was released in Quebec in February 1998 and sold well, being certified gold by September. The album was released in France in November. In 1998, she was also nominated for fourFélix Awards but failed to win any.[4][6] In 1999, the single "Je t'oublierai, je t'oublierai" fromÉtats d'amour peaked at No. 33 on the French charts.[7] Boulay made a number of media appearances in France in 1999, and, in the summer, sang again in the FrancoFolies de Montréal, where the live albumScènes d'amour was recorded. She also performed withSerge Lama at theOlympia and introducedFrancis Cabrel on tour, as well asJulien Clerc during his tour in Montreal. In October, she was given the Félix Award for female singer of the year.[2][3][4]
Since then, Boulay has had considerable success both in Quebec and in Europe. Her biggest-selling album in France was the 2000 releaseParle-moi. On 14 February 2008, she was presented with the medal of theNational Assembly of Quebec by the mayor of her hometown, in recognition of her contribution to the arts. Beginning 2001-2004, the French media began referring to Boulay as one of thegrandes voix québécoises (great Quebecois voices) at the centre of contemporary trends in popular music. Other singers grouped in this category includedLara Fabian,Céline Dion,Natasha St-Pier,Garou,Daniel Lavoie,Lynda Lemay,Bruno Pelletier andRoch Voisine. However, the musicologist Catherine Rudent concludes that only Fabian, Dion and St-Pier truly resemble Boulay in répertoire, voice and techniques of interpretation. These singers have in common a style inherited fromsoul music, in which expressive vocality takes priority over the text, making full use of registers of the chest and head, vocal ornamentation and improvisation.[8]
Boulay was a coach onLa Voix for its second, third, and fifth editions. In March 2019, she was one of 11 singers from Quebec, alongsideGinette Reno,Diane Dufresne, Céline Dion,Luce Dufault,Louise Forestier,Laurence Jalbert,Catherine Major,Ariane Moffatt,Marie Denise Pelletier andMarie-Élaine Thibert, who participated in asupergroup recording ofRenée Claude's 1971 single "Tu trouveras la paix" after Claude's diagnosis withAlzheimer's disease was announced.[9]
In October 2008, Boulay and her producerMarc-Andre Chicoine, had their first child together, Marcus Andrew.[10]
She is living in 2020 with the French Minister of Justice,Éric Dupond-Moretti.[11]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: Quebec chart positions. You can help byadding to it.(July 2012) |
| Year | Title | Certification (France) [22][23][24] | Certification (Canada)[6] | Peak positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [25] | FR (DD) | BE (WA) [26] | SWI | CAN [27] | ||||
| 1996 | Fallait pas | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1998 | États d'amour | Gold(2002) | Platinum(1999) | 60 | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | Mieux qu'ici-bas | Diamond(2002) | — | 6 | — | 4 | 65 | 4 |
| 2004 | Tout un jour | 2xGold(2004) | Gold(2004) | 4 | — | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| 2007 | De retour à la source | — | Platinum(2007) | 87 | — | 32 | 65 | 2 |
| 2008 | Nos Lendemains | — | Gold(2009) | 7 | 4 | 7 | 22 | 1 |
| 2009 | Chansons pour les mois d'hiver | — | Gold(2010) | 173 | — | — | — | 6 |
| 2011 | Les grands espaces | Platinum(2012) | Gold(2012) | 12 | — | 16 | 69 | 9 |
| 2014 | Merci Serge Reggiani | Gold(2015) | 5 | — | 8 | 40 | — | |
| 2017 | En vérité | 8 [28] | — | 5 | 16 | 9 [29] | ||
| 2019 | En attendant Noël | 71 [30] | — | — | — | 5 [31] | ||
| 2023 | Boulay chanteBashung | 88 [32] | — | 35 | 73 | — | ||
| Year | Title | Certification (France) [22] | Peak position | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [25] | FR (DD) | BE (WA) | SWI | CAN [27] | |||
| 2000 | Scènes d'amour | — | — | — | — | — | 9 |
| 2002 | Au moment d'être à vous | Platinum(2004) | 4 | — | 5 | 8 | 7 |
| 2005 | Du Temps pour toi | — | 16 | 7 | 7 | 42 | |
| Year | Title | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| CAN[27] | ||
| 2002 | Ses plus belles histoires | 10 |
| 2012 | Master série | — |
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Alys Robi |
| 2002 | Séraphin: un homme et son péché |
| Year | Title | Certification (France) [22] | Peak position | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [33] | BE (WA) | SWI | ||||
| 1996 | "J'enrage" | — | — | — | — | Fallait pas |
| "Et mon cœur en prend plein la gueule" | ||||||
| "Un peu d'innocence" | 41 | |||||
| 1998 | "Je t'oublierai, je t'oublierai" | — | 33 | — | — | États d'amour |
| "Le Saule" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "La Lune" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "États d'amour" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Parle-moi" | Gold(2000) | 2 | 1 | — | Mieux qu'ici-bas |
| 2001 | "Un Jour ou l'autre" | — | 31 | 22 | — | |
| "Quelques pleurs" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Jamais assez loin" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Mieux qu'ici-bas" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002 | "Sans toi" (live) | — | — | — | — | Au moment d'être à vous |
| 2003 | "Depuis le premier jour" | — | — | — | — | Séraphin: un homme et son péché |
| 2004 | "C'est quoi, c'est l'habitude" | — | — | — | — | Tout un jour |
| "Tout au bout de nos peines" | Silver(2004) | 3 | 7 | 23 | ||
| 2005 | "Une Autre Vie" | — | — | — | — | Du temps pour toi |
| 2008 | "Ton Histoire" | — | 14 | 39 | — | Nos Lendemains |
| 2009 | "Chanson pour les mois d'hiver" | Chansons pour les mois d'hiver | ||||
| 2011 | "Fin octobre, début novembre" | 78 | 44 | Les grands espaces | ||
| 2014 | "Il suffirait de presque rien" | 165 | — | — | Merci Serge Reggiani | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
