Patrick Fiori | |
|---|---|
 Fiori in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Patrick Chouchayan (1969-09-23)23 September 1969 (age 56) Marseille, France |
| Origin | Marseille, France |
| Genres | French pop,Pop rock |
| Occupation | Singer–songwriter |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Website | www.patrickfiori.net |
Patrick Chouchayan (French pronunciation:[patʁikʃuʃajɑ̃]; born 23 September 1969), known by his stage namePatrick Fiori (French:[patʁikfjɔʁi],Corsican:[ˈfjɔri]), is a French singer ofArmenian descent.
Fiori was born inMarseille to aFrench-Armenian father (Jacques Chouchayan) and aCorsican mother (Marie Antoinette Fiori).[1] His father's family were escapees of theArmenian genocide.[2] He was born in a family of five siblings. He spent part of his childhood inMarseille south of France and part inAjaccio in Corsica. He started music at the age of 12 in 1981 thanks to encouragement from Franck Fernandel, who offered him a role in the musicalLa Légende des santonniers. In 1985, at the age of 16, he recorded his first song "Stéphanie" with financing from his parents followed by other recordings like "Dans ton regard" and "Le Cœur à fleur d'amour".
Taking part inLéon Zitrone's showLes Habits du dimanche gave him more exposure. In 1987 he opened for singerGilbert Montagné for a number of shows. He later opened for other renowned artists likeMichèle Torr andBarry White. In 1992 he had great success with "Au fil de l'eau" written by his childhood friend Bernard Di Domenico during theFrancophonie. He won first prize during Fenouillèdes Song Contest held in Sournia, thePyrénées-Orientales). That year's event had been sponsored byFabienne Thibeault who encouraged him to go further in his career.
In 1993, as he became well-known with the public, at 23, the songwritersFrançois Valéry and Marie-France Brière (director of variety and entertainment atFrance 2) suggested that he represent France in the1993 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Mama Corsica" composed by Valéry, a bilingual song mainly in French language but with some additionalCorsican language lyrics.[3] The song delivered the first rare occasion in which Corsican language was heard at the Eurovision Song Contest. The next appearance of Corsican was after 18 years with France's entry inEurovision Song Contest 2011 withAmaury Vassili's song "Sognu" which was completely in Corsican.[3]
On 15 May 1993, Fiori performed "Mama Corsica" representing France in the Contest held that year inGreen Glens Arena inMillstreet,Ireland. He was accompanied by an orchestre led by Christian Cravero. The accompaniment also included two [mandolin] players and two vocalists who joined him on stage throughout the song. Fiori finished fourth with a total of 121 points in between 25 nations competing.[3] The song obtained the coveted "douze points" (12 points) from jury in Denmark andPortugal.
In 1994, Fiori released his debut album titledPuisque c'est l'heure.
In 1995 he released the self-financedCœur à l'envers. He also appeared in a number of variety shows notablyLa Chance aux chansons hosted byPascal Sevran interpreting on an occasion "Ma vie" an original song byAlain Barrière in his presence.
After a suggestion byEddy Marnay, he auditioned for the musicalNotre Dame de Paris with shows inPalais des Congrès de Paris. Convinced by his talentLuc Plamondon offered him the role ofPhoebus both onstage and in the recording studio forNotre-Dame de Paris. WithDaniel Lavoie andGarou, he recorded the song "Belle" for the show. The greatly loved song was released as a single reaching number 1 on the French Singles Chart and the Wallon French Belgian Charts. The song won "Best French Song of the Year" and the staging ofNotre-Dame de Paris "Best French Show of the Year" duringVictoires de la Musique in 1999.
Also in 1998, Patrick signed a contract withSony and recorded his third albumPrends Moi. He sang in the Frenchsoundtrack forMulan singing in the role of Shang and in French version ofThe Prince of Egypt (in FrenchLe Prince d'Égypte) with songs in the role ofRamesses II.
In 1999, he took part inLes Enfoirés participating for many years with them.
In 2000, he decided to leaveNotre-Dame de Paris to concentrate on his fourth albumChrysalide. The album contains a collaboration withCalogero in "Que tu reviennes". The same year, he appeared for the first time in the coveted ParisOlympia. He also wrote "Si je m'en sors" forJulie Zenatti.
In 2002, Patrick Fiori released his fifth album, the self-titledPatrick Fiori with the first single from the album being "Marseille" dedicated to his home town and written byJacques Veneruso. Fiori had a collaboration withJean-Jacques Goldman who wrote four songs for him for the album including "Je sais où aller".
In 2003, he toured France, Belgium with many dates and venues accompanied by his band including guitarist Jacques Veneruso, keyboard player Pierre-Jean Scavino, guitarist André Hampartzoumian and percussionist Patrick Hampartzoumian, drummer Laurent Coppola, bass guitarist Patrick Dupont and bagpipes player and flutist Bruno Le Rouzic with backing vocals by Agnès Hampartzoumian and Véronique Mavros.
2005 marked his new albumSi on chantait plus fort with singles "Toutes les peines", "4 Mots sur un piano" and "Il paraît". His single "4 Mots sur un piano" was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman.[4] Goldman and Christine Ricol accompany him in the song which reached number in the French charts staying there for two weeks and selling 150,000 copies. He also launched a new long tour from 2005 to 2007 to promote the album including two show at the l'Olympia de Paris on 13 and 14 January 2007, where he introduced the young singer songwriter Tommy.
In 2008 he released the albumLes choses de la vie. The album includes remakes from various famous films includingThe Godfather (in FrenchLe Parrain),The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (in FrenchLes parapluies de Cherbourg),Borsalino,Manon des Sources,Forbidden Games (in French Jeux interdits),Mayrig and many others.[5][6] The album went platinum. Singles from the album include "Liberta" fromBorsalino with new Italian lyrics fromBernard Di Domebico.[6] This was followed up in 2009 by "Les Montagnes d'Arménie" a tribute to theArmenian genocide and taken from the soundtrack of the French Armenian-themed filmMayrig. Also in 2009, he recorded with the Budapest Philharmonic a duo withTina Arena. The track "Si j'avais le temps" appears inUn autre univers an entirelyFrench language album by Australian singer Arena. Fiori also engaged in a tour taking him even to Moscow.
In 2010 he releasedL'instinct masculin. It included the single "Peut-être que peut-être" with lyrics and music by Jean-Jacques Goldman.[7] The album also included "À la vie!", "Dieu qu'elle était belle!" and a collaboration withJohnny Hallyday in "Je viendrai te chercher". The album was accompanied by three tours one acoustic in small venues,[8] one electric in variousLe Zénith French venues and one in big venues. In 2011, he released a live album recorded at Marseille's Dôme. The concert was available on CD and DVD.[9]
In 2014, he released the albumChoisir[10] with a Valentines release of "Elles" written and composed by Goldman.[11][12] The album had collaborations withBénabar, Ariane Quatrefages, Robert Goldman, Jacques Veneruso,[11] Eric Chemouny and Patrick Hampartzoumian.[13] It was certified platinum. Patrick Fiori toured with a hundred dates between October 2014 and December 2015, appearing again atLe Zénith of Paris and at the ParisOlympia.[14]
In 2015, he took part in a Corsican musical projectCorsu Mezu Mezu[15][16] containing 16 Corsican-based songs. He reinterpreted three songs in album, "Corsica" withPatrick Bruel accompanied by a music video, "Ci hè dinù" with Chjami Aghjalesi and "Ô Corse île d'amour" with Antoine Ciosi.[17]
In September 2017, he released his tenth albumPromesse with the single "Où je vis" from the album. It contained two collaborations withSlimane and with French-Comorian singer and rapperSoprano. The Soprano collaboration "Chez nous (Plan d'Aou, Air Bel)" written by Jean-Jacques Goldman was a tribute to immigrants to France, particularly the immigrant inhabitants of Air Bel, a suburb of Marseille. It was accompanied with a music video where Fiori's parents appear in roles of Armenian immigrants. Additional writing collaborations included Arianne Quatrefages,Serge Lama andYcare. Fiori went on tour in the summer of 2018 interpreting the album.
He has collaborated with a great number of artists. In addition to artists mentioned above, we can addGérard Lenorman,Zucchero,[8]Chico and the Gypsies,[8]Anne Etchegoyen.[18]
In 2015, he was a coach in season 2 of the French version ofThe Voice Kids joiningJenifer andLouis Bertignac.[3][19] Jane, the finalist from his team won the season.[20] In 2016 he was invited again to coach for season 3 alongside Jenifer andM. Pokora.[21] He has since remained as a coach after that, making him the longest serving coach in the history of The Voice Kids. The winners of Seasons 4, 7, 8 and 11 were also members of his team.
Patrick Fiori had a relationship withJulie Zenatti for 8 years. They met during the musicalNotre-Dame de Paris where they both had acting roles. The love relation led to an artistic collaboration with Fiori and Zenatti co-writing and co-composing for each other and for others. Zenatti's first and greatest success was "Si je m'en sors" written by Fiori. Despite separating, they remained friends and continued meeting each other. Between 1998 and 2000, Fiori was in a relationship with Canadian-Belgian singerLara Fabian.
Patrick Fiori married Ariane Quatrefages in June 2008. Quatrefages was a beauty pageant contestant who was crowned Miss Rhône-Alpes 1999 and came fourth in Miss France 2000 elections.[11][22] The couple had their first child Sevan in 2009.[22] In 2014, the couple had a second son. Ariane co-writes certain songs with her husband Fiori.
Fiori is heavily involved in charities. He is a member of theLes Enfoirés the big charity ensemble since 1999,[23] Fiori has persistently taken part in the show in aid of Restos du Cœur charity[7] for a decade and a half.
Fiori actively supports many charities including Les enfants de la Terre, Solidarité inondations,Sidaction,Opération pièces jaunes, Les blouses roses, Téléthon,Sol En Si (Solidarité Enfants Sida), Les Vendanges du cœur, Les Étoiles de l'espoir, Televie, Association européenne contre les leucodystrophies (ELA) etc. He is aparrain (godfather) ofAssociation Grégory Lemarchal, and on 7 January 2017, appeared in Le Zénith de Paris directly broadcast on TF1 in the eventGrégory Lemarchal, 10 ans après l'histoire continue, singing an unreleased new song written Grégory Lemarchal titled "Pour mieux s'aimer" with all benefits going to the Association Grégory Lemarchal.[24]
Fiori also is aparrain of the Corsica-based La Marie-Do against cancer and of the French Armenian Foundation.
| Year | Album | Peak positions | Sales [25] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR [26] | BE (Fl) [27] | BE (Wa) [28] | CH [29] | |||
| 1994 | Puisque c'est l'heure | – | – | – | – | |
| 1995 | Le Cœur à l'envers | – | – | – | – | |
| 1998 | Prends-moi | 17 | – | 14 | – | France: 2× Gold (200,000) |
| 2000 | Chrysalide | 11 | – | 8 | 47 | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 2002 | Patrick Fiori | 6 | – | 8 | 37 | France: 2× Gold (200,000) |
| 2005 | Si on chantait plus fort | 4 | – | 14 | 59 | France: Gold (100,000) |
| 2008 | Les Choses de la vie | 7 | – | 7 | – | France: Gold |
| 2010 | L'Instinct masculin | 3 | – | 5 | 56 | France: Platinum |
| 2014 | Choisir | 2 | 112 | 4 | 26 | France: Platinum |
| 2017 | Promesse | 7 | – | 6 | 19 | France: Gold |
| 2020 | Un air de famille | 2 [30] | – | 1 | 8 | |
| 2024 | Le chant est libre | 4 [31] | – | 2 | 9 | |
| Year | Album | BE (Wa) [28] | CH | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 4 Mots | 11 | 69 | France: Gold |
| Year | Album | FR [26] | BE (Wa) [28] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | L'instinct masculin – Live au Dôme de Marseille | 24 | 12 |
| Year | Single | FR [26] | BE (Wa) [28] | CH | SNEP | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | "Stephanie" | - | - | - | Non-album single | |
| 1989 | "Le coeur a fleur d'amour" | - | - | - | ||
| 1993 | "Mama Corsica" | 40 | - | - | Puisque c'est l'heure | |
| 1994 | "Une goutte d'eau" | - | - | - | ||
| 1998 | "Belle"(withDaniel Lavoie &Garou) | 1 | 1 | - | Diamond (750,000) | Notre dame de Paris |
| "Prends-moi" | - | - | - | Prends-moi | ||
| "Elle est" | 9 | 12 | - | Silver (125,000) | ||
| 1999 | "J'en ai mis du temps" | 38 | - | - | ||
| "Terra umana" | 48 | - | - | Chrysalide | ||
| 2000 | "Que tu reviennes" | 13 | 10 | - | ||
| "Juste une raison encore" | 45 | 13 | - | |||
| 2002 | "Marseille" | - | - | - | Patrick Fiori | |
| 2003 | "Je sais où aller" | 13 | 2A | 86 | ||
| "Sans bruit" | - | - | - | |||
| 2005 | "Il parait" | - | - | - | Si on chantait plus fort | |
| "Je ne serai jamais" | - | - | - | |||
| "Toutes les peines" | 11 | 2A | 37 | |||
| 2007 | "4 Mots sur un piano" (withJean-Jacques Goldman & Christine Ricol) | 1 | 7 | 40 | Silver (175,000) | |
| 2010 | "Peut-être que peut-être" | - | 14 | - | l'Instinct Masculin | |
| 2011 | "Je viendrai te chercher(withJohnny Hallyday)" | - | 17A | - | ||
| "L'instinct masculin" | - | 14A | - | |||
| "À la vie!" | - | 23A | - | |||
| "L'écho des dimanches"(withZucchero) | - | 23A | - | Non-album single | ||
| 2012 | "L'envie d'aimer" (withJulien Clerc,Catherine Lara &Liane Foly) | 114 | - | - | ||
| "All By Myself" | 140 | - | - | |||
| 2013 | "Pachamama (la terre mere)" (withAnne Etchegoyen et le Chœur Aizkoa) | - | - | - | Les voix basques | |
| 2014 | "Elles" | 59 | 49 | - | Choisir | |
| "J'espère que tu vas bien" (with Tommy) | - | 8A | - | |||
| 2015 | "Corsica" (withPatrick Bruel) | 27 | 43 | - | ||
| 2017 | "Pour mieux s'aimer" | 10 [32] | - | - | Promesse | |
| "Où je vis" | 32 [33] | 15A | - | |||
| "Chez nous (Plan d'Aou, Air Bel)" (withSoprano) | 43 [33] | 2A | - | |||
| "Promesse" (withSlimane Nebchi) | 175 [33] | - | - | |||
| 2018 | "Les gens qu'on aime" | - | 13A | - | ||
| 2019 | "Délé Yaman" | - | - | - | Non-album single | |
| 2021 | "Si tu tombes" (withSoprano) | - | - | - | Non-album single |
ACharted on the BelgianUltratip chart.
| Preceded by | France in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
