Calogero

Calogero established himself as a steady presence within French pop from the mid-1980s forward, first gaining notice as one third of Les Charts and later supplying songs for other performers before stepping out alone with a solo debut in 2000. Born Calogero Maurici on July 30, 1971, in Grenoble, he took up the flute during childhood and went on to master guitar, piano, and bass. Together with his brother Giaocchino and childhood friend Francis Maggiulli he launched Les Charts in 1986. An unplanned meeting with French pop legend France Gall opened the door to an audition with producer Philippe Gaillard, who promptly took charge of the trio’s first single, “Je M’envole.”

Distinguished by his long, curly hair, sensitive lyrics, and boyish vocals, Calogero—known to fans simply as “Charlie”—quickly became a teen heartthrob; Les Charts reached certified chart superstardom with the 1991 release “Notre Monde à Nous.” The group nevertheless disbanded in 1997, after which Calogero devoted the rest of the decade to writing for Florent Pagny, Ismaël Lô, Hélène Ségara, and Patrick Fiori while also contributing material to the stage musical Les Dix Commandements.

He resumed live work through support tours for Pascal Obispo and Zazie, then issued his first solo album, Au Milieu des Autres, in 2000. The Pierre Jaconelli-produced follow-up of 2002 carried his own name and restored him to chart prominence with the successive hits “Aussi Libre Que Moi,” “Prendre Racine,” and “Tien an Men.” On 2003’s 3 he scored further successes with “Face à la Mer,” “Yalla,” and “Si Seulement Je Pouvais Lui Manquer,” while also receiving the Victoire de la Musique award for Best Male Artist; an extensive French tour produced the 2005 live set Live 1.0.

Following a lengthy break, Calogero resurfaced in 2007 with the studio album Pomme C, which climbed to number two on the French charts. Its successor, 2009’s L’Embellie, advanced one place higher and reached number one. A Best Of collection containing orchestral reinterpretations of his major tracks appeared in 2010, followed by the live disc En Concert in 2011. The next year he assembled the supergroup Circus alongside Stanislas—who had previously performed with Calogero’s brother Giaocchino in Pure Orchestra—Philippe Uminski, Elsa Fourlon, and Karen Brunon. The band’s slightly punky, slightly retro approach to indie rock drew considerable notice, and its self-titled debut album arrived in November 2012.

Calogero’s subsequent undertaking involved writing and directing every note of Florent Pagny’s Vieillir Avec Toi, an album that topped the French chart and ranked among the country’s biggest sellers of 2013. The following year he delivered his own record, Les Feux d’Artifice, released in August 2014; it reached number one in both France and Belgium and became his strongest commercial performer since 3. In 2017 he unveiled his seventh studio album, Liberté Chérie, led by the singles “Je Joue De La Musique” and “On Se Sait Par Cœur,” and it entered the French chart at number one.