Chimène Badi

Chimène Badi first captured widespread attention across France after competing on the popular reality television program Pop Stars. The French pop chanteuse was born October 30, 1982, in the Paris suburb of Melun, spent her childhood in the south of France, and at the age of six entered a local amateur contest that marked her initial foray into performing. While enrolled in agricultural studies she cut several demo recordings, none of which succeeded in securing label interest. In 2002 she tried out for the M6 Network’s second season of Pop Stars; although she did not advance to the finals, her commanding vocal displays drew notice from judge Valéry Zeitoun, head of the AZ imprint, who promptly offered her a recording deal.

Her first single, the Rick Allison-penned ballad “Entre Nous,” sold more than a million copies across the French, Swiss, and Belgian markets and supplied the title for her debut album, which appeared in early 2003. Subsequent releases “Je Vais Te Chercher” and “Si J’avais Su T’aimer” each reached the top of the French charts, positioning Badi as a natural successor to the dramatic ballad style long associated with Celine Dion. In mid-2003 she joined French pop legend Johnny Hallyday on tour.

Her second studio album, Dis-Moi Que Tu M’aimes, arrived in autumn 2004 and yielded three chart-topping singles: “Je Ne Sais Pas Son Nom,” “Retomber Amoureux,” and “Je Viens du Sud.” The live recording Live à l’Olympia, drawn from her February 2005 concerts at the storied Paris venue, reached stores in early 2006 and was quickly followed by the studio set Le Miroir. Four years passed before her next release, Laisse les Dire, on which she began performing simply as Chimène. Resuming activity, she promptly completed the 2011 album Gospel & Soul, offering her personal renditions of longstanding French and American standards and traditional songs.