Gérald De Palmas
Encyclopedia
Gérald De Palmas is a French
singer.
from Britanny, France and his mother was a French
teacher from Réunion
. At the age of 10, De Palmas' family left Réunion
, to live in Aix-en-Provence
, France. At the age of 13, he discovered ska
music, and became a fan of the UK band The Specials
. Then he met Étienne Daho
and formed a group called Les Max Valentin together with Edith Fambuena and Jean-Louis Pierot. They released the single 'Les Maux Dits' in 1987, but De Palmas was uncomfortable with this group, and went solo. After seven years of writing and singing solo, Da Palmas won a talent contest on the French M6
TV network.
award in 1996.
De Palmas released his second album Les Lois de la Nature (Laws of Nature) in 1997. The album was less successful than his debut album, probably due to the dramatic change in his style. He was in the slumps for 2 and a half years, until 2000. That's when Jean-Jacques Goldman
restored his confidence and wrote a song for him titled J'en rêve encore
(I still dream about it).
De Palmas composed and wrote 10 of the 12 songs in his third album Marcher dans le sable
(Walking in the sand). 2002 was the year he was reborn as a star, as he won the Victoires de la Musique
and the NRJ Music Awards
, while playing more than 180 concerts. His songs even crossed the Atlantic, when Céline Dion
sang his hit song Tomber (falling) in English, titled Ten Days. At the end of that year, Live 2002 was released on DVD and on CD, to commemorate his great tour of 2002.
Two years later, De Palmas returned with his fourth album Un homme sans racines
(A man without roots), a more intimate album with less music, but still in the same melancholic style.
After having problems with Universal, Gérald de Palmas is going to come back in November 2009 with his new album of which the first single is expected to be aired in May.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
singer.
Early life
His father was a land surveyorSurveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
from Britanny, France and his mother was a French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
teacher from Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
. At the age of 10, De Palmas' family left Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, to live in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city-commune in southern France, some north of Marseille. It is in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, in the département of Bouches-du-Rhône, of which it is a subprefecture. The population of Aix is...
, France. At the age of 13, he discovered ska
Ska
Ska |Jamaican]] ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
music, and became a fan of the UK band The Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
. Then he met Étienne Daho
Étienne Daho
Étienne Daho is a French singer, songwriter and record producer who has released a number of synth-driven and rock-surf influenced pop hit singles since 1981.- Career :...
and formed a group called Les Max Valentin together with Edith Fambuena and Jean-Louis Pierot. They released the single 'Les Maux Dits' in 1987, but De Palmas was uncomfortable with this group, and went solo. After seven years of writing and singing solo, Da Palmas won a talent contest on the French M6
Métropole 6
M6, also known as Metropole television, is the most profitable private national French TV channel and the third most watched television network in the French-speaking world...
TV network.
Career
In 1994, he released his first album La dernière Année (The Last Year), which contains the hit song Sur la Route (On the Road). He won a Victoires de la MusiqueVictoires de la Musique
Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
award in 1996.
De Palmas released his second album Les Lois de la Nature (Laws of Nature) in 1997. The album was less successful than his debut album, probably due to the dramatic change in his style. He was in the slumps for 2 and a half years, until 2000. That's when Jean-Jacques Goldman
Jean-Jacques Goldman
Jean-Jacques Goldman is a Grammy Awards-winning French singer-songwriter. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world, and since 2003 was the second-highest-grossing French living pop singer, after Johnny Hallyday.- Biography :...
restored his confidence and wrote a song for him titled J'en rêve encore
J'en rêve encore
"J'en rêve encore" is a 2000 pop / rock song recorded by French singer-songwriter Gérald De Palmas. It was the first single from his third album Marcher dans le sable on which it appears as second track and was released on 6 November 2000. It was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman and composed by...
(I still dream about it).
De Palmas composed and wrote 10 of the 12 songs in his third album Marcher dans le sable
Marcher dans le sable
Marcher dans le sable is a 2000 album recorded by French singer Gérald De Palmas. It was his third studio album, and his most successful in terms of sales. It reached number two in France and in Belgium and remained for almost two years on the chart...
(Walking in the sand). 2002 was the year he was reborn as a star, as he won the Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la Musique
Victoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
and the NRJ Music Awards
NRJ Music Awards
The NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
, while playing more than 180 concerts. His songs even crossed the Atlantic, when Céline Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
sang his hit song Tomber (falling) in English, titled Ten Days. At the end of that year, Live 2002 was released on DVD and on CD, to commemorate his great tour of 2002.
Two years later, De Palmas returned with his fourth album Un homme sans racines
Un homme sans racines
Un homme sans racines is a 2004 album recorded by French singer Gérald De Palmas. It was his fourth studio album and his fifth album overall, and his most successful in terms of peak positions. It reached number one in France in its first week of release, on 24 November 2004, and remained for 14...
(A man without roots), a more intimate album with less music, but still in the same melancholic style.
After having problems with Universal, Gérald de Palmas is going to come back in November 2009 with his new album of which the first single is expected to be aired in May.
Personal life
Gérald de Palmas is married and has two children, a boy, Victor (born in 1996) and a girl, Rose (born in 2003).Awards
- NRJ Music AwardsNRJ Music AwardsThe NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
:- Best francophone male artist (2003)
- Best francophone album (Marcher dans le sable) (2002)
- Victoires de la musiqueVictoires de la MusiqueVictoires de la musique , is an annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists of the year.- Male artist of the year :*1985 : Michel Jonasz*1986 : Jean-Jacques Goldman*1987 : Johnny Hallyday...
:- Best male artist of the year (2002)
- Male revelation of the year (1996)
Albums
- 1994 : La dernière année
- 1997 : Les lois de la nature
- 2000 : Marcher dans le sableMarcher dans le sableMarcher dans le sable is a 2000 album recorded by French singer Gérald De Palmas. It was his third studio album, and his most successful in terms of sales. It reached number two in France and in Belgium and remained for almost two years on the chart...
- 2002 : Live 2002
- 2004 : Un homme sans racinesUn homme sans racinesUn homme sans racines is a 2004 album recorded by French singer Gérald De Palmas. It was his fourth studio album and his fifth album overall, and his most successful in terms of peak positions. It reached number one in France in its first week of release, on 24 November 2004, and remained for 14...
- 2009 : SortirSortirSortir is a 2009 studio album recorded by French singer Gérald de Palmas. It was his fifth solo album and his seventh album overall, released on 16 November 2009 . The three singles off the album were "Au bord de l'eau", which was much aired on radio and number 25 in Belgium, "Dans une larme" and...
- 2011 : Sur ma route
External links
Official website- Biography of Gérald De Palmas, from Radio France InternationaleRadio France InternationaleRadio France Internationale was created in 1975 as part of Radio France by the Government of France, and replaced the Poste Colonial , Paris Mondial , Radio Paris , RTF Radio Paris and ORTF Radio Paris...
- Gérald de Palmas' music videos from his album "Sortir" : "Mon Coeur ne bat plus" & "Dans une Larme"