California (Mylène Farmer song)
Encyclopedia
"California" is a 1995
song recorded by the French
artist Mylène Farmer
. It was the third single
from her fourth studio album, Anamorphosée
, and was released on 26 March 1996. The song marked the only collaboration with American
movie screenwriter
and director
Abel Ferrara
who directed the very expensive music video in which Farmer appears both as a bourgeois woman and a prostitute. Real tribute to the California
, the song is generally deemed as one of Farmer's signature songs and has been performed during all the singer's tours, although it met a relative success in France and Belgium, but has become one of the biggest hits of all times in Russia.
. However, it was released many months after, as the third single, but was widely aired on radio. Many fans regard this song as one of the most emblematic of Farmer.
Among the different media for this single, there was a CD single
distributed in a limited triptych
digipack edition, and a CD maxi which contains six tracks - this one is the only CD maxi in Farmer's career still for sale because, seeing the number of tracks, it is referenced by Universal
as a "mini-album" and is re-edited. "California" was also released in Germany
with a new white cover. Regarding the various remixes, they are the result of collaboration between Laurent Boutonnat
/ Bertrand Châtenet ('LAPD remix' and 'wandering club mix'), and various American DJs: Niki Gasolino & Peter Parker, Nils Ruzicka, and Ramon Zenker. Two versions of the promotional CD were sent to the radio station on 29 February 1996; one of them, the luxurious edition, shows the outline of Farmer, which must be lifted to take the CD. The designer Henry Neu said he was particularly proud of having created it.
The song is available on Anamorphosée
in its original version, and on the best of Les Mots in the shorter radio version. It should be noted that, surprisingly, the song is placed at the beginning of the second CD, just before "XXL
" and "L'Instant X
", which does not comply with the chronological order. It was also remixed in 2003 by Romain Tranchart and Rawman for the compilation RemixeS
.
to refer to the singular name of this one and was the second of Farmer's songs with an English title, after "Beyond My Control
". The song begins with different sounds evoking the street: a door that slams, an English voice in a loudspeaker
, a siren
of an ambulance
. Farmer then referred to her desire to live in America to make a new start in her life. The song has a "nagging rhythm" and "Anglo-Saxon sonorities"; lyrics play with "anglicisms, sounds and onomatopoeia". According to the psychologist Hugues Royer, the song is "the symbol of the rebirth by the exile".
It is a song with a highly elegant vocabulary
where alternate pun
s and lyrics in French and English; it is a clear tribute to California
. There are many literary references: for example, the phrase "Vienne la nuit et sonne l'heure et moi je meurs / Entre apathie et pesanteur où je demeure" alluded to the French poem Le Pont Mirabeau, written by Guillaume Apollinaire
, in which there is the verse "Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure / Les jours s'en vont je demeure".
movie
screenwriter
and director
Abel Ferrara
. Producer Anouk Nora said that she first directly contacted the director. Then Farmer tried to contact him, particularly after seeing his film on a similar theme, Snake Eyes
, with Madonna
. In interviews, Farmer stated she phoned Ferrara many times, then they met in New York. She told him she wanted to play the role of a prostitute in the video, and eventually, she wrote the screenplay in collaboration with him. The video, a 5:18 Requiem Publishing production which cost about 600,000 euro, making it the most expensive music video of the year, was shot for three days and two nights in Los Angeles
(Sunset Boulevard
). Ferrara was surprised and puzzled by the insistence of Farmer. She proposed him 200,000 dollars to shoot a three-minute music video which eventually became a short film. Finally, Ferrara said he had a great respect for Farmer's professionalism.
The man who plays Farmer's lover is the American
actor
Giancarlo Esposito
, and these are real prostitutes who appear in the video. Farmer said she discussed with these prostitutes before the shooting to learn more on the subject, and added: "Freedom, for me, it may be a bitch who prostitutes on Hollywood Boulevard. (...) We all have a vulgar side in us that we repress. Sex is an integral part of our lives". She confessed that she had loved that role.
At the beginning of the video, a young and rich couple (Farmer and Esposito) is preparing to attend a reception where they are invited. Meanwhile, a prostitute and a pimp
(also played by Farmer and Esposito) are violently quarrelling. In her car, the rich woman looks at the prostitutes on the sidewalk and then sees her double threatened with a knife by her pimp who eventually murders her. After the society reception, the rich woman gets bored and therefore goes to the toilet where she disguises herself as a prostitute and joins those outside. She makes love with the pimp and savagely kills him to avenge the murdered prostitute.
which had managed to acquire illegally some shots during the filming. In an interview on Paris Première
in 1996, Farmer explained that the video, which was analyzed on Arte
in July 2002, does not reflect her perception of California
, adding: "It is a little caricature I would say. It is still polarized or focused on prostitution
. Los Angeles
is not only prostitution. [...] I always wanted to play a prostitute and I admit that for "California", it is spontaneously come. And so I called Abel Ferrara
who often evokes prostitution
in his films". This was the last time that Marianne Rosensthiel photographed Farmer during the shooting. The video was aired for the first time on March 20, 1996, on M6
.
According to biographer Bernard Violet, the video provides the message that "women love to sometimes turn into a sexual object, but they still have their pride", and compares the end of the video to the film Basic Instinct
. Florence Rajon criticized the video, saying that the collaboration between the two artists (Ferrara and Farmer) was "more disappointing than seducing" and that "we can not really consider "California" as a masterpiece": the subject was "too exploited" and "images of beautiful postcards of Hollywood are a bit too telephoned". By contrast, Royer deemed the video as a "total success, in which are merging the dreamlike imaginary of Mylène and the brutal realism of Ferrara".
".
The song was also performed at the time of the 1996 tour in a remixed techno version (the 'Wandering mix'). Images of Los Angeles
by night were shown on the giant screens of the stage, and Farmer, entirely dressed in golden, performed first alone, then with two female dancers, a very suggestive choreography. The song was also performed and in an acoustic and jazzy version during the 2000 tour
. Farmer wore a white dress and white shoes; with her two female vocalists, she was sitting on the steps of the staircase, and then got up and do a few steps on the stage. Then Farmer went in front of the door at the top of the stairs, and at the end, she left the stage while it was in a full black. "California" was sung during the 13 concert at Bercy in 2006: while the screens and the central cross showed the words "Crime scene. Do not cross", Farmer slowly descended the stairs of the stage and performed a choreography with her hands during the musical bridge. The song was only performed in stadiums: Farmer wore a glittering short dress with red cape with hood and performed a choreography similar to the one during the 1996 tour. This version is only available on the video version of the album N°5 on Tour
.
In France, the song debuted at a peak of number seven on 30 May 1996. It dropped the seven weeks after but regained a total of 16 places the two next weeks. After that, the song began again to fall but rather slowly, and managed to remain in the top 50 for 17 weeks. It was the third best-selling single from Anamorphosée
. The song was also one of the most aired on radio in 1996 and was ranked number 63 on the End of year chart.
In Belgium (Wallonia), the single entered the Ultratop 40
Singles Chart on 4 May 1996, then fell off and re-entered four times and reached number 22 on 3 August, which was nonetheless the lower peak position of the five singles from the album Anamorphosée
. It fell off the chart on 7 September, after fourteen weeks and was the 86th best-selling single of 1996.
NRJ, covered the song in a R&B version. It was not released as a single.
1995 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....
song recorded by the French
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...
artist Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Farmer, , born Marie-Hélène Jeanne Gautier, , , is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author....
. It was the third single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from her fourth studio album, Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work...
, and was released on 26 March 1996. The song marked the only collaboration with American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer , Ms. 45 , King of New York , Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral .-Early life:Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent...
who directed the very expensive music video in which Farmer appears both as a bourgeois woman and a prostitute. Real tribute to the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, the song is generally deemed as one of Farmer's signature songs and has been performed during all the singer's tours, although it met a relative success in France and Belgium, but has become one of the biggest hits of all times in Russia.
Background, writing and release
Farmer wanted to release "California", one of the most daring songs of the album, from the marketing of AnamorphoséeAnamorphosée
Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work...
. However, it was released many months after, as the third single, but was widely aired on radio. Many fans regard this song as one of the most emblematic of Farmer.
Among the different media for this single, there was a CD single
CD single
A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...
distributed in a limited triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
digipack edition, and a CD maxi which contains six tracks - this one is the only CD maxi in Farmer's career still for sale because, seeing the number of tracks, it is referenced by Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
as a "mini-album" and is re-edited. "California" was also released in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with a new white cover. Regarding the various remixes, they are the result of collaboration between Laurent Boutonnat
Laurent Boutonnat
Laurent Pierre Marie Boutonnat is a French composer and film and music video director, best known as the songwriting partner of Mylène Farmer and the director of moody, provocative and literature-inspired music videos.- Career :...
/ Bertrand Châtenet ('LAPD remix' and 'wandering club mix'), and various American DJs: Niki Gasolino & Peter Parker, Nils Ruzicka, and Ramon Zenker. Two versions of the promotional CD were sent to the radio station on 29 February 1996; one of them, the luxurious edition, shows the outline of Farmer, which must be lifted to take the CD. The designer Henry Neu said he was particularly proud of having created it.
The song is available on Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work...
in its original version, and on the best of Les Mots in the shorter radio version. It should be noted that, surprisingly, the song is placed at the beginning of the second CD, just before "XXL
XXL (Mylène Farmer song)
"XXL" is a 1995 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. The song was the lead single from her fourth studio album Anamorphosée and was released on 19 September 1995. It marked an important change in the singer's career, with more rock sonorities, easier lyrics to understand and a...
" and "L'Instant X
L'Instant X
"L'Instant X" is a 1995 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. It was the second single from her fourth album Anamorphosée and was released on 12 December 1995. Directed by Marcus Nispel in New York, the music video depicts with humour the apocalypse and shows Farmer bathing in the foam...
", which does not comply with the chronological order. It was also remixed in 2003 by Romain Tranchart and Rawman for the compilation RemixeS
RemixeS
RemixeS is a compilation of French singer Mylène Farmer's singles by various famous DJ's, including JXL, Felix Da Housecat and Paul Oakenfold.-Brackground, writing and release:...
.
Lyrics and music
"California" is the only song from the album AnamorphoséeAnamorphosée
Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work...
to refer to the singular name of this one and was the second of Farmer's songs with an English title, after "Beyond My Control
Beyond My Control
"Beyond My Control" is a 1991 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the fourth single from her third studio album L'Autre... and was released in May 1992. The song probably remains well known for its music video that caused controversy and was censored at the time because...
". The song begins with different sounds evoking the street: a door that slams, an English voice in a loudspeaker
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
, a siren
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....
of an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
. Farmer then referred to her desire to live in America to make a new start in her life. The song has a "nagging rhythm" and "Anglo-Saxon sonorities"; lyrics play with "anglicisms, sounds and onomatopoeia". According to the psychologist Hugues Royer, the song is "the symbol of the rebirth by the exile".
It is a song with a highly elegant vocabulary
Vocabulary
A person's vocabulary is the set of words within a language that are familiar to that person. A vocabulary usually develops with age, and serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge...
where alternate pun
Pun
The pun, also called paronomasia, is a form of word play which suggests two or more meanings, by exploiting multiple meanings of words, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use and abuse of homophonic,...
s and lyrics in French and English; it is a clear tribute to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. There are many literary references: for example, the phrase "Vienne la nuit et sonne l'heure et moi je meurs / Entre apathie et pesanteur où je demeure" alluded to the French poem Le Pont Mirabeau, written by Guillaume Apollinaire
Guillaume Apollinaire
Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki, known as Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic born in Italy to a Polish mother....
, in which there is the verse "Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure / Les jours s'en vont je demeure".
Production and plot
The video was directed by the AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer , Ms. 45 , King of New York , Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral .-Early life:Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent...
. Producer Anouk Nora said that she first directly contacted the director. Then Farmer tried to contact him, particularly after seeing his film on a similar theme, Snake Eyes
Snake eyes
In gambling, snake eyes is the outcome of rolling the dice in a game and getting only one pip on each die. The pair of pips resembles a pair of eyes, which is appended to the term 'snake' because of the long-standing association of this word with treachery and betrayal...
, with Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. In interviews, Farmer stated she phoned Ferrara many times, then they met in New York. She told him she wanted to play the role of a prostitute in the video, and eventually, she wrote the screenplay in collaboration with him. The video, a 5:18 Requiem Publishing production which cost about 600,000 euro, making it the most expensive music video of the year, was shot for three days and two nights in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
(Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a street in the western part of Los Angeles County, California, that stretches from Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific Coast Highway at the Pacific Ocean in the Pacific Palisades...
). Ferrara was surprised and puzzled by the insistence of Farmer. She proposed him 200,000 dollars to shoot a three-minute music video which eventually became a short film. Finally, Ferrara said he had a great respect for Farmer's professionalism.
The man who plays Farmer's lover is the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Esposito
Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito is a Danish-born American film and television actor and director.-Early life:Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to an Italian father and African-American mother. His mother was an opera and nightclub singer from Alabama, who once appeared on the same...
, and these are real prostitutes who appear in the video. Farmer said she discussed with these prostitutes before the shooting to learn more on the subject, and added: "Freedom, for me, it may be a bitch who prostitutes on Hollywood Boulevard. (...) We all have a vulgar side in us that we repress. Sex is an integral part of our lives". She confessed that she had loved that role.
At the beginning of the video, a young and rich couple (Farmer and Esposito) is preparing to attend a reception where they are invited. Meanwhile, a prostitute and a pimp
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
(also played by Farmer and Esposito) are violently quarrelling. In her car, the rich woman looks at the prostitutes on the sidewalk and then sees her double threatened with a knife by her pimp who eventually murders her. After the society reception, the rich woman gets bored and therefore goes to the toilet where she disguises herself as a prostitute and joins those outside. She makes love with the pimp and savagely kills him to avenge the murdered prostitute.
Comment and reception
The first images of the video were published by French magazine VoiciVoici
Voici is a French weekly celebrity, women's magazine and tabloid, published by Prisma Presse . It was founded in 1987, and believes television reality shows in 2002 boosted circulation to 12.4 million copies per month . It claims the title of best selling French celebrity magazine, and second or...
which had managed to acquire illegally some shots during the filming. In an interview on Paris Première
Paris Première
Paris Première is a French TV channel, available on cable, satellite and the digital terrestrial service, Télévision Numérique Terrestre. It was launched on December 15, 1986 and is now wholly owned by M6.-External links:*...
in 1996, Farmer explained that the video, which was analyzed on Arte
Arte
Arte is a Franco-German TV network. It is a European culture channel and aims to promote quality programming especially in areas of culture and the arts...
in July 2002, does not reflect her perception of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, adding: "It is a little caricature I would say. It is still polarized or focused on prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
. Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
is not only prostitution. [...] I always wanted to play a prostitute and I admit that for "California", it is spontaneously come. And so I called Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara
Abel Ferrara is an American film screenwriter and director. He is best known as an independent filmmaker of such films as The Driller Killer , Ms. 45 , King of New York , Bad Lieutenant and The Funeral .-Early life:Ferrara was born in the Bronx of Italian and Irish descent...
who often evokes prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
in his films". This was the last time that Marianne Rosensthiel photographed Farmer during the shooting. The video was aired for the first time on March 20, 1996, on 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...
.
According to biographer Bernard Violet, the video provides the message that "women love to sometimes turn into a sexual object, but they still have their pride", and compares the end of the video to the film Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
. Florence Rajon criticized the video, saying that the collaboration between the two artists (Ferrara and Farmer) was "more disappointing than seducing" and that "we can not really consider "California" as a masterpiece": the subject was "too exploited" and "images of beautiful postcards of Hollywood are a bit too telephoned". By contrast, Royer deemed the video as a "total success, in which are merging the dreamlike imaginary of Mylène and the brutal realism of Ferrara".
Live performances
"California" was performed in lip-sync by Farmer in a single television show: Les Années tubes, broadcast on TF1 on 18 May 1996. At this occasion, the singer used a lascivious choreography and she also sang "Sans contrefaçonSans contrefaçon
"Sans contrefaçon" is a 1987 song recorded by French artist Mylène Farmer. It was released on 16 October 1987 as the first single from her second studio album, Ainsi soit je.... It was a big hit in 1987 and is one of her three best-selling singles. It became a very popular song in France over the...
".
The song was also performed at the time of the 1996 tour in a remixed techno version (the 'Wandering mix'). Images of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
by night were shown on the giant screens of the stage, and Farmer, entirely dressed in golden, performed first alone, then with two female dancers, a very suggestive choreography. The song was also performed and in an acoustic and jazzy version during the 2000 tour
Mylenium Tour (tour)
Mylenium Tour is Mylène Farmer's 1999-2000 concert tour in support of her fifth studio album, Innamoramento.-Critical reception and commercial success:...
. Farmer wore a white dress and white shoes; with her two female vocalists, she was sitting on the steps of the staircase, and then got up and do a few steps on the stage. Then Farmer went in front of the door at the top of the stairs, and at the end, she left the stage while it was in a full black. "California" was sung during the 13 concert at Bercy in 2006: while the screens and the central cross showed the words "Crime scene. Do not cross", Farmer slowly descended the stairs of the stage and performed a choreography with her hands during the musical bridge. The song was only performed in stadiums: Farmer wore a glittering short dress with red cape with hood and performed a choreography similar to the one during the 1996 tour. This version is only available on the video version of the album N°5 on Tour
N°5 on Tour
Nº5 on Tour is a double live album by French singer Mylène Farmer which documents her 2009 tour Mylène Farmer en tournée. It is her fifth live album and her 15th album overall. It was released on 7 December 2009, and it includes the standard set list that she sang during the indoor shows in France...
.
Critical reception
The author Erwan Chuberre considered "California" as "one of the best tracks of the album", and that the lyrics are "particularly exquisite and successful". Royer sees "California" as "an anthology piece, a musical gem all in subtility."In France, the song debuted at a peak of number seven on 30 May 1996. It dropped the seven weeks after but regained a total of 16 places the two next weeks. After that, the song began again to fall but rather slowly, and managed to remain in the top 50 for 17 weeks. It was the third best-selling single from Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work...
. The song was also one of the most aired on radio in 1996 and was ranked number 63 on the End of year chart.
In Belgium (Wallonia), the single entered the Ultratop 40
Ultratop 40
Ultratop 40 singles, often just Ultratop 40, is the weekly chart of best-selling singles in Wallonia and Brussels Capital Region, the french-speaking parts of Belgium. Its equivalent covering the Flanders region is Ultratop 50. Both charts are produced and published by the Ultratop organization...
Singles Chart on 4 May 1996, then fell off and re-entered four times and reached number 22 on 3 August, which was nonetheless the lower peak position of the five singles from the album Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée
Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work...
. It fell off the chart on 7 September, after fourteen weeks and was the 86th best-selling single of 1996.
Cover versions
In 2004, Cedric, an unknown singer who participated in a programme on the radio stationRadio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
NRJ, covered the song in a R&B version. It was not released as a single.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of single releases of "California":- CD single / CD single -Digipack
- CD maxi - Digipack
- 12" maxi - Disc 1
- 12" maxi - Disc 2
- Digital download
- CD maxi - Germany
- CD single - Promo / CD single - Promo - Luxurious edition / CD single - Promo - Germany
- VHS - Promo
Release history
| Date | Label | Region | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1996 | Polydor | France, Belgium | CD single - Promo | 3302, 3303 |
| VHS - Promo | — | |||
| Germany | CD single - Promo | 576 096-2 | ||
| 26 March 1996 | France, Belgium | CD single | 576 210-2 | |
| 7" maxi | 576 381-1 | |||
| CD maxi | 521 484-2 | |||
| August 1996 | Germany | CD single, CD maxi | 576 097-2 | |
Official versions
| Version | Length | Album | Remixed by | Year | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Album version | 4:58 | Anamorphosée Anamorphosée Anamorphosée is the fourth studio album by Mylène Farmer, released on October 17, 1995. Led by the number-one single "XXL", the album was something of a departure from her previous work... |
— | 1995 | See the previous sections |
| Radio edit | 3:58 | — | Laurent Boutonnat Laurent Boutonnat Laurent Pierre Marie Boutonnat is a French composer and film and music video director, best known as the songwriting partner of Mylène Farmer and the director of moody, provocative and literature-inspired music videos.- Career :... |
1996 | It is shorter than the album version, with a fade-out Fade (audio engineering) In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way .... . |
| Ramon Zenker's radio remix | 3:55 | — | Ramon Zenker | 1996 | This version is much more accelerated, contains many "Chah ah ah ah ah" sung by Farmer, but the sounds at the beginning of the original song are deleted. |
| Ramon Zenker's extended remix | 5:55 | — | Ramon Zenker | 1996 | This version is similar to the 'Ramon Zenker's Radio Remix', but with more music. |
| Megalo Mania remix | 6:47 | — | Mega Lo Mania, aka Ramon Zenker and Nils Ruzicka | 1996 | This techno version, devoted to discothèques, contains an introduction in which the chorus is sung almost a cappella A cappella A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato... . All couplets are deleted. |
| Wandering mix | 6:10 | — | Laurent Boutonnat, Bertrand Châtenet | 1996 | This version is similar to the original version, with more "C'est sexy" and "So sex". |
| L.A.P.D. club remix | 6:55 | — | Laurent Boutonnat, Bertrand Châtenet | 1996 | This is a dance remix. The remix's title refers to the name of the Los Angeles Police Department Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in... and contains all the sounds from the original version, and many "C'est sexy" and "So sex". |
| Gaspar Inc. remix | 5:20 | — | Gaspar Inc. | 1996 | This is an instrumental version but very different from the album version. It contains many "Californie" sung by Farmer. |
| Music video | 5:18 | Music Videos II Music Videos II Music Videos II is a VHS recorded by the French singer Mylène Farmer, containing all the singer's videoclips from 1992 to 1996. It was released in April 1997 in France.... , Music Videos II & III Music Videos II & III Music Video II & III is a DVD recorded by the French singer Mylène Farmer, containing all the singer's videoclips from 1992 to 2000. It was released in March 2001 in France.... |
— | 1996 | |
| Live version (recorded in 1996) |
7:30 (audio) 6:52 (video) |
Live à Bercy Live à Bercy Live à Bercy is the second live album by Mylène Farmer, released on May 21, 1997. It was also produced as a video.-Background:After the successful concerts tour of 1996, whose shows were spread out from May 25 to December 15, a live album was recorded and produced by Thierry Suc, and sponsored by... |
— | 1996 | The song begins with the various sounds that can be heard in the original album version,plus the sound of a helicopter, and ends with the sound of an ambulance siren. (see 1996 Tour) |
| Live version (recorded in 2000) |
5:27 | Mylenium Tour Mylenium Tour Mylènium Tour is the third live album by Mylène Farmer, released on December 5, 2000.-Background:After having ending her third successful tour whose last shows were held in Russia on March 7, 2000, Farmer rested, and then decided to release an album and a DVD retracing her concert... |
— | 2000 | All the sounds from the album version are removed. (see Mylenium Tour (tour) Mylenium Tour (tour) Mylenium Tour is Mylène Farmer's 1999-2000 concert tour in support of her fifth studio album, Innamoramento.-Critical reception and commercial success:... ) |
| Album version | 4:55 | Les Mots | Laurent Boutonnat | 2001 | |
| Romain Tranchart & Rawman remix | 6:17 | RemixeS RemixeS RemixeS is a compilation of French singer Mylène Farmer's singles by various famous DJ's, including JXL, Felix Da Housecat and Paul Oakenfold.-Brackground, writing and release:... |
Romain Tranchart & Rawman | 2003 | The song has a much more accelerated rhythm and contains more percussions. |
| Live version (recorded in 2006) |
5:19 | Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy is the fourth live album by Mylène Farmer, released on December 4, 2006.- Background :Six years after her Mylenium Tour, Mylène Farmer came back on stage with a tour in 2006 which included 13 shows at Bercy, in Paris. This very successful series of concerts started on... |
— | 2006 | See Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy (tour) Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy (tour) Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy is the Mylène Farmer's 2006 concert tour in support of her sixth studio album, Avant que l'ombre.... It was the fourth tour of the singer.More than 169,000 tickets were sold one about one year before the concert.-Set list:... |
| Live version (recorded in 2009) |
N°5 on Tour N°5 on Tour Nº5 on Tour is a double live album by French singer Mylène Farmer which documents her 2009 tour Mylène Farmer en tournée. It is her fifth live album and her 15th album overall. It was released on 7 December 2009, and it includes the standard set list that she sang during the indoor shows in France... (DVD) |
— | 2010 | See Mylène Farmer en tournée |
Credits and personnel
These are the credits and the personnel as they appear on the back of the single:- Mylène Farmer – lyrics
- Laurent Boutonnat – music
- Requiem Publishing – editions
- Claude Gassian – photo
- Com'N.B – design
Peak positions
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
22 |
| French SNEP Singles Chart | 7 |
End of year charts
| End of year chart (1996) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 86 |
| French Singles Chart | 63 |
Sales
| Country | Certification | Physical sales |
|---|---|---|
| France | Should be Silver | 110,000 |