Elsa Lunghini
Encyclopedia
Elsa Lunghini, stage name Elsa (born May 20, 1973, in Paris
), is a French singer and actress. She was a famous teenage pop-star in the late-1980s. In 1986, she was the youngest singer ever to reach number one in the French charts with the single T'en va pas
, and she went on to sell millions of records during the decade. Elsa
, her album of 1988, had achieved double-platinum status by 1993.
), she is of Italian origin on her father's side. She is a cousin of Eva Green
.
Elsa performed her first role in a movie at 7 years old, in the 1981 Claude Miller
movie Garde à vue
(also starring Romy Schneider
).
Elsa was the youngest artist to be in main program of the Olympia (Paris), at 17 years old, in October 1990 as well as the youngest artist to have a Number 1 Hit at the Top 50, in France. At 13 years old, in 1986, she remained #1 for 8 weeks, with the song "T'en va pas
" (soundtrack of the movie "La femme de ma vie"). The song has been composed by Italian Romano Musumarra who has already worked and helped producing hits for 80's famous French pop act Jeanne Mas. The song has been a huge hit in France, and managed to export itself across Europe with an English recording.
It was then time for an album, with help of her musician father, Elsa recorded several songs for her self-titled LP "Elsa". The album went double platinum in France (more than 600.000 copies sold) thanks to good choice of various hit-singles such as "Quelque chose dans mon cœur
" ("Something in my heart"), "Jour de neige
" ("Snowing day"), "Jamais nous" (featuring backing vocals by French singer Laurent Voulzy) ("Never us"), "Un Roman d'amitié
" (duet with Glenn Medeiros
) ("Friend you gave me a reason"), "À la même heure dans deux ans" ("At the same time in two years"). All of them was top 10 hits and at that time, Elsa was the only artist to have her first four singles charted at number one or number two.
She became then very popular in the teen press and media used to compare her to another successful singer: Vanessa Paradis
. Indeed, the two have the same age and had success at the same time. Nevertheless, brunette Elsa presented a soft and shy image, whereas blonde Vanessa Paradis had a "wilder" image.
1990 saw the release of her second album "Rien que pour ça" ("Only for that"). The songs on the album are still produced by her father and Elsa herself wrote the music for the main single of the same name. "Rien que pour ça" was a top 20 hit. Two others excerpt were released "Pleure doucement" ("Cry softly") and "Qu'est-ce que ça peut lui faire" ("What that she matters"). Those two last singles were less successful than the previous ones, but this did not prevent her to start her first tour and then end it in the great theatrical myth place called "L'Olympia" (a VHS and a LaserDisc was then released for that concert).
1992, Elsa made her comeback by releasing a real-surprising single: "Bouscule-moi" ("Push me on"). A very catchy pop mid-rock single which reveals a more mature Elsa. The lyrics became more adult oriented. "Bouscule-moi" was a hit-single, her third album was then released. "Douce violence" ("Sweet violence") allows Elsa to become one of the rare French female vocalists renowned in the French musical culture. Two more singles were released to promote "Douce violence": "Supplice chinois" ("Chinese torture") and "Tout l'temps, tout l'temps" ("Everytime, everytime"), but they failed to become smash hits.
In 1996, Elsa released her 4th album: "Chaque jour est un long chemin" (Everyday's a long day); In this cd, Elsa, aged 23 showed her ability to write and to compose. Though excellent reviews by the best music specialists in France at that time, she only sold 20,000 albums. From September 20 to 24, 2004, Elsa gave shows in Paris at the Européen. A live DVD and a live CD recorded at these concerts have been available since April 10, 2006.
Elsa is also involved in several charitable causes. She annually takes part in the Tour of the Resto du coeur as well as in other causes, such as Sol En Si.
She has starred in two TV movies: 2002's La mort est rousse and 2004's Trois jours en juin and is now involved in a television advertising campaign for Danone yogourt.
She lives in Paris and, since 1999, she was the fiancée of the football (soccer) World Champion Bixente Lizarazu
. They met at a Restos du Coeur concert, in which they were both taking part and together, they are also spokespersons of the association Bout de vie, which is dedicated to the assistance of the handicapped.
Cinema
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
), is a French singer and actress. She was a famous teenage pop-star in the late-1980s. In 1986, she was the youngest singer ever to reach number one in the French charts with the single T'en va pas
T'en va pas
"T'en va pas" is a 1986 song recorded by the French artist Elsa Lunghini. Released as a single on 12 October 1986, this song, her debut single, was the soundtrack of the 1986 movie La Femme de ma vie. It was a smash hit in France....
, and she went on to sell millions of records during the decade. Elsa
Elsa (album)
Elsa is the debut album of the French singer Elsa Lunghini, released in 1988.-Background and critical reception:After the success of her first two singles, "T'en va pas", which peaked at #1 for eight weeks on the official singles chart , and "Quelque chose dans mon cœur", #2 hit, Elsa decided to...
, her album of 1988, had achieved double-platinum status by 1993.
Biography
Daughter of George Lunghini (actor, photographer and song writer) and of Christiane Jobert (painter and also sister of actress Marlène JobertMarlène Jobert
Marlène Jobert is a French actress, singer and author.Jobert was born in Algiers, Algeria , the daughter of Andrée and a father who flew for the French Air Force. She is a Pied-Noir of Jewish heritage. She came to Metropolitan France when aged 8...
), she is of Italian origin on her father's side. She is a cousin of Eva Green
Eva Green
Eva Gaëlle Green is a French actress and model.Green performed in theatre before making her film debut in The Dreamers , which generated controversy over her numerous nude scenes. She achieved greater fame for her parts in Kingdom of Heaven , and in the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale, for...
.
Elsa performed her first role in a movie at 7 years old, in the 1981 Claude Miller
Claude Miller
Claude Miller is a French film director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his first practical cinematic experience while he was in uniform, serving with the Service Cinéma de l'Armée...
movie Garde à vue
Garde à vue
Garde à vue is a 1981 French film directed by Claude Miller and starring Romy Schneider, Michel Serrault, Lino Ventura and Guy Marchand. It was based on the British novel Brainwash, by John Wainwright....
(also starring Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
).
Elsa was the youngest artist to be in main program of the Olympia (Paris), at 17 years old, in October 1990 as well as the youngest artist to have a Number 1 Hit at the Top 50, in France. At 13 years old, in 1986, she remained #1 for 8 weeks, with the song "T'en va pas
T'en va pas
"T'en va pas" is a 1986 song recorded by the French artist Elsa Lunghini. Released as a single on 12 October 1986, this song, her debut single, was the soundtrack of the 1986 movie La Femme de ma vie. It was a smash hit in France....
" (soundtrack of the movie "La femme de ma vie"). The song has been composed by Italian Romano Musumarra who has already worked and helped producing hits for 80's famous French pop act Jeanne Mas. The song has been a huge hit in France, and managed to export itself across Europe with an English recording.
It was then time for an album, with help of her musician father, Elsa recorded several songs for her self-titled LP "Elsa". The album went double platinum in France (more than 600.000 copies sold) thanks to good choice of various hit-singles such as "Quelque chose dans mon cœur
Quelque chose dans mon cœur
"Quelque chose dans mon cœur" is a 1987 song recorded by the French artist Elsa Lunghini. Released on December 1987, this song was the first single from her debut album Elsa. It achieved a great success in France, reaching number two.-Background:The song was written by Georges Lunghini, Elsa's...
" ("Something in my heart"), "Jour de neige
Jour de neige
"Jour de neige" is a 1988 song recorded by the French artist Elsa Lunghini. Released on November 1988, this song was the third single from her debut album Elsa. As for the previous three singles, it had a great success in France, reaching number two....
" ("Snowing day"), "Jamais nous" (featuring backing vocals by French singer Laurent Voulzy) ("Never us"), "Un Roman d'amitié
Un Roman d'amitié
"Un Roman d'amitié " is a 1988 song recorded by the French artist Elsa Lunghini and the United States singer Glenn Medeiros. The song was released as a single in the summer of 1988 and features on the self-titled LP Elsa....
" (duet with Glenn Medeiros
Glenn Medeiros
Glenn Alan Medeiros is a Hispanic Hawaiian singer and rapper who was a teenage star in the 1980s.-Biography:...
) ("Friend you gave me a reason"), "À la même heure dans deux ans" ("At the same time in two years"). All of them was top 10 hits and at that time, Elsa was the only artist to have her first four singles charted at number one or number two.
She became then very popular in the teen press and media used to compare her to another successful singer: Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Paradis
Vanessa Chantal Paradis is a French singer, model and actress. She became a child star at 14 with the worldwide success of her single "Joe le taxi"...
. Indeed, the two have the same age and had success at the same time. Nevertheless, brunette Elsa presented a soft and shy image, whereas blonde Vanessa Paradis had a "wilder" image.
1990 saw the release of her second album "Rien que pour ça" ("Only for that"). The songs on the album are still produced by her father and Elsa herself wrote the music for the main single of the same name. "Rien que pour ça" was a top 20 hit. Two others excerpt were released "Pleure doucement" ("Cry softly") and "Qu'est-ce que ça peut lui faire" ("What that she matters"). Those two last singles were less successful than the previous ones, but this did not prevent her to start her first tour and then end it in the great theatrical myth place called "L'Olympia" (a VHS and a LaserDisc was then released for that concert).
1992, Elsa made her comeback by releasing a real-surprising single: "Bouscule-moi" ("Push me on"). A very catchy pop mid-rock single which reveals a more mature Elsa. The lyrics became more adult oriented. "Bouscule-moi" was a hit-single, her third album was then released. "Douce violence" ("Sweet violence") allows Elsa to become one of the rare French female vocalists renowned in the French musical culture. Two more singles were released to promote "Douce violence": "Supplice chinois" ("Chinese torture") and "Tout l'temps, tout l'temps" ("Everytime, everytime"), but they failed to become smash hits.
In 1996, Elsa released her 4th album: "Chaque jour est un long chemin" (Everyday's a long day); In this cd, Elsa, aged 23 showed her ability to write and to compose. Though excellent reviews by the best music specialists in France at that time, she only sold 20,000 albums. From September 20 to 24, 2004, Elsa gave shows in Paris at the Européen. A live DVD and a live CD recorded at these concerts have been available since April 10, 2006.
Elsa is also involved in several charitable causes. She annually takes part in the Tour of the Resto du coeur as well as in other causes, such as Sol En Si.
She has starred in two TV movies: 2002's La mort est rousse and 2004's Trois jours en juin and is now involved in a television advertising campaign for Danone yogourt.
She lives in Paris and, since 1999, she was the fiancée of the football (soccer) World Champion Bixente Lizarazu
Bixente Lizarazu
Bixente Lizarazu is a former football left defender who played most notably for Girondins de Bordeaux and Bayern Munich, as well as the French national team.-Football career:...
. They met at a Restos du Coeur concert, in which they were both taking part and together, they are also spokespersons of the association Bout de vie, which is dedicated to the assistance of the handicapped.
Albums
- 2008 : Elsa Lunghini
- 2006 : Connexions live (Recorded at L'Européen, in Paris, in September 2005)
- 2004 : De lave et de sève
- 1997 : Elsa, l'essentiel 1986-1993Elsa, l'essentiel 1986-1993Elsa, l'essentiel 1986–1993 is the only compilation of the French singer Elsa Lunghini, and her fifth album overall.-Background and critical reception:It was released in 1997....
- 1996 : Chaque jour est un long chemin
- 1992 : Douce ViolenceDouce ViolenceDouce Violence is the third album of the French singer Elsa Lunghini, and it was released in 1992.-Background and critical reception:In this album, when she was only 19, she began to disassociate herself from his father, the composer Georges Lunghini...
- 1990 : Rien que pour çaRien que pour çaRien que pour ça is the second album by the French singer Elsa Lunghini and was released in 1990.-Background and critical reception:In this album, recorded in London, Elsa continued her musical collaboration with her father, Georges Lunghini, since he was co-producer of the album and composed all...
- 1988 : ElsaElsa (album)Elsa is the debut album of the French singer Elsa Lunghini, released in 1988.-Background and critical reception:After the success of her first two singles, "T'en va pas", which peaked at #1 for eight weeks on the official singles chart , and "Quelque chose dans mon cœur", #2 hit, Elsa decided to...
Filmography
Television :- 2009 : Aveugle mais pas trop de Charlotte Brandström : Emma
- 2008 : Où es-tu ? de Miguel Courtois : Suzanne
- 2005 : Trois jours en juin de Philippe Venault : Sylvie
- 2002 : La Mort est rousse de Christian Faure : Charlotte
Cinema
- 2009 : Le portail, short movie by Liam Engle
- 1992 : Le Retour de CasanovaThe Return of CasanovaThe Return of Casanova is a 1992 French comedy film directed by Édouard Niermans. It was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Alain Delon - Casanova* Fabrice Luchini - Camille* Elsa Lunghini - Marcolina...
de Édouard NiermansÉdouard NiermansÉdouard Niermans is a French film director, screenwriter and actor. His film The Return of Casanova was entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* It Only Happens to Others...
: Marcolina - 1987 : Où que tu sois de Alain BergalaAlain BergalaAlain Bergala, born 8 August 1943 in Brignoles, is a French film critic, essayist, screenwriter and director.- Biography :Former writer for Cahiers du cinéma, he is best known as a specialist in the works of Jean-Luc Godard....
: Anne - 1986 : La Femme de ma vie de Régis WargnierRégis WargnierRégis Wargnier is a French film director, film producer, screenwriter, actor and film score composer.-Director:*1986 : La Femme de ma vie starring Jane Birkin*1988 : Sueurs froides...
: Éloïse - 1985 : Rouge baiserRed KissRed Kiss is a 1985 French drama film directed by Véra Belmont. It was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival, where Charlotte Valandrey won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.-Cast:* Charlotte Valandrey as Nadia...
de Véra BelmontVéra BelmontVéra Belmont is a French film producer, director and screenwriter. She has produced over 40 films since 1960. Her 1985 film Red Kiss was entered into the 36th Berlin International Film Festival, where Charlotte Valandrey won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.-Selected filmography:* The Cop * Quest...
: Rosa - 1984 : Train d'enfer de Roger HaninRoger HaninRoger Hanin is a French actor , best known for playing the title role in the 1989-2006 TV crime series, Navarro.-Personal life:...
- 1981 : Garde à vueGarde à vueGarde à vue is a 1981 French film directed by Claude Miller and starring Romy Schneider, Michel Serrault, Lino Ventura and Guy Marchand. It was based on the British novel Brainwash, by John Wainwright....
de Claude MillerClaude MillerClaude Miller is a French film director, producer and screenwriter.-Career:Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his first practical cinematic experience while he was in uniform, serving with the Service Cinéma de l'Armée...
: Camille (l'enfant)
External links
- official MySpace
- Imdb page
- Fan site (in French)
- Fan site (in French)
- Fan site (in French)
- Great forum to meet Elsa's fans (in French)