Ouragan (song)
Encyclopedia
"Ouragan" also released under the title "Irresistible", is the first 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...

 recorded by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Countess of Polignac is a member of the princely family of Monaco. She is the youngest child of Grace, Princess of Monaco and Rainier III of Monaco, and the sister of Albert II of Monaco and Princess Caroline...

, from her album, Besoin
Besoin
- Chart positions :- External links :* at the Amazon.com...

. Released in 1986, it was a great success in France
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...

, where it topped the charts for almost three months, and 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...

.

Background and writing

This song was written by Romano Musumarra, who had already written several hits for Jeanne Mas
Jeanne Mas
Jeanne Mas, born on 28 February 1958 in Alicante, Spain, is a French pop singer and actress.She was well known in France, Switzerland and Belgium for a number of hit singles released in the 1980s. From the late eighties onwards her career slid into the has-been category. Her first success was...

 and Elsa
Elsa Lunghini
Elsa Lunghini, stage name Elsa , 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...

. Yves Roze, the song's producer, is known under the pseudonym of Jean-François Michael, who recorded "Adieu jolie Candy" in 1969/

With Jeanne Mas having refused to record this song, the composer offered it to Stéphanie of Monaco, who finally accepted. The song was also recorded in English, under the name "Irresistible", in order to win over the Anglophones
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...

 - but without much success.

No music video was produced initially, as the song was not expected to be such a success. The only video available was some footage shot in the recording studio. Eventually a video was made that features the princess in various locations pursuing a mysterious stranger in a hat. The video had a plot twist at the end, since the mysterious stranger is revealed to be a male version of Stéphanie. On the video, she sings alternate verses in French and English.

Chart performances

The single remained on the French Top 50 Singles Chart from 5 April to 18 October 1986, i.e. a total of 29 weeks, and was number one for ten weeks. It peaked at number eleven in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and was also a hit 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...

, where it reached number two.

In 1986, the single was certified Platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...

 Single by the French certificator SNEP, having achieved at least one million sales, and 1,030,000 sales according to Infodisc. Sales of the single exceeded two million copies worldwide. In France, the song is the 83rd best-selling single of all time.

"Ouragan" was the first single to remain at the top of the French Singles Chart for at least ten weeks, beating the record set in 1985 by Peter and Sloane
Peter and Sloane
Peter and Sloane was a 1980s French musical group. This duet was composed of Jean-Pierre Savelli and Chantal Richard . Their greatest hit was the song "Besoin de rien, envie de toi", which was number 1 for nine weeks in 1984 in France....

 with "Besoin de rien, envie de toi". It was also the second best-selling single in 1986, behind "Les Démons de minuit
Les Démons de minuit
"Les Démons de minuit" is the debut single of the French band Images. Released in June 1986, it was the first single from their first album Album d'Images. Very popular, the song was a huge hit in France...

", by Images.

Cover versions

The song was covered by many artists, including Ishii, Akemi (石井明美) in Japanese version from her 1986 album Mona Lisa, Michael von der Heide in 1998, Gregorian
Gregorian (band)
Gregorian is a German band headed by Frank Peterson that performs Gregorian chant-inspired versions of modern pop and rock songs. The band features both vocal harmony and instrumental accompaniment.- Band history :...

 in a new age
New Age
The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...

 version as bonus track on the album Masters of Chant Chapter III
Masters of Chant Chapter III
Masters of Chant III is the fourth album by Gregorian.- Track listing :# "Join Me" – 4:10 # "Be" – 5:20...

, Leslie
Leslie (singer)
Leslie is a French pop-R&B singer born on February 4, 1985 in Le Mans, France. Her father is Vietnamese and Polynesian while her mother is FrenchIn 2007, she recorded a duet single with the R&B singer Bobby Valentino, "Accorde-moi"....

 on her 2007 album 80 Souvenirs, Jolie in French and English versions in 2010. Actors Jean-Paul Rouve
Jean-Paul Rouve
Jean-Paul Rouve , who was part of Les Robins des Bois, is a French film and television actor. He is also a film director and screenwriter.-Career:Rouve has appeared in over thirty films and over ten television productions....

 and Isabelle Nanty
Isabelle Nanty
Isabelle Nanty is a French actress and film director.see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0353243/. She played the part of Georgette in the 2001 French film Amélie and Isabelle in La Belle Histoire...

performed the song as duet in the Olivier Baroux's 2011 film Les Tuche.

Track listings

  • 7" single

A-side :
  1. "Ouragan" — 3:40

B-side :
  1. "Irresistible" — 3:45

  • 12" maxi

A-side :
  1. "Ouragan" — 7:00

B-side :
  1. "Ouragan" — 4:35
  2. "Irresistible" — 3:40

  • 7" single (English version)

A-side :
  1. "Irresistible" — 3:44

B-side :
  1. "Ouragan" — 3:59

  • 12" maxi (English version)

A-side :
  1. "Irresistible" (long) — 7:03

B-side :
  1. "Ouragan" — 4:26
  2. "Irresistible" (short) — 4:44

  • 12" maxi (both versions)

A-side :
  1. "Ouragan" / "Irresistible" (extended version) — 7:00

B-side :
  1. "Irresistible" — 4:40
  2. "Ouragan" — 4:35

The single is also available on several of Stéphanie's other albums: Besoin (1986, number six on French Albums Chart, Gold), Stéphanie (1993), Rendez-Vous (2001, track 12), and Ouragan (best of). The song is also on numerous 1980s compilations.

Peak positions

Chart (1986) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart1 5
Dutch Top 40 31
Eurochart Hot 100 5
French SNEP Singles Chart 1
German Singles Chart1 2
Swiss Singles Chart 11
UK Singles Chart1 84


1 Under the title "Irresistible"

End of year charts

End of year chart (1986) Position
French Singles Chart 2

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales
France Platinum 1986 1,000,000 1,030,000


External links

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