Alizée made her début with the single, Moi... Lolita on the 4 July 2000. It is her most successful single to date. It was a instant hit throughout most of Europe and parts of east Asia, reaching number one in several countries. Alizée's image was that of a seductive Lolita character, referring to the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The video for the single showed Alizée as a village girl visiting a night-club. Four months after the single her debut album "Gourmandises" was released. The album written entirely by Farmer and Boutonnat, has sold over 1,3 million copies in France. It was certified Platinum in just three months by the SNEP. In 2001, the album was released internationally, and she became the highest-selling female French singer in 2001. The album went on to sell over 2 million copies worldwide. Farmer and Boutonnat kept a tight rein how the album was marketed and controlled the image in which Alizée was portrayed. In the mean time, Alizée gave very few interviews, and even when she did, they did not stretch beyond 20 minutes per journalist. Neither did she agree to any photoshoots.
Her second single L'Alizé followed soon after. It was also successful giving her first number one in France, and gained some success internationally. The video of the "sexily alliterative" song shows Alizée amidst soap bubbles against a pink backdrop singing about herself. The video was shot in a studio in Brussels, which had a 25 metre by 10 metre painted canvas to serve as the background—with real bubbles. This single was followed up with another single from the same album - the title song, Gourmandises. The video, which shows a group of young boys and girls out on a picnic, was shot in a day. The last single from this album was Parler Tout Bas, which deals with the theme of dreams and a loss of innocence. In France, "Parler tout bas" was the third single followed by the release of "Gourmandises".
In 2003, Alizée returned with her second album "Mes Courants Électriques". With the release of this album, she changed her image from a 'Lolita' to that of a more toned-down teenager. This album was also written by Farmer and Boutonnat. The style of the music didn't change so much but the album was more critically acclaimed than the previous one. While it had much success in and outside France, worldwide it managed to sell 1.000.000 copies, less than its predecessor. The album has an international version featuring English versions of four tracks.
The first single from this album, Je N'ai Marre! was released in 2003. The music video for this shows Alizée in a glass cage, singing while having water splashed on her. The plexiglass cage, 3 by 3 meters in dimension, was constructed in a Parisian studio, and the shooting of the video took two days. An English-language version of this song, titled I'm Fed Up, was also released, and featured similar visuals for the music video. The other singles from this album were J'ai pas Vingt ans and À contre-courant. Like Je N'ai Marre, J'ai Pas Vingt Ans, Youpidou and Amelie M'a Dit also had English versions. The video for J'ai Pas Vingt Ans (I'm Not Twenty) resembles the ambience of a concert with Alizée dancing in the midst of several other dancers. À Contre-courant, the last single from this album, was shot in an abandoned coal factory. Unlike the other two singles, there was no English-language rendition of this song.
Following the release of her second studio album, Mes Courants Électriques, Alizée toured around France and had two performances in Belgium and Switzerland, during the second half of the year 2003. The tour started off with a performance on August 26, 2003 in Paris. It concluded with her performance on the eve of January 17, 2004 at the Le Zénith concert hall in Paris and had covered major cities including Lyon, Rouen, Lille, Grenoble and Dijon, among others.
A live CD and DVD, titled "Alizée En Concert", comprising of selected performances from her tour, was launched a year later in the fall of 2004. The audio CD contained tracks, taken from her two studio albums. The DVD featured video footage of the same performances as on the CD, along with bonus footage of her rehearsals. The compilation was re-released in early 2007 in Mexico by Universal music as a CD+DVD release, following the featuring of the songs in local radio stations. With the re-release and renewed interest, the songs climbed up the music charts in the country. The album became a hit, peaking at number 4 in the International Chart on May 28, 2007, and number 8 on the main albums chart. En concert has a Gold certification for shipments over 50,000 copies only in Mexico.
Following her marriage in late 2003, Alizée took a hiatus from singing and avoided appearing in the media. She welcomed her first child Annily in 2005. Her first television appearance in two years was on MTV France on February 18, 2006.
After almost two years of fan speculation, on April 3, 2006, a handwritten message, signed Alizée, was received by the webmaster of the fansite Le Nid d'Alizée, stating that she is working on the third album.
On July 7, 2006, the show Le JT de la musique on French TV channel "Europe 2 TV" reported that Alizée has separated from her former producer and song writer Mylène Farmer and was working on her third album. It was also reported that the lyrics of the new album were being penned by Jean Faulques. Her husband, Jérémy Châtelain produces a lot of the album.
Her third album Psychédélices was released in December of 2007. Despite the promotion it had moderate success in France, where it reached number 16 on the albums chart. The album only held its peak position for one week on each chart and fell in the second week. The album was more of a success in Mexico, it debuted at number 44 in the Mexican Top 100 Albums Chart. The album peaked at number 15 in the main chart and number 1 in the international chart. It has sold 300,000 copies so far. Many of her fans were disappointed by this album as it was not produced by Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat. The critics considered it as artistically inferior of her previous efforts.
Only one single was spawned in France from Psychédélices, called Mademoiselle Juliette. It missed the top 20 peaking at number 22. The second single release, Fifty-Sixty, peaked at number 65 in the Mexican single charts. In 2008 Alizée recorded a new studio version of Madonna's hit single La Isla Bonita and was included on a special edition for her album, Psychédélices in Mexico. The song so far has gone on to become a hit becoming Alizée's first top ten single on the national top ten airplay chart.
Following the success of Alizée En Concert and Psychédélices in Mexico, her former label, Universal Music released a compilation album, titled Tout Alizée. The compilation peaked at No. 62 on the Mexico Top 100 Albums Chart and No.20 on the Mexican International Top 20 Albums Chart.
During the Psychédélices tour, she had to cancel a tour date in Paris, stating that she was already working on her new album and it would sound different from all of her previous recordings. The album Une Enfant Du Siècle and was released in France on 29 March 2010. The theme of the album is the life of American model Edie Sedgwick from the birth till the death, based on the style of Andy Warhol. He isn't mentioned in the lyrics but the album has many references on him. The album received positive reviews from critics. However it peaked at No.24 on the French Album Chart aswell as No.22 on the Mexican Albums Chart. The single Limelight was released as a teaser single, being uploaded on 15 February 2010 on British website Popjustice. The main single Les Collines was released on 26 April 2010.
In 2011, she and Jérémy Chatelain divorced.
In Spring 2012, Alizée announced a new album would be released. However Sony delayed the album to Autumn 2012. In the meantime she was featured on the single Clara veut la Lune by Alain Chamfort.On 27 June 2012, Alizée announced on live chat that the first single, À cause de l'automne from the new album was to be released 28 June 2012. She also revealed that for the new album she was working with Jean-Jacques Goldman, BB Brunes and Thomas Boulard were also working on the album, The first music video was shot on 15 July 2012 and was released on 5 December 2012. The video features Alizée exploring the themes of autumn (i.e playing with autumn leaves and umbrellas). The first performance of the single was on RFM radio on 21 December 2012 where she sang the song in a live broadcast. It charted at 131 on the French Singles Chart. The album was yet again delayed to Spring 2013. In January, she revealed the artwork and name for the album, which is named 5. The album incorporates dance-pop,rock and ballads. This was her first album to not chart in the French Album Chart.
In 2014, following the success of her appearance (and win) on popular French tv show Danse avec les stars , she released her sixth studio album, Blonde on 23 June 2014. The single Blonde was released months earlier on 18 March 2014. The song peaked at No.63 while the album peaked at No.20. It was considered a commercial failure.
Alizée now owns a dance studio in Ajaccio, Corsica with her now-husband Grégoire Lyonnet and welcomed a baby girl called Maggy Lyonnet on 24 November 2019.
A Contre-Courant
Alizée Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
À contre-courant
Tout à l'envers
Pas pour longtemps
Quand tu es sur terre
Mets-moi au courant
Que j'imagine
Nos fusions
Sous haute tension
Mais pas de prises
De nerfs, je concilie
Tes rires
Et mes électrons
Un bal de vie
Bal de ballons
Rien d'ordinaire
Rien que du bon temps
Tête à l'envers
Pas trop longtemps
Quand tu es sur terre
Mets-moi au courant
Que je devine
Les intentions
On s'électrise
Tension maximale
Les corps-circuits
De deux amants
On s'illumine
Lumière animale
L'école de l'électro-aimant
Retrouver le sens
De la vie, je pense
Passe par l'ennui
Quand toi, tu es parti
Retrouver les sens
Moments qui s'insolencent
Des défilés de doigts
De mon envie de toi
Quand le courant passe, aussi la menace
Du temps qui se barre, du temps qui nous sépare
Et le courant passe, j'ai en moi l'audace
Du champ magnétique, et ça c'est magnifique
Nos univers
À contre-courant
Reviens sur terre
Et pour de bon
Quand tu m'espères
Mets-moi au courant
Que j'envisage
Une rébellion
On se statique
Quand je lui dis non
Pas plus de six
Allocutions
Il me panique
D'électrocution
Mon isolant
C'est la passion
Retrouver le sens
De la vie, je pense
Passe par l'ennui
Quand toi, tu es parti
Retrouver les sens
Moments qui s'insolencent
Des défilés de doigts
De mon envie de toi
Quand le courant passe, aussi la menace
Du temps qui se barre, du temps qui nous sépare
Et le courant passe, j'ai en moi l'audace
Du champ magnétique, et ça c'est magnifique
Retrouver le sens
De la vie, je pense
Passe par l'ennui
Quand toi, tu es parti
Retrouver les sens
Moments qui s'insolencent
Des défilés de doigts
De mon envie de toi
Quand le courant passe, aussi la menace
Du temps qui se barre, du temps qui nous sépare
Et le courant passe, j'ai en moi l'audace
Du champ magnétique, et ça c'est magnifique
Retrouver le sens
De la vie, je pense
Passe par l'ennui
Quand toi, tu es parti
Retrouver les sens
Moments qui s'insolencent
Des défilés de doigts
De mon envie de toi
Quand le courant passe, aussi la menace
Du temps qui se barre, du temps qui nous sépare
Et le courant passe, j'ai en moi l'audace
Du champ magnétique, et ça c'est magnifique
À contre vous
The lyrics to Alizée's song A Contre-Courant speak of two people's desire for each other, an attraction that defies the norms and conventions of society. The singer sings about their intense passion and the electric connection they share, describing the experience as if they exist in entirely different universes or are going against the current. The lyrics evoke a sense of rebellion and a desire to break free from the monotony of daily life.
The song's chorus speaks of the dangers of letting the current pass, which represents the fleeting nature of time that can separate two people, but also the courage to embrace the magnetic field that makes them feel alive. Throughout the lyrics, the singer emphasizes the power of love and how it allows them to rediscover the excitement and purpose of life.
The song's upbeat tempo and electronic sound reflect the electric connection between the two people described in the lyrics. The lyrics and the overall mood of the song are both sensual and joyful, celebrating the beauty of passion and love that can make people feel alive and overcome any obstacle.
Line by Line Meaning
Nos univers
Our separate worlds
À contre-courant
Going against the flow
Tout à l'envers
Everything is upside-down
Pas pour longtemps
Not for long
Quand tu es sur terre
When you're on earth
Mets-moi au courant
Keep me informed
Que j'imagine
So I can dream up
Nos fusions
Our fusions
On se désire
We desire each other
Sous haute tension
Under high tension
Mais pas de prises
But no handles to hold onto
De nerfs, je concilie
I reconcile with my nerves
Tes rires
Your laughter
Et mes électrons
And my electrons
Un bal de vie
A dance of life
Bal de ballons
Dance with balloons
Rien d'ordinaire
Nothing ordinary
Rien que du bon temps
Just good times
Tête à l'envers
Head upside-down
Pas trop longtemps
Not too long
Que tu es sur terre
While you're on earth
Mets-moi au courant
Keep me informed
Que je devine
So I can guess
Les intentions
The intentions
On s'électrise
We electrify each other
Tension maximale
Maximum tension
Les corps-circuits
The bodies-circuits
De deux amants
Of two lovers
On s'illumine
We light up
Lumière animale
Animal light
L'école de l'électro-aimant
The school of the electro-magnet
Retrouver le sens
Rediscovering meaning
De la vie, je pense
In life, I think
Passe par l'ennui
Goes through boredom
Quand toi, tu es parti
When you're gone
Retrouver les sens
Rediscovering the senses
Moments qui s'insolencent
Moments that become insolent
Des défilés de doigts
A parade of fingers
De mon envie de toi
Of my desire for you
Quand le courant passe, aussi la menace
When the current flows, so does the threat
Du temps qui se barre, du temps qui nous sépare
The time that flies by, the time that separates us
Et le courant passe, j'ai en moi l'audace
And when the current flows, I have the audacity
Du champ magnétique, et ça c'est magnifique
Of the magnetic field, and that's magnificent
Reviens sur terre
Come back to earth
Et pour de bon
For good
Quand tu m'espères
When you hope for me
Mets-moi au courant
Keep me informed
Que j'envisage
So I can consider
Une rébellion
A rebellion
On se statique
We become static
Quand je lui dis non
When I say no to him
Pas plus de six
No more than six
Allocutions
Speeches
Il me panique
He panics me
D'électrocution
Of electrocution
Mon isolant
My insulator
C'est la passion
It's the passion
À contre vous
Against you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MYLENE FARMER, LAURENT BOUTONNAT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Андрей Большаков
У неё отличный голос и харизма, отдельное спасибо кто придумал музыку!
Владимир Данилов
Музыку придумал Лоран Бутонна !
123ррр
часть песен написала милен фармер, по крайне мере в первых альбомах) а как только они с милен поссорились, карьера ализе пошла на спад (
Valeria Osman
@123ррр зря она конечно самостоятельности захотела . Милен и Лоран знали что делали . Первые два альбома хороши. Потом уже все
fox nfox
Этот шедевр сделали Милен Фармер и Лоран Бутона :) Жаль что она убежала от них и сразу испортилась)
Mihail kostenko
Спасибо
Mukesh Srivastav
This song, I used to listen a lot in childhood. Don't understand a bit of french, but still the passion in the voice. Amazing. Still after so many years, its so refreshing that I guess, if Its re-released worldwide, it can be a big hit.
RJ VLOG
She is the most underrated female singer of the past 20s ... I listen her again after 4 years still the same feeling n freshness of her song ! She is a Gem ❤️
Leslie_2002
Underrated isn’t maybe the most right word. During the early 2000 she was quite known, especially in France. But then after that she stopped writing songs so frequently, got married and built a family. From what I know nowadays she runs a dancing school in France with her husband, while still having done some tours last year, and not long ago she had her second baby!
Riki
@Leslie_2002 she prefers real life rather than this lollipop show