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.
Limelight
Alizée Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't know where I'm going
Looking for the limelight, bright
I can't recall where I've been
In this long, long white night
Find a way and away
I don't know if I should
Burning waves of ecstasy, we
Na, na na na na
Na na na na na na na
Na na na, na na na na
Na na na na na na na
Na na, na na
Na na na
Stairs, lights, music, sweat
Scares, fright, panic, threat
The song Limelight by Alizée appears to be about a journey of self-discovery and the search for fame or recognition. The lyrics indicate that the singer is lost and unsure of their direction in life, as they are "looking for the limelight" while feeling disoriented ("I don't know where I'm going"). The use of the color white reinforces this feeling of uncertainty, as it presents a blank slate with endless possibilities. The idiom "all ways and always" suggests that despite this uncertainty, the singer is determined to keep moving forward and explore all paths in life, embracing opportunities for growth and adventure.
The chorus appears to contrast these feelings of uncertainty with a sense of urgency and desire for excitement ("burning waves of ecstasy"). This suggests that the singer is willing to take risks and overcome obstacles to achieve fame or success. However, the repeated use of "na na na" may also represent a sense of emptiness or lack of direction, as words fail to adequately convey the singer's feelings.
The final lines of the song describe a scene of potential chaos and danger ("stairs, lights, music, sweat, scares, fright, panic, threat"), perhaps suggesting that the search for fame or recognition is not without its dangers and pitfalls. Overall, the song seems to be a reflection on the complexities and uncertainties of pursuing one's dreams, tempered with a sense of determination and resilience.
Line by Line Meaning
Dream always and all ways
Always dream and keep dreaming
I don't know where I'm going
Uncertainty about my destination
Looking for the limelight, bright
Searching for the spotlight, shining bright
I can't recall where I've been
Unable to remember where I've come from
In this long, long white night
In this extended period of brightness
Find a way and away
Discover an escape route
I don't know if I should
I'm doubtful if I should
Burning waves of ecstasy, we
Intense, passionate feelings we share
Na, na na na na Na na na na na na na Na na na, na na na na Na na na na na na na Na na, na na
No clear meaning or purpose, just sounds
Stairs, lights, music, sweat
Reference to being in a nightclub or concert venue
Scares, fright, panic, threat
Sense of danger or fear in the environment
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Angy Laperdrix, Guillaume de Maria, Julien Galinier, Raphael Vialla
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nidaelgarcia
Los remasters hicieron que escuchara este álbum y wow. Es hermoso. No he parado de escucharlo. Merecía muchísimo más reconocimiento.
@_Jo23
este álbum sigue siendo mi álbum favorito en pleno 2017, simplemente maginifico.
una joya que no todos pueden apreciar
UNE ENFANT DU SIECLE
@thorsubject
Roberto Jo yo no podría decidir pero estoy de acuerdo, simplemente magnífico! 👌
@_Jo23
Thor Subject que me dices de " yo aquí, tu allá por mi volverás me muero, me muero." ♡ Justo en estos momentos lo escucho ♡
@thorsubject
Feliz tú sin mí oh Dios nos podrás, Me muero me muero! Claro me encanta
@tharimomoko1
Pienso lo mismo, es mi album favorito desde que salí de preparatoria en el 2010.
@leoferrer1069
Para mi igual, es un álbum magnífico
@misscroft007
so underrated....such an iconic modern song...
@kinderehre2309
I hope it will be underrated till the end of time 😉😉
@jaroslavdvorak3720
Alizée siempre estuvo adelantada a su época, por eso jamás fue totalmente reconocida y aunque no lo quieran muchos reconocer impuso modas, música, formas de vestir, cortes de cabello, todo por lo menos un año de adelanto. Lastima que ya no cante, yo la amaba!