Living on the Côte d’Azur with her younger brother, Jonathan, her Jewish Algerian father (Michel Dadouche) and her half-Corsican, half-Belgian mother (Christine Bartoli), Jenifer came to inherit her family’s love of music. Her father got her listening to James Brown, Stevie Wonder and Janis Joplin while her mother introduced her to the ‘chanson’ classics of Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour and Serge Gainsbourg. Meanwhile, Jenifer’s maternal grandmother initiated her into the art of Corsican polyphonic music.
When Jenifer turned seven, her parents treated her to her first course of singing lessons. And the budding young singer took whatever opportunity she could to exercise her vocal talent, singing in the shower, with street buskers and at all the talent contests organised in the region. In 1993, Jenifer got to support C.Jérôme in concert when the latter performed at a Bastille Day firemen’s ball in Corsica (where the family holidayed every summer). By the age of thirteen, Jenifer had vowed to become a professional singer one day. She participated in the Graines de star television broadcast in 1997, but this was a failure.
Jenifer decided to go to Paris and attend the casting for the first series of Star Academy in France . She was selected, and eventually won. The hit single "J'attends L'amour" (I'm waiting for love) soon followed. After the tour with her band that followed her victory, she went on the road as a solo artist from October 2002 until January 2003, and eventually performed at the Paris Olympia, which she had dreamed of as a child.
Her debut self-titled album went on to sell over three quarters of a million copies. The album featured a song written by Marc Lavoine and a duet with fellow Star Academy student Mario. The second single "Au Soleil" became one of the "tubes de l'été" (Summer hits) of 2002 in France. The album was re-released later to include two new tracks: "Entre Humains" and "Des Mots Qui Résonnent". The latter became her third top ten single in France and Jenifer stated that it was more her style of music, being more pop/rock. Finally a fourth song, the ballad "Donne Moi Le Temps" was released. The re-released album sold over a million copies.
In 2004 Jenifer returned onto the scene with her second, more personal, melancholy album "Le Passage". Among others, this album contained songs written by Calogero, Kyo, Tina Arena and one song Jenifer co-wrote. This album contains the singles "Ma Révolution" (My Revolution), "Le Souvenir De Ce Jour" (The Memory of This Day), "C'est De L'Or" (It's Golden) and "Serre Moi" (Hug me). The album was supported by an extensive tour across France and was followed by the release of a live album "Jenifer Fait Son Live" and an accompanying DVD.
Jenifer previously lived with Maxim Nucci, the author-composer with whom she has had one child, named Aaron, who was born on 5 December 2003. The couple separated around the end of 2005 but have since reunited. She has stated that she also wants to produce music in English outside of France.
2006 was a quiet year for Jenifer, the singer making only a few public appearances at award ceremonies, “Enfoirés” concerts and other charity fund-raising shows. That summer, she dubbed the female lead in the French version of the animated film “Over the Hedge”, posing for a series of promotional photos with the American actor Bruce Willis who was involved in dubbing the American version.
Jenifer’s third album, "Lunatique", a vibrant mix of pop, reggae, ska and ‘60s rock, hit record stores on 12 November 2007. The 24-year-old singer was joined in the studio by two VIP collaborators: the French actor Guillaume Canet (who guested on "Nos futurs") and her friend, the singer and musician M who added his famous pink guitar to "Touche-moi" and the album’s title track.
Je Danse
Jenifer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quand je t'imagine à ces monts et merveilles
Alors, j'enfile une veste et un verre de vodka.
Tant pis si j'empeste la trouille et le tabac.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, je prie le jour de ne jamais revenir.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, la nuit la vie est moins pire.
Seule, je rejoins le centre de la ville et de l'univers.
Je tourne en rond dans les ventres
De ce monde qui tourne à l'envers (hey).
Soûle, je suis sur la piste.
Écris mes maux d'amour à l'oreille de choriste
D'un tube de mauvais goût, (oh) de mauvais goût.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, je prie le jour de ne jamais revenir.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, la nuit la vie est moins pire.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
Tout l'monde se fout de mes raisons.
La nuit se pose moins de questions.
Dans le berceau des petites gloires, on veut du rêve, pas de l'espoir.
Tout l'monde se fout de mes raisons.
La nuit se pose moins de questions.
Les loups ne donnent pas de prénom, ils pissent partout et puis s'en vont.
On est quand même en avance dès qu'on connaît quelques pas de danse.
Je ferais bien tourner la chance et virevolter mes cavalières de transe.
Mais c'n'est pas encore ce soir que, quelque part, remplaceront
La beauté ou le pouvoir, et je rentre à la maison.
Et ma baignoire, c'est une Kriek, et à la télé, c'est l'Afrique.
Et tu me manques, et la musique dans mes oreilles, c'est la panique.
Ce soir, encore, je t'en ai voulu, ce soir, encore, je me suis déçue.
J'ai joué sur le bord en espérant tomber des nues
Mais tu me manques encore, tu me manques.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, je prie le jour de ne jamais revenir.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, la nuit la vie est moins pire.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
Je danse, danse, je danse, danse.
Je prie le jour de ne jamais revenir, je danse, danse.
Jenifer's "Je Danse" is a song about dancing as a means of escape from the pain of a lost love. The singer cannot sleep as she imagines her former lover living a happy life without her, and so she puts on a jacket and drinks vodka to steady her nerves. She heads out to the center of the city and the universe, where she dances until she laughs and forgets her troubles. But even in this moment of release, she admits that she is more afraid of her memories of her ex than of vampires. The song ends with the singer returning home to her bathtub and TV, still haunted by her love's absence.
"Je Danse" captures the feeling of using dancing as a way to escape reality and find temporary relief from heartbreak. The singer's sense of displacement is palpable as she circles through the city, looking for a place to fit in. The song's lyrics are both self-deprecating and hopeful, as the singer acknowledges her fears and insecurities but still finds the strength to dance and laugh. The song's use of repetition and catchy rhythms underscores its message of the power of music and dance to heal even the most broken hearts.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai un peu de mal à trouver le sommeil
I am having some difficulty falling asleep.
Quand je t'imagine à ces monts et merveilles
When I imagine you in these fantastic places.
Alors, j'enfile une veste et un verre de vodka.
So, I put on a jacket and have a glass of vodka.
Tant pis si j'empeste la trouille et le tabac.
Too bad if I smell like fear and tobacco.
Je danse jusqu'à rire, je prie le jour de ne jamais revenir.
I dance until I laugh, praying that the day never comes back.
J'ai moins peur, à vrai dire, des vampires que de ton souvenir.
To be honest, I'm less afraid of vampires than your memory.
Seule, je rejoins le centre de la ville et de l'univers.
Alone, I join the center of the city and the universe.
Je tourne en rond dans les ventres
I circle around in the bellies.
De ce monde qui tourne à l'envers (hey).
Of this world that's upside down (hey).
Soûle, je suis sur la piste.
Drunk, I'm on the dance floor.
Écris mes maux d'amour à l'oreille de choriste
I whisper my love woes to the choir's ear.
D'un tube de mauvais goût, (oh) de mauvais goût.
From a tacky song, (oh) a tacky song.
Tout l'monde se fout de mes raisons.
Everyone doesn't care about my reasons.
La nuit se pose moins de questions.
The night asks fewer questions.
Dans le berceau des petites gloires, on veut du rêve, pas de l'espoir.
In the cradle of small glories, we want dreams, not hope.
Les loups ne donnent pas de prénom, ils pissent partout et puis s'en vont.
Wolves don't give names, they pee everywhere and then leave.
On est quand même en avance dès qu'on connaît quelques pas de danse.
We're still ahead as long as we know some dance steps.
Je ferais bien tourner la chance et virevolter mes cavalières de transe.
I would like to turn the tables and spin my trance riders.
Mais c'n'est pas encore ce soir que, quelque part, remplaceront
But it's not yet tonight that they will replace somewhere,
La beauté ou le pouvoir, et je rentre à la maison.
Beauty or power, and I go home.
Et ma baignoire, c'est une Kriek, et à la télé, c'est l'Afrique.
And my bathtub is a Kriek, and on the TV, it's Africa.
Et tu me manques, et la musique dans mes oreilles, c'est la panique.
And I miss you, and the music in my ears is panic.
Ce soir, encore, je t'en ai voulu, ce soir, encore, je me suis déçue.
Tonight, again, I was angry with you, tonight, again, I disappointed myself.
J'ai joué sur le bord en espérant tomber des nues.
I played on the edge hoping to fall from the skies.
Mais tu me manques encore, tu me manques.
But I still miss you, I miss you.
Je danse, danse, je danse, danse.
I dance, dance, I dance, dance.
Je prie le jour de ne jamais revenir, je danse, danse.
I pray for the day never to return, I dance, dance.
Contributed by Aria G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@romain2a
je n'ai jamais compris le non succes de cette chanson. c'est la meilleure.
@zwiftfrance
Même avis.
@jobonjour1359
Elle vend de moins en moins bien ses albums
@leayahia8880
Non, ce n'est certainement pas sa meilleure. Jenifer possède plusieurs excellentes chansons !
@jobonjour1359
@@leayahia8880 c est de l or l amour fou l envers du paradis beaucoup plus réussi
@leayahia8880
@@jobonjour1359 Et tant d'autres encore ! " Je Ne Pourrai plus Aimer" "Mourir dans tes yeux" "Au Soleil : malgré tout l'amour que je te portes , toi, tu n'y entends vraiment rien..." "Donne moi le temps" "Tourner ma page" "Serre moi" " Pas celle que tu crois" ... Et la liste pourrait continuer : c'est ma jeunesse. Les paroles sont poignantes et la musique inoubliable.
@clochettepiano07
LA chanson ou plutôt LE clip qui m'a fait avoir un gros coup de cœur pour cette artiste! J’oublierais jamais la première fois que j'ai vu ce clip ! Grace a lui Jenifer est devenue une obsession ! Et c'est malheureux de voir des gens dirent qu'elle s'est fais refaire quelque chose alors que cette femme est d'un naturel et d'une simplicité tellement réelle ! enfin en clair je suis folle de cette chanson et j'adore Jen plus que tout ! ♥
@jmg9474
La seule chanson que j'ai vraiment aimé de Jenifer. Ce style lui va super bien, peut-être pas assez commercial mais bcp plus vrai
@MATT-MUSICOVER
En 2020 on se rend compte à quel point Jenifer était bien troop en avance sur son temps ! 🥺❤️
@add19455
This song is so full of energy, she is a great singer it's a shame here in America and Latin America people don't know her