Leroy's parents left Saint-Renan when she was four years old. After living in Paris, Lille, and Guingamp, her mother, Murielle, and her younger sister, Kay, settled with Leroy's grandparents in Saint-Yorre. Her mother divorced from her father, professional footballer Jean-Luc Le Magueresse, in 1993.
Nolwenn studied at the "Collège des Célestins" in Vichy. When Leroy was eleven, her music teacher noticed her musical talents and encouraged her to learn the violin. At the age of thirteen she won "Les écoles du désert", a contest sponsored by the Cora supermarket chain, which allowed her to travel with a humanitarian mission from Gao to Timbuktu, Mali; she later claimed this had a profound influence on her.
In July 1998, Leroy was awarded a scholarship by the Vichy Rotary Club to travel to Hamilton, Ohio, as an exchange student. While attending Hamilton High School, she took music lessons at the Performing Arts School and became fluent in English during her stay there.
When she returned to France, she began classical singing classes at the Vichy music conservatory.
In 2001, she enrolled in the University of Clermont-Ferrand to study law for a potential alternative career to music.
2002: Star Academy
After watching the first series of the television reality show, Star Academy, in 2001, Leroy was impressed by Armande Altaï, one of the show's judges, and decided to join Altaï's singing classes.[citation needed] In 2002, Nolwenn was selected for the second season of the show. She was declared the overall winner, ahead of her fellow finalist, Houcine,in December 2002.
2003–2004: Eponymous debut album
Leroy's first album, Nolwenn, was released in March 2003 and was certified platinum by November for sales exceeding 600,000 copies. In 2006, the album was certified two times platinum by the Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique for more than 800,000 copies sold. Four songs from the album, "Cassé", "Une Femme cachée", "Suivre une étoile" and "Inévitablement" were released as singles. Leroy went on tour in France, Belgium and Switzerland in late 2003 to promote songs from the album.
2005–2008: Histoires Naturelles
Leroy's second album, Histoires Naturelles, was produced by Laurent Voulzy. Five singles were released from the album. "Nolwenn Ohwo!", written by Alain Souchon and Voulzy, topped the French music charts.[7] The second single was the title track, "Histoire Naturelle". Music videos were made for both songs; the video for "Histoire Naturelle" expressed the main theme of the album with Leroy being portrayed as natural history museum exhibits. Of the other single releases, "Mon Ange" was distributed digitally while "J'aimais tant l'aimer" and "Reste Encore" were promotional-only. Songs from Histoires Naturelles and Nolwenn were performed on Leroy's second tour entitled "Histoires Naturelles Tour", which started in September 2006. Leroy's first live album was subsequently released in late October 2007.
2009–2010: Le Cheshire Cat & Moi
Le Cheshire Cat & Moi was a project that began in 2007, co-written by Leroy and Teitur Lassen, with contributions from Jonatha Brooke, Michelle Featherstone, Mike Errico and Rupert Hine. It was arranged and produced by Lassen, and recorded in Sweden and the Faroe Islands. Leroy was observed to feature "a lighter sound than on previous releases"and the album gave the opportunity for her to write all the lyrics.The album was released in December 2009. A tour entitled "Le Cheshire Cat & Vous" to promote the record was held in 2010.
2010–2012: Bretonne
Leroy performing at the 2010 Francofolies in Spa (Belgium).
Leroy released a fourth studio album, Bretonne, on 6 December 2010. Cover versions of traditional celtic songs such as "Mná na h-Éireann", and contemporary songs such as Christophe Miossec's "Brest" were included on the album. Most of the songs related to Brittany, the singer's birthplace, four sung in Breton. Leroy collaborated with Jon Kelly for the musical arrangements. The album topped the French album charts for 9 weeks.
The album was re-released in November 2011 as a Deluxe Edition which added 7 English language tracks, including "Amazing Grace", "Scarborough Fair" and two Mike Oldfield tracks, "Moonlight Shadow" and "To France".
2012–present: Ô Filles de l'Eau
Nolwenn Leroy will release her new album on the 26th of November 2012. In December 2012, as it sold more than 300,000 albums Ô Filles de l'Eau.
Leroy's music was studied for its neurological impact in geriatric populations. Researchers found that Leroy's recordings might have a more beneficial effect than other music, noting that: "the music of Nolwenn Leroy was found to be significantly superior to other music tested". To describe the phenomenon they coined the term the Nolwenn Effect, saying: "the music of Nolwenn Leroy appears to have a different effect on brain-based modulation of gait and stance than other music tested to date".
Mozart and Dutch and French singers were tested; only Mozart and Leroy's music were specified. The U.S. study was completed in February 2008, but no substantial results appear to be published
Je Ne Serai Jamais Ta Parisienne
Nolwenn Leroy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Là où finit la terre
Là où est si grand le ciel
Là où se bat la mer
Là où je deviens celle
Qui pour toi reste un mystère
Même si tu me trouves si belle
Sous les feux de ta ville lumière
Qui voit Ouessant, voit son sang
Qui voit Molène, oublie sa peine
Qui voit Sein, n'a plus peur du lendemain
Qui voit le Fromveur, entrevoit le bonheur
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
Je ne serai jamais ta parisienne
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
Qu'ici ma place n'est pas la mienne
Mais sur les rives de la Seine
Je rêve toujours de pleine mer
Ce n'est pas pour te faire de la peine
Ce n'est pas pour jeter la pierre
Ce n'est pas pour faire de scènes
Ce n'est pas pour croiser le fer
Mais sur les rives de la Seine
Je suis au bout de la terre
Qui voit Ouessant, voit son sang
Qui voit Molène, oublie sa peine
Qui voit Sein, n'a plus peur du lendemain
Qui voit le Fromveur, entrevoit le bonheur
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
Je ne serai jamais ta parisienne
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
Qu'ici ma place n'est pas la mienne
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
Je ne serai jamais ta parisienne
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
Qu'ici ma place n'est pas la mienne
The lyrics to Nolwenn Leroy's song Je Ne Serai Jamais Ta Parisienne (I Will Never Be Your Parisian) speak of the singer's longing for understanding and acceptance from her lover. She describes the beauty and vastness of the sea and sky where she feels most at home, contrasting it with the bustling city lights of Paris. Despite her lover finding her beautiful in the city, she knows that her true identity lies on the shores of the sea. She uses the lines "Qui voit Ouessant, voit son sang" ("Who sees Ouessant, sees their blood") and "Qui voit Molène, oublie sa peine" ("Who sees Molène, forgets their pain") to emphasize the deep connection she feels to her coastal roots.
The singer acknowledges that her desire to live by the sea and not in Paris is not meant to hurt her lover or cause conflict. She yearns to be accepted for who she is and for her lover to understand that her true home is not in the city. She repeats the line "J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes" ("I wish you would understand me") throughout the song, emphasizing the importance of mutual understanding in a relationship. The lyrics are a poignant reminder that true compatibility is about accepting and celebrating each other's differences.
Overall, the lyrics to Je Ne Serai Jamais Ta Parisienne are a beautiful ode to the importance of staying true to oneself and finding acceptance in love.
Line by Line Meaning
Là où les eaux se mêlent
Where the waters blend together
Là où finit la terre
Where the land ends
Là où est si grand le ciel
Where the sky is so vast
Là où se bat la mer
Where the sea fights back
Là où je deviens celle
Where I become the one
Qui pour toi reste un mystère
Who remains a mystery to you
Même si tu me trouves si belle
Even if you find me so beautiful
Sous les feux de ta ville lumière
Under the lights of your City of Light
Qui voit Ouessant, voit son sang
Who sees Ouessant, sees their blood
Qui voit Molène, oublie sa peine
Who sees Molène, forgets their pain
Qui voit Sein, n'a plus peur du lendemain
Who sees Sein, is no longer afraid of tomorrow
Qui voit le Fromveur, entrevoit le bonheur
Who sees Fromveur, glimpses happiness
J'aimerais tant que tu me comprennes
I would so love for you to understand me
Je ne serai jamais ta parisienne
I will never be your Parisian
Qu'ici ma place n'est pas la mienne
That here is not my place
Mais sur les rives de la Seine
But on the banks of the Seine
Je rêve toujours de pleine mer
I still dream of the open sea
Ce n'est pas pour te faire de la peine
It's not to hurt you
Ce n'est pas pour jeter la pierre
It's not to cast blame
Ce n'est pas pour faire de scènes
It's not to make a scene
Ce n'est pas pour croiser le fer
It's not to meet head-on
Mais sur les rives de la Seine
But on the banks of the Seine
Je suis au bout de la terre
I am at the end of the earth
Contributed by Ellie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
manue
que d'émotions cette chanson.. vive notre belle Bretagne !
claudem1600
je ne suis pas breton mais nolwenn me fait aimer la bretagne et ses chansons,et celle çi est magnifique ..bravo nolwenn,ta voix et sublime.
algeriasky78
magnifique