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
One And Only
Nolwenn Leroy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I would land just where you are after all this lonesome travelling
Took one look in your eye, reached out to hold your hand
This is when I realized what I could never understand
Do you want to be my one and only love?
Do you want to be my one and only love?
With you I do confess
I can't be one without the other
That was hard for me to say
I hope I said it right
Which ever, come what may, you see I need to know tonight
Do you want to be my one and only love?
Do you want to be my one and only love?
Do you want to play these cards, do you want to lay them down?
Do you want to run away or do you want to stick around?
Do you want to be my one and only love?
Do you want to be my one and only love?
The lyrics of Nolwenn Leroy's "One And Only" express the singer's realization and confession of her love for the person she is with. She talks about how she never thought she would end up where she is, but her experiences have led her to this moment. The first few lines describe her wishing on a star, which can be symbolic of wanting something unattainable, but she ends up where she never thought she would be. She looks into the eyes of the person she is falling for and holds their hand, realizing that she can't understand the depth of her emotions for them.
The chorus asks the person if they want to be the singer's one and only love, expressing her desire for a committed and exclusive relationship. She also confesses that she can't be just friends or just lovers with the person – she needs both aspects to make it work. The line "That was hard for me to say, I hope I said it right" shows vulnerability, and the hope that the person still wants to be with her, no matter what. The bridge asks the person if they want to commit to being together or if they want to leave, giving them the opportunity to decide what they want.
Overall, the song is a confession of love and a request for commitment, while acknowledging the fear and uncertainty that come with opening oneself up to another person.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been wishing on a star I could never have imagined
I have been hoping for something that seemed impossible.
I would land just where you are after all this lonesome travelling
After all the lonely journey, I ended up right where you are.
Took one look in your eye, reached out to hold your hand
I looked into your eyes and reached out to hold your hand.
This is when I realized what I could never understand
In that moment, I finally understood something that had always been a mystery to me.
Do you want to be my one and only love?
Are you willing to become my exclusive love partner?
So you want to be my friend, so you want to be my lover
Are you willing to be my friend and my lover?
With you I do confess, I can't be one without the other
I confess that with you, I cannot be just a friend or just a lover.
That was hard for me to say, I hope I said it right
It was difficult for me to express that, and I hope I conveyed it correctly.
Which ever, come what may, you see I need to know tonight
Whatever your answer may be, I need to know it tonight.
Do you want to play these cards, do you want to lay them down?
Do you want to take a risk in our relationship or play it safe?
Do you want to run away or do you want to stick around?
Are you willing to leave or stay in this relationship with me?
Do you want to be my one and only love?
Again, I ask you, are you willing to be my exclusive love partner?
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG Rights Management
Written by: JEFFREY COHEN, TEITUR LASSEN, MICHAEL HUNTER OCHS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind