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
Running up That Hill
Nolwenn Leroy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
You, It's you and me.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
Be running up that road,
Be Running Up That Hill,
Be running up that building.
Say, If I only could, oh...
You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware, I'm tearing you asunder.
Ooh, There is thunder in our hearts.
Is there so much hate for the ones who love?
Tell me we both matter don't we?
You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me who won't be unhappy.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be Running Up That Hill,
Be running up that building.
Say, If I only could, oh...
You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me who won't be unhappy.
Come on baby, come on darling
Let me steal this moment from you now
Oh come on angel, come on come on darlin'
Let's exchange the experience oh...
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be Running Up That Hill,
With no problems...
Say if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be Running Up That Hill,
With no problems...
Say if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be Running Up That Hill,
With no problems...
Say, If I only could...
Oh...
Be Running Up That Hill,
With no problems...
If only I could,
Be Running Up That Hill...
If only I could,
Be Running Up That Hill...
If only I could,
Be Running Up That Hill...
If only I could,
Be Running Up That Hill...
The lyrics to Nolwenn Leroy's song "Running Up That Hill" are about the desire to connect with someone on a deeper level and the frustration of feeling misunderstood. The first verse opens with the lines "It doesn't hurt me. Do you want to feel how it feels?" which could be interpreted as an invitation to the listener to try to connect with the singer's experiences. The singer then offers to make a "deal with God" to "swap our places" so that they could understand each other better. The second verse speaks to the pain caused by this lack of understanding, saying "You don't want to hurt me, but see how deep the bullet lies."
The chorus repeats the idea of wanting to make a deal with God to swap places and run up that hill or building. The final section of the song is a plea to the listener to "come on baby, come on darling" and to exchange experiences, suggesting that this connection and understanding is possible.
Overall, the lyrics of "Running Up That Hill" convey a deep yearning for connection and a frustration with the inability to achieve it.
Line by Line Meaning
It doesn't hurt me.
I am not hurt by this.
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know what it's like?
Do you want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me?
Are you curious to know that I'm not hurt?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
Do you want to know what deal I'm trying to make?
You, It's you and me.
You and I are in this together.
And if I only could,
If only I had the power,
I'd make a deal with God,
I would negotiate with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
So that we could switch places,
Be running up that road,
We would be running up that road,
Be Running Up That Hill,
We would be struggling to overcome obstacles,
Be running up that building.
We would be climbing up that building.
Say, If I only could, oh...
If only I had that power.
You don't want to hurt me,
You don't intend to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
But see the extent of the damage done.
Unaware, I'm tearing you asunder.
Unknowingly, I'm causing you pain and damage.
Ooh, There is thunder in our hearts.
Our hearts are beating with passion.
Is there so much hate for the ones who love?
Why is there so much opposition for those who love?
Tell me we both matter don't we?
We both hold significance, don't we?
You,
You,
It's you and me,
You and I,
It's you and me who won't be unhappy.
Together, we won't be unhappy.
Come on baby, come on darling
Come on, my love,
Let me steal this moment from you now
Let's savor this moment together,
Oh come on angel, come on come on darlin'
Oh, come on, my angel,
Let's exchange the experience oh...
Let's share and experience together.
With no problems...
Without any issues or troubles.
If only I could,
If only I had the power,
Be Running Up That Hill...
To overcome this obstacle,
Writer(s): Kate Bush Copyright: Noble & Brite Ltd.
Contributed by Aaron I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.