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
Une Femme Cachée
Nolwenn Leroy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Une femme qui attend
Le bon moment et l'heure
Pour offrir ses présents
Il y a dans mes yeux
Bien assez de tourments
De courage et d'aveux
Pour dire ce que je pense
Une femme cachée prête à tous les combats
Voudrait qu'à son réveil tu entendes sa voix
Et que tu sois là...
Et lorsque je me tais
Je fais dire au silence
Ce que je veux crier
Avec ou sans violence
Il y a dans mon coeur
Une femme qui danse
Heureuse du bonheur
De sortir de l'enfance
Une femme cachée à l'intérieur de moi
Une femme cachée prête à tous les combats
Voudrait qu'à son réveil tu entendes sa voix
Et que tu sois là pour lui tendre les bras
Une femme cachée à l'intérieur de moi
Une femme cachée prête à tous les combats
Voudrait qu'à son réveil tu entendes sa voix
Et que tu sois là pour lui tendre les bras
Nolwenn Leroy's song "Une Femme Cachée" speaks to the idea that everyone has something hidden inside of them, waiting for the right time to reveal itself. In the first stanza, she sings of a woman inside her heart who is awaiting the right time to offer her gifts to the world. The use of "offrir ses présents" (offer her gifts) is particularly poignant because it suggests that this hidden woman has something special to give but is waiting for the right moment to do so. The second stanza speaks to the emotional turmoil that this hidden woman is experiencing, with "bien assez de tourments" (plenty of troubles) and "courage et d'aveux" (courage and confessions) indicating that she has a lot to share but is struggling to find the right time and words.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Une femme cachée à l'intérieur de moi" (a hidden woman inside of me), emphasizing that this hidden aspect of herself is a major part of who she is. The repetition of "prête à tous les combats" (ready for any fight) suggests that this hidden woman is strong and capable, perhaps even more so than the outward facade that Nolwenn presents to the world. The final stanza speaks to the idea that this hidden woman is ready to leave her childhood behind and move on to something greater, with "une femme qui danse" (a woman who dances) suggesting a sense of joy and freedom that comes with self-discovery.
Overall, "Une Femme Cachée" is a powerful and introspective song that speaks to the universal experience of hiding certain aspects of ourselves from others. By acknowledging this hidden woman inside herself, Nolwenn Leroy encourages us to embrace our own hidden aspects and bring them to the light.
Line by Line Meaning
Il y a dans mon coeur
There is a woman in my heart
Une femme qui attend
A woman who is waiting
Le bon moment et l'heure
For the right time and moment
Pour offrir ses présents
To offer her gifts
Il y a dans mes yeux
There is in my eyes
Bien assez de tourments
Plenty of trouble
De courage et d'aveux
Of courage and confession
Pour dire ce que je pense
To say what I think
Une femme cachée à l'intérieur de moi
A hidden woman inside of me
Une femme cachée prête à tous les combats
A hidden woman ready for every battle
Voudrait qu'à son réveil tu entendes sa voix
Wishes that when she wakes up, you hear her voice
Et que tu sois là...
And that you are there...
Et lorsque je me tais
And when I am silent
Je fais dire au silence
I let the silence speak for me
Ce que je veux crier
What I want to shout
Avec ou sans violence
With or without violence
Il y a dans mon coeur
There is a woman in my heart
Une femme qui danse
A woman who dances
Heureuse du bonheur
Happy with the happiness
De sortir de l'enfance
Of leaving childhood behind
Voudrait qu'à son réveil tu entendes sa voix
Wishes that when she wakes up, you hear her voice
Et que tu sois là pour lui tendre les bras
And that you are there to reach out to her
Une femme cachée à l'intérieur de moi
A hidden woman inside of me
Une femme cachée prête à tous les combats
A hidden woman ready for every battle
Voudrait qu'à son réveil tu entendes sa voix
Wishes that when she wakes up, you hear her voice
Et que tu sois là pour lui tendre les bras
And that you are there to reach out to her
Contributed by Asher E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.