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Isabelle Boulay

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Isabelle Boulay
Boulay in March 2008
Boulay in March 2008
Background information
Birth nameIsabelle Boulay
Born (1972-07-06) 6 July 1972 (age 52)
OriginSainte-Félicité, Quebec, Canada
GenresFolk, country, pop music[1]
OccupationSinger
Years active1993–present
LabelsPolydor, Universal Music Group, Audiogram
Partner(s)Stéphane Rousseau (2000–2003)
Éric Dupond-Moretti (2016–present)
Websiteisabelleboulay.com

Isabelle Boulay, CQ (born 6 July 1972) is a Canadian singer.

Biography

[edit]

Born in Sainte-Félicité, Quebec, where her parents owned a restaurant, Boulay moved to the nearby city of Matane at the start of her adolescence, and studied literature at Cégep Limoilou. In 1988, her friends signed her up, without her knowledge, for a singing contest in Matane, where she made the acquaintance of Josélito Michaud, who later became her agent. In 1990, at the Petite-Vallée song festival, she won an award for her performance of "Les gens de mon pays" (Gilles Vigneault). The following year, in 1991, she won the Granby Song Festival for her renditions of "Amsterdam" (Jacques Brel) and "Naufrage" (Dan Bigras). She was also invited to take part in the festival Les FrancoFolies de Montréal. In 1992, she performed in France at the Théâtre Dejazet, introducing Bill Deraime. In 1993, she represented Radio Canada at the "Truffe de Périgueux" festival held in Périgord, France, and was awarded the prize for Best Singer in the "Chanson francophone" category.[2][3][4]

Following Boulay's success in France, she was noticed by songwriter Luc Plamondon, who was looking for emerging talents to perform in a new production of his rock opera Starmania. There, Boulay portrayed the role of Marie-Jeanne from 1995 to 1998. She also provided the singing voice for Quebec singer Alys Robi in the TV miniseries of the same name, adding to her popularity in Quebec.[2][3][4]

In 1996, Boulay released her debut album, Fallait pas, written and produced by Daniel DeShaime.[4][5] She also participated again in Les FrancoFolies de Montréal.[4] She began recording her second album, États d'amour, in 1997; it was released in Quebec in February 1998 and sold well, being certified gold by September. The album was released in France in November. In 1998, she was also nominated for four Félix Awards but failed to win any.[4][6] In 1999, the single "Je t'oublierai, je t'oublierai" from États d'amour peaked at No. 33 on the French charts.[7] Boulay made a number of media appearances in France in 1999, and, in the summer, sang again in the FrancoFolies de Montréal, where the live album Scènes d'amour was recorded. She also performed with Serge Lama at the Olympia and introduced Francis Cabrel on tour, as well as Julien Clerc during his tour in Montreal. In October, she was given the Félix Award for female singer of the year.[2][3][4]

Since then, Boulay has had considerable success both in Quebec and in Europe. Her biggest-selling album in France was the 2000 release Parle-moi. On 14 February 2008, she was presented with the medal of the National Assembly of Quebec by the mayor of her hometown, in recognition of her contribution to the arts. Beginning 2001-2004, the French media began referring to Boulay as one of the grandes voix québécoises (great Quebecois voices) at the centre of contemporary trends in popular music. Other singers grouped in this category included Lara Fabian, Céline Dion, Natasha St-Pier, Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Lynda Lemay, Bruno Pelletier and Roch Voisine. However, the musicologist Catherine Rudent concludes that only Fabian, Dion and St-Pier truly resemble Boulay in répertoire, voice and techniques of interpretation. These singers have in common a style inherited from soul music, in which expressive vocality takes priority over the text, making full use of registers of the chest and head, vocal ornamentation and improvisation.[8]

Boulay was a coach on La Voix for its second, third, and fifth editions. In March 2019, she was one of 11 singers from Quebec, alongside Ginette Reno, Diane Dufresne, Céline Dion, Luce Dufault, Louise Forestier, Laurence Jalbert, Catherine Major, Ariane Moffatt, Marie Denise Pelletier and Marie-Élaine Thibert, who participated in a supergroup recording of Renée Claude's 1971 single "Tu trouveras la paix" after Claude's diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease was announced.[9]

Personal life

[edit]

In October 2008, Boulay and her producer Marc-Andre Chicoine, had their first child together, Marcus Andrew.[10]

She is living in 2020 with the French Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti.[11]

Awards and recognition

[edit]
Isabelle Boulay receiving the National Order of Quebec.

Discography

[edit]

Studio albums

[edit]
Year Title Certification
(France)
[22][23][24] 		Certification
(Canada)[6] 		Peak positions
FR
[25] 		FR (DD) BE (WA)
[26] 		SWI CAN
[27]
1996 Fallait pas — — — — — —
1998 États d'amour Gold (2002) Platinum (1999) 60 — — —
2000 Mieux qu'ici-bas Diamond (2002) — 6 — 4 65 4
2004 Tout un jour 2xGold (2004) Gold (2004) 4 — 3 11 2
2007 De retour à la source — Platinum (2007) 87 — 32 65 2
2008 Nos Lendemains — Gold (2009) 7 4 7 22 1
2009 Chansons pour les mois d'hiver — Gold (2010) 173 — — — 6
2011 Les grands espaces Platinum (2012) Gold (2012) 12 — 16 69 9
2014 Merci Serge Reggiani Gold (2015) 5 — 8 40 —
2017 En vérité 8
[28] 		— 5 16 9
[29]
2019 En attendant Noël 71
[30] 		— — — 5
[31]
2023 Boulay chante Bashung 88
[32] 		— 35 73 —

Live albums

[edit]
Year Title Certification
(France)
[22] 		Peak position
FR
[25] 		FR
(DD) 		BE (WA) SWI CAN
[27]
2000 Scènes d'amour — — — — — 9
2002 Au moment d'être à vous Platinum (2004) 4 — 5 8 7
2005 Du Temps pour toi — 16 7 7 42

Compilations

[edit]
Year Title Peak position
CAN[27]
2002 Ses plus belles histoires 10
2012 Master série —

Soundtracks

[edit]
Year Title
1995 Alys Robi
2002 Séraphin: un homme et son péché

Singles

[edit]
Year Title Certification
(France)
[22] 		Peak position Album
FR
[33] 		BE (WA) SWI
1996 "J'enrage" — — — — Fallait pas
"Et mon cœur en prend
plein la gueule"
"Un peu d'innocence" 41
1998 "Je t'oublierai, je t'oublierai" — 33 — — États d'amour
"Le Saule" — — — —
"La Lune" — — — —
"États d'amour" — — — —
2000 "Parle-moi" Gold (2000) 2 1 — Mieux qu'ici-bas
2001 "Un Jour ou l'autre" — 31 22 —
"Quelques pleurs" — — — —
"Jamais assez loin" — — — —
"Mieux qu'ici-bas" — — — —
2002 "Sans toi" (live) — — — — Au moment d'être à vous
2003 "Depuis le premier jour" — — — — Séraphin: un homme et son péché
2004 "C'est quoi, c'est l'habitude" — — — — Tout un jour
"Tout au bout de nos peines" Silver (2004) 3 7 23
2005 "Une Autre Vie" — — — — Du temps pour toi
2008 "Ton Histoire" — 14 39 — Nos Lendemains
2009 "Chanson pour les mois d'hiver" Chansons pour les mois d'hiver
2011 "Fin octobre, début novembre" 78 44 Les grands espaces
2014 "Il suffirait de presque rien" 165 — — Merci Serge Reggiani
[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Isabelle Boulay". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. ^ a b c "Isabelle Boulay, biography". Radio France Internationale. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Biographie – Isabelle Boulay" (in French). Audiogram. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f "Isabelle Boulay, biographie" (in French). Radio France Internationale. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  5. ^ "Fallait pas, credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Gold Platinum Database, search result for Isabelle Boulay". Music Canada. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  7. ^ Isabelle Boulay – Je t'oublierai, je t'oublierai, lescharts.com. Accessed on line 5 December 2013.
  8. ^ Catherine Rudent: L’analyse musicale des chansons populaires phonographiques. Musique, musicologie et arts de la scène. Université Paris 4 Paris-Sorbonne, 2010.
  9. ^ "La chanson pour Renée Claude en tête du palmarès iTunes Canada". Ici Radio-Canada, 11 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Isabelle Boulay Welcomes Son Marcus". The Insider. 23 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  11. ^ ""C'est pour ça que je l'aime" : Isabelle Boulay défend son compagnon Eric Dupond-Moretti après ses bras d'honneur". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  12. ^ Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 1999 Archived 3 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, ADISQ. Accessed on line 20 November 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2000". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  14. ^ a b c "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2001". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  15. ^ "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2002". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  16. ^ "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2003". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  17. ^ a b c "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2007". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  18. ^ a b c "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2008". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  19. ^ a b "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2005". ADISQ. Archived from the original on 13 January 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  20. ^ "Les récipiendaires de l'Ordre national du Québec" (in French). Archived from the original on 4 June 2012.
  21. ^ Isabelle Boulay honorée, Émilie Clément-Émond, 21 March 2012, Yahoo! News. Accessed on line 9 December 2013.
  22. ^ a b c Isabelle Boulay's certifications in France, Chartsinfrance.net (chart page inactive as of 2009-05-19)
  23. ^ "Parcours de plus de 870 ALBUMS dans les charts français !". fanofmusic.free.fr. Retrieved 5 March 2010.
  24. ^ "Les grands espaces: Nouvel extrait d'Isabelle Boulay". fr.canoe.ca. 17 September 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^ a b "Isabelle Boulay (albums)". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  26. ^ "Isabelle Boulay – Boulay chante Bashung" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  27. ^ a b c "Isabelle Boulay – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  28. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 21, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 25 October 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  29. ^ "On The Charts: May 29, 2017". FYIMusicNews. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 5 June 2017. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
  30. ^ "Top Albums (Week 48, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  31. ^ "Lennie's 'Dance' Butts Celine into 2nd Place". FYIMusicNews. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  32. ^ "Top Albums (Week 12, 2023)" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  33. ^ "Isabelle Boulay (singles)". Lescharts.com. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
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