Gourmandises

Gourmandises (English: Delicacies) is the debut studio album by French recording artist Alizée, released worldwide on 13 March 2001 by Polydor Records. It was certified double platinum by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) in December 2001, denoting sales of over a million copies in Europe.[1]

This article is about the Alizée album. For the Alizée song from the album, see Gourmandises (song). For a person who takes great pleasure in food, see gourmand.

Gourmandises
Studio album by
Alizée
Released21 November 2000 (2000-11-21)
RecordedJune–September 2000
StudioStudio Guillaume Tell, Suresnes
Genre
Length44:23
Label
Producer
Alizée chronology
Gourmandises
(2000)		 Mes Courants Électriques
(2003)
Singles from Gourmandises
  1. "Moi... Lolita"
    Released: 4 July 2000
  2. "L'Alizé"
    Released: 28 November 2000
  3. "Parler tout bas"
    Released: April 2001
  4. "Gourmandises"
    Released: August 2001

Four singles were released from the album, including global top-five hits "Moi... Lolita", "L'Alizé" and "Gourmandises". To promote Gourmandises and her following album, Alizée embarked on the En Concert Tour in 2003 with her next successful studio album Mes courants electriques. Critics and scholars have noted the album's influence on popular music, particularly the way it helped reintroduce electronic music to the pop scene.[2] The production style, blending acoustic and electronic instruments, is similar to English producer William Orbit's work on Madonna's 1998 album, Ray of Light.

Lauded by critics as a masterpiece in the contemporary French Pop repertoire, the album was acclaimed on its release with reviewers commending the singer's vocals and choice of musical direction.

The singer and the album were honored by the highest accolade given by SACEM, the Prix Vincent Scotto in 2002. The NRJ Music Awards, M6 and many others media and music institutions nominated the singer, including her nomination to the Victoires de la Musique in the "Revelation Album of the Year" category.

Background and composition

Recording for the debut album started in mid-2000. The album included elements of world music, pop, chanson and dance. However, the album also incorporated strong elements of electronic music. Additionally, several genres and subgenres including techno, trip hop, drum and bass, ambient, rock and classical music influenced the album.[3]

Development

After Alizée's participation in the Graines de star show where she met Laurent Boutonnat and veteran French pop diva Mylène Farmer, she was invited to record a single with their support as a songwriting team. Her first two albums, which she worked on alongside Boutonnat and Farmer, had a lovely yet powerful voice that heavily included techno and pop music.

In July 2000 Alizée released single "Moi... Lolita", and after achieving high sales in France, released her second single "L'Alizé" in December 2000.[4] The single reached number one in France and topped charts in several other countries across the world, however did not chart in the United States. Following the release of Gourmandises, Alizée was named Europop Queen by NRJ Radio.[2][5] Three months later, third single "Parler tout bas" also gained number one on French radio stations. The actual album Gourmandises was released in May 2001, charting strongly worldwide.

Alizée received public praise on television channel M6 and NRJ Radio.[6] Among other nominations and awards, she was nominated for the Victoires de la Musique. The following year Alizée received the World Music Award from the IFPI for top sales. In 2003 Alizée received an award from SACEM the most prestigious recognition given for the institution the Prix Vincent Sotto.[5]

Singles

"Moi... Lolita" was the first track from the album and was released as her debut single on 4 July 2000. It was popular in various countries such as, France, Spain, Belgium, Georgia, Austria, the Netherlands, Lebanon, Ukraine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Russia, Greece, Italy, Germany, Poland, Denmark, United Kingdom.[7] "L'Alizé" was the second single from the album and was released in December 2000. It featured the song "L'alizé" as well as an instrumental version of the same track. Two limited editions were also released, which featured four remixes. The song became a hit particularly in France where it reached number one for two weeks. "Parler tout bas" was the third single by Alizée released in April 2001. It featured an instrumental rendition of the song in addition to Alizée's solo rendering.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Daily Princetonian(positive)[8]
SACEM/SNEP(very positive)
Jenesaispop(positive)[9]

Gourmandises received positive reviews from contemporary critics upon its release. In 2013, following speculation about Alizée's fifth album, 5, critics referred to Gourmandises as a "pop masterpiece of the contemporary music", calling it a "classic" of the 2000s decade and of the new millennium. In an article for The Daily Princetonian, Eric Harkleroad wrote:

...Sixteen-year-old Alizée is France's answer to the teen queen phenomenon. With one notable exception: Alizée has real talent...[10]

Legacy

Gourmandises gained Alizée worldwide fame while the album sold almost 1,000,000 copies in Europe.[1] In early 2001, she won the NRJ Music Awards for Francophone Revelation. In late 2000 she won an M6 Award. The album was also nominated in a same category on Victoires de la Musique.

The album's debut single "Moi... Lolita" generated a lot of international attention, peaking 2nd place on French charts. The single is listed as the 33rd best selling single in the history of France. Also, single called "L'Alizé" hit high in the charts, which stayed on top of the French charts for several weeks, peaking 1st position.

Newspaper Le Figaro naming Mylène Farmer as the French artist who had made the most revenue from copyright in 2001, earning 10.4 million euros as a singer, songwriter, composer and producer of Alizée.[11][12]

Gourmandises was certified platinum in Europe, gold in Belgium and platinum in Switzerland.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Mylène Farmer; all music is composed by Laurent Boutonnat

No.TitleLength
1."Moi... Lolita"4:27
2."Lui ou toi"4:18
3."L'Alizé"4:18
4."J.B.G."4:00
5."Mon maquis"5:44
6."Parler tout bas"4:42
7."Veni Vedi Vici"4:25
8."Abracadabra"4:06
9."Gourmandises"4:15
10."À quoi rêve une jeune fille"4:09
Total length:44:24

Personnel

Credits adapted from Gourmandises liner notes.

Charts and sales

The album was considered a great commercial success. In its first week of release, the album debuted at tenth place on the French Top 100 Albums Chart. Reaching number 1 in the ninth week and remaining there for the entire first month of its release, the album was certified platinum. In Europe, the album single Moi... Lolita gained popularity with the album reaching the top 25 of many European charts. After being on the French charts throughout the year, the album hit gold in Belgium and platinum in Europe. In 2002 the album was still listed on the top charts and was then certified double platinum in France.

Weekly charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Belgium (BEA)[20] Gold 25,000*
France (SNEP)[21] 2× Platinum 800,000[22]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[23] Platinum 50,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[24] Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history
Region Date Label Format
France 28 November 2000 Polydor CD
11 December 2020[25]Anaphore MusicVinyl
United Kingdom 3 December 2000 Polydor CD
Switzerland
Belgium
Europe 16 January 2001
Germany 12 February 2001
Asia 10 April 2001
Canada 25 June 2001 Universal Republic

See also

References
  1. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards - 2002". Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
  2. "The Daily Princetonian - French teen queen breaks the mold". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  3. "Alizée – Gourmandises (2000, Digipak, CD) - Discogs". Discogs. 28 November 2000.
  4. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alizée-mn0000010817was
  5. "Alizée Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
  6. "Alizée - Biography - RFI Music". Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  7. lescharts.com – Alizée – Moi... Lolita
  8. link Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Clásicos Que Nunca Lo Fueron: 'Gourmandises' de Alizée". 2 July 2013.
  10. Eric Harkleroad. "French teen queen breaks the mold". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2007.
  11. Figaro Entreprises, 14 February 2002
  12. Mylène Farmer Archived 1 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine Biography at RFI Musique
  13. Steffen Hung. "Alizée - Gourmandises". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  14. "Alizée FanPage & FanClub | Charts". Archived from the original on 28 April 2004. Retrieved 15 December 2008.
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "Home - Offizielle Deutsche Charts".
  17. http://archivio.sorrisi.com/sorrisi/lettere/art023001043436.jsp
  18. "アリゼのアルバム売上ランキング".
  19. "Biografia Alizee - Artyści - Muzyka w INTERIA.PL - biografia, płyty, albumy, zdjęcia, galeria, wywiady, wiadomości, informacje, teledyski, czat". muzyka.interia.pl. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  20. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2001". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  21. "French album certifications – Alizee – Gourmandises" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  22. PureMédias, ed. (22 August 2020). "Alizée : ses deux premiers albums sortiront en vinyle le 11 décembre" (in French). Charts in France. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  23. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Alizée; 'Gourmandises')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  24. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2002". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  25. "Alizée : ses deux premiers albums sortiront en vinyle le 11 décembre". 15 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
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