Looking for popular, good french songs?

Question

Thanks!

Answer 1

I think that Cali is a popular singer nowadays.

I give you a link : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=wa7vGFLSu6...

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=J8RB62YqXF...

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=aEEj2qJvqj...

I like him because his songs are terribely sad, but meanwhile they are happy.

Other style with more sweetness and sugar:

Kaolin:

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=3qb-hWUE7-...

Other : Mickey3D :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=5BA6c6vAql...

La grande sophie :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=3mKJQ9g5Nl...

-M-  (aka Mathieu Chedid)

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=lWR61nBi5f...

Lofofora (THE french metal band)

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=jfEGS9z01S...

Daft punk (electro)

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=bzyRz58f1y...

Watcha (french nu metal)

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=-30NbpB-HC...

Babylon circus (Ska) :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxc7SE8hp5...

Benabar :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=OW3M6FRvZg...

Zazie (a girl to change ;-) )

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=HH4bS_grCW...

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=DcBIX6ptLm...

Christophe WIllem (discovered by a music tv contest. song of the year 2007):

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Na87TbKP9D...

Olivia Ruiz (other one discovered after a tv show) :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=p1JdNocbGA...

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=6yuQF6V3gx...

Indochine : an old new age band that has had a revival the last year :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=0C0df3kRz6...

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=5JGCmteVOe...

Les Wampas  (punk rock) :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=oVr9mK5uZi...

Manu Chao (world music) :

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=DvQ5o50CPx...

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=mzgjiPBCss...

Answer 2

old ones but very popular

georges brassens

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x3ur...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

gainsbourg

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

Boris Vian

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x5hi...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

Jacques Brel (belgian but sing in french)

http://www.dailymotion.com/lightning49/v...

http://www.dailymotion.com/lightning49/v...

a bit more recent

noir desir

http://www.dailymotion.com/lightning49/v...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

mano negra

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

au petit bonheur

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

sinsemilia

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

beruriers noirs

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

from today

tryo

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

olivia ruiz

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

raphaël

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

benabar

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x8w7...

phillipe katerine

http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x12z...

yelle

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

vanessa paradis

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

some reggae artists

admiral T

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

sael

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

krys

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/sea...

Answer 3

Popular with whom?

Contemporary French music seems to be mostly bad imitations of contemporary American music.

That's really quite a change from just a few decades ago when many French songwriters works were given English words and sold very well in the USA.

American artists from Elvis to Roy Clark had hit singles with Anglicized French songs. (Elvis's song "Can't help falling in love" is really "Plaisir d'Amour",  by Jean-Paul-Egide Mastini and Clark's "Yesterday when I was young" is really "Hier Encore" by Charles Aznavour).

French song writers turned out  excellant tunes until about the 1960's when things started going downhill.

Om amy case, I leave it to your perosnal taste to decide what is "good" and offer these youtube videos of some older French pop singers for you to judge:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0KWyWwVp...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd_nopTFu...

(you may recognize the melody as Bobby Darin's hit "Beyond the sea"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzBncolQj...

(the original of "yesterday when I was Young")

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEAGoLHMM...

(a hit in America as "If you go away")