Corinne Hermès
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Corinne Hermès (born Corinne Bondeaux; 16 November 1961,
Lagny-sur-Marne Lagny-sur-Marne (, literally ''Lagny on Marne'') is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France from the centre of Paris. The commune of Lagny-sur-Marne is part of the ...
) is a French singer. She represented
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1983 The Eurovision Song Contest 1983 was the 28th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Munich, then West Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Ein bißchen Frieden" by Nicole (German singer), Nicole. ...
where she won with "
Si la vie est cadeau "Si la vie est cadeau" (; "If Life Is a Gift") by Jean-Pierre Millers (music) and Alain Garcia (lyrics) was the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, performed in French by French singer Corinne Hermès for . The song is a dramatic ballad ...
" ("If life is a gift"), which brought the Grand Duchy its fifth and hitherto final victory.


Biography

Corinne's career began in
1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
when she won a singing contest in
Roquebrune-sur-Argens Roquebrune-sur-Argens (; oc, Ròcabruna d'Argenç) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region, Southeastern France. In 2019, it had ...
. Five years later, during the recording of her single ''La ville où je vis / Le blouson gris'', the composer and producer Bernard Estardy heard her voice and offered her the leading female role in his upcoming musical comedy, 36 Front populaire, where she would have appeared alongside
Julien Clerc Paul Alain Leclerc (born 4 October 1947), known by his stage name Julien Clerc (), is a French singer-songwriter. Life Born in Paris, Clerc grew up listening to classical music in his father Paul Leclerc's home, while his mother Évelyne Merlot ...
. A double album of songs from the musical was released, but the musical was never staged for political considerations - the satirical jabs at a left-wing government were ill-timed given the centre-right government in France of the time. In 1983, Corinne was selected internally by RTL to represent Luxembourg in the 28th
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
, held in
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Her song, ''Si la vie est cadeau'', composed by Jean-Pierre Millers and with lyrics from Alain Garcia, was performed last on the night and received 142 points, with maximum points from 6 competitors. This was enough to bring Luxembourg their fifth and final victory to date, with a slender margin of only 6 points over the runner-up,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
's
Ofra Haza Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza ( he, בת-שבע עפרה חזה; 19 November 1957 – 23 February 2000), known as Ofra Haza (), was an Israeli singer, songwriter, actress, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist commonly known in the Western world as ...
. This victory tied Luxembourg with France for the most number of wins, until
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
overtook both in the mid-90s. It was the twelfth French language song in 28 editions to win, but since, only two Francophone entries have won. Her winning song spent nine weeks in the French top 10, peaking at #4 a week after the contest, but other than a short spell in the top 20 in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, it was the first Eurovision winner since the early 1960s to not achieve notable commercial success in another country, despite also having recorded versions in both German and English. After her victory, Corinne announced a new album, but only two songs - ''Vivre à deux'' and ''Michaël'' - were released, and soon after, her producer
Haim Saban Haim Saban (; he, חיים סבן; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an e ...
left for the United States. In 1986, she released the single ''Ma liberté'' and in 1989, regained success with ''Dessine-moi'', which reached the top 20 in France and peaked at #2 in the Francophone Belgian charts. Subsequently, Corinne received recognition as Best female révélation (newcomer) in the 1990
Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...
, musical awards presented by the
French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture (french: Ministère de la Culture) is the ministry of the Government of France in charge of national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and protection of the arts (visual, ...
, a decision that caused controversy given that the song had first been published ten years prior. In 1993, she recorded the song ''L'amour est artiste'', composed by
François Valéry François Valéry (real name : Jean-Louis Mougeot, born on 4 August 1954, in Oran, French Algeria) is a French singer-songwriter and composer. Biography He became famous for his romantic songs and his disco hits of the 1970s and for having comp ...
, for use as the theme tune to the TF1 drama ''Les Grandes Marées''. In 2000, she was invited to represent France in the international jury that chose
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
's entry for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2000 The Eurovision Song Contest 2000 was the 45th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven" by Charlotte Nilsson. Organised by the Europea ...
. The following year, she presented the points of the French vote in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2001 The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 was the 46th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song " Fly on the Wings of Love" by Olsen Brothers. Organised by the E ...
. In 2006, she released a new album, Vraie, in partnership with
Chérie FM Chérie FM is a French radio station created in 1987 and belongs to the NRJ Group. History Chérie FM is created in 1987 in Paris by Jean-Paul Baudecroux on the then defunct frequency of Gilda la Radiopolitaine. Chérie FM then started broadcast ...
and
Fnac Fnac () is a large French retail chain selling cultural and electronic products, founded by André Essel and Max Théret in 1954. Its head office is in ''Le Flavia'' in Ivry-sur-Seine near Paris. It is an abbreviation of Fédération Nationale d ...
. From that album, two new singles were released: ''S'il n'y avait pas les mots'' and ''On vit comme on aime'', the latter of which with a music video featuring the Corsican-born Belgian comedian François Vincentelli. A previously unreleased song, ''Seule sans toi'', was included in the compilation album ''I love you in Beautiful Paris'' in 2009, and Corinne released a best-of compilation of her own in 2012. Her latest album to date, ''Intemporelle'' was released in 2019 and is a selection of 10 covers of famous French and international songs.


External links

*
Official site
*
Site du Concours Eurovision de la Chanson en français, base de données complète
(''Non official'')
Si la vie est cadeau lyrics with English translation
*

at Bide et Musique * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes, Corinne 1961 births Living people People from Lagny-sur-Marne French women singers Eurovision Song Contest winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Luxembourg Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1983