Marie-Andrée Bergeron (born May 11, 1978), better known by her stage name Ima, (sometimes stylized as IMA), is a

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada, singer. She has released six albums and has had many singles, the most famous being "Baïla" in 2002. She also acted in the two-season Quebec TV series ''Casino''.

Beginnings

During her childhood, Marie-Andrée Bergeron resided in Châteauguay, Quebec, and spent summers in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. She studied singing, acting, and dancing. She used the name Ima as an easily pronounceable name.[Télévision Quatre Saison (TQS): Ima page
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Music career

In 2001, she took part in "Ma première Place des Arts", an annual Montreal event for new artists and won for "Best Interpretation" and best public mention. In September 2002, she launched her debut album ''Ima'', collaborating with a number of artists (Vincenzo Thoma, Eros Ramazzotti, Frédérick Baron, Sylvain Cossette, and Mario Pelchat). The album resulted in three singles: "Ton corps sur mon corps", "Donne-moi", and of course "Baïla". To promote the album, she engaged on a 50-show tour in 2003, including a show in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

for the Fête nationale du Québec (Quebec National Day). Sylvain Cossette invited her to join his tour for about a dozen concerts. Her pop/rock/folk album ''Pardonne-moi si je t'aime'' followed in March 2005, and March 2007 brought ''Smile'', which was produced by Guy St-Onge and featured Ima singing in French, English, Italian, and Spanish. The album stayed on the Quebec Album Chart for 60 weeks and was certified platinum after sales of 100,000 copies. ''Smile'' also found critical acclaim and Ima toured to promote it, with a grand finale of 3 shows at Théâtre Saint-Denis in March 2008. In summer 2008 she had a series of appearances including the opening concert at Les FrancoFolies de Montréal, followed by shows at Montreal's

Théâtre du Nouveau Monde The Théâtre du Nouveau Monde (TNM) is a theatre company and Theater (structure), venue located on Rue Sainte-Catherine (Montreal), rue Sainte-Catherine in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in , it launched with the classic play ''L'Avare'' by Molière. ...

and

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...

. In March 2009 Ima launched her fourth album ''A la vida!'' with mostly French songs, followed by ''Christmas'' and in 2011 ''Precious''.

Acting career

In 2006, she had her debut in acting through the Quebec TV series ''Casino'' by Réjean Tremblay, in the role of Sandra Johnson broadcast on Radio-Canada. The popular series had a second season again with Ima. She claims her experience was inspiration for her successful album ''Smile''.

Charity

Ima was involved in many causes. After a show in Afghanistan with other artists, she became a spokesman for

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

defending Afghan women right singing "Tu n'es pas seule" (You are not alone). She was also active for homeless people becoming a spokesperson for ''Recours des sans-abris'' of L’Œuvre Léger charity in Quebec.L’ŒUVRE LÉGER charity site
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Discography

Albums

*2002: ''Ima'' *2005: ''Pardonne-Moi si je t'aime'' *2007: ''Smile'' *2009: ''A la vida!'' *2009: ''Christmas'' *2011: ''Precious'' *2012: ''Best Of 2002–2012'' *2014: ''Love moi'' *2016: ''Femme''

Singles

*2012: " To Love Somebody"

Filmography

*2006–2007: ''Casino'' as Sandra Johnson (TV series)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ima 1978 births Living people People from Châteauguay French-language singers of Canada 21st-century Canadian women singers