Patrick Fiori (; born Patrick Jean-François Chouchayan, 23 September 1969) is a French singer of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n descent.

Biography

Beginnings

Fiori was born to a French-Armenian father (Jacques Chouchayan) and a Corsican mother (Marie Antoinette Fiori) in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, France. His father's family were escapees of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. He was born in a family of five siblings. He spent part of his childhood in

south of France and part in Ajaccio in Corsica. He started music at the age of 12 in 1981 thanks to encouragement from Franck Fernandel, who offered him a role in the musical ''La Légende des santonniers''. In 1985, at the age of 16, he recorded his first song "Stéphanie" with financing from his parents followed by other recordings like "Dans ton regard" and "Le Cœur à fleur d'amour".

Original successes, until 1993

Taking part in Léon Zitrone's show ''Les Habits du dimanche'' gave him more exposure. In 1987 he opened for singer

Gilbert Montagné Gilbert Montagné (; born 28 December 1951) is a French singer, musician, pianist and organist from the Ménilmontant neighbourhood of Paris and Bourbonnais historical region of central France. Blind since shortly after birth, he is best rememb ...

for a number of shows. He later opened for other renowned artists like

Michèle Torr Michèle Torr (born Michelle Cléberte Tort 7 April 1947) is a French singer and author, best known in non-Francophone countries for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest for Luxembourg in 1966 and for Monaco in 1977. Early career ...

and

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

. In 1992 he had great success with "Au fil de l'eau" written by his childhood friend Bernard Di Domenico during the Francophonie. He won first prize during Fenouillèdes Song Contest held in Sournia, the Pyrénées-Orientales). That year's event had been sponsored by Fabienne Thibeault who encouraged him to go further in his career.

Eurovision Song Contest 1993

In 1993, as he became well-known with the public, at 23, the songwriters François Valéry and Marie-France Brière (director of variety and entertainment at

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 A ...

) suggested that he represent France in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "

Mama Corsica Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles *Mother, a female parent *Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places *Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlement ...

" composed by Valéry, a bilingual song mainly in French language but with some additional Corsican language lyrics.ESC Today: France: Patrick Fiori to join ''The Voice Kids''
/ref> The song delivered the first rare occasion in which Corsican language was heard at the Eurovision Song Contest. The next appearance of Corsican was after 18 years with France's entry in

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

with Amaury Vassili's song " Sognu" which was completely in Corsican. On 15 May 1993, Fiori performed "Mama Corsica" representing France in the Contest held that year in

Green Glens Arena The Green Glens Arena (sometimes referred to as Millstreet Arena) is a public entertainment location in Millstreet, in County Cork, Ireland. There is a outdoor estate for equestrian sporting events and an indoor arena measuring 80 metres by 40 ...

Millstreet Millstreet () is a town in north County Cork, Ireland, with a population of 1,555 (as of 2016). Millstreet is within the civil parish of Drishane, and within a Poor Law Union also called Millstreet. The Millstreet Union encompasses the civil ...

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 ...

. He was accompanied by an orchestre led by Christian Cravero. The accompaniment also included two banjo players and two vocalists who joined him on stage throughout the song. Fiori finished fourth with a total of 121 points in between 25 nations competing. The song obtained the coveted "douze points" (12 points) from jury in Denmark and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Debut albums and ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (1994-2000)

In 1994, Fiori released his debut album entitled ''Puisque c'est l'heure''. In 1995 he released the self-financed ''Cœur à l'envers''. He also appeared in a number of variety shows notably ''La Chance aux chansons'' hosted by Pascal Sevran interpreting on an occasion "Ma vie" an original song by Alain Barrière in his presence. After a suggestion by

Eddy Marnay Edmond Bacri known by the professional name Eddy Marnay (Algiers, 18 December 1920 – 3 January 2003), was a French songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 4000 songs, including works for Édith Piaf, Frida Boccara and Céline Dion. He ...

, he auditioned for the musical ''

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

'' with shows in

Palais des Congrès de Paris The Palais des congrès de Paris is a concert venue, convention centre and shopping mall at the Porte Maillot in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, France. The venue was built by French architect Guillaume Gillet, and was inaugurated in 1974. Nea ...

. Convinced by his talent Luc Plamondon offered him the role of

Phoebus Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

both onstage and in the recording studio for ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. With

Daniel Lavoie Daniel Lavoie (; born Joseph-Hubert-Gérald Lavoie on March 17, 1949) is a Canadian singer–songwriter, actor, producer, poet, and radio host, known for his song " Ils s'aiment" and the role of Frollo in musical ''Notre-Dame de Paris''. He rele ...

and Garou, he recorded the song " Belle" for the show. The greatly loved song was released as a single reaching number 1 on the French Singles Chart and the Wallon French Belgian Charts. The song won "Best French Song of the Year" and the staging of ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' "Best French Show of the Year" during ''

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 ...

in 1999. Also in 1998, Patrick signed a contract with

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

and recorded his third album ''Prends Moi''. He sang in the French

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

for ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

'' singing in the role of Shang and in French version of '' The Prince of Egypt'' (in French ''Le Prince d'Égypte'') with songs in the role of

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is often regarded as ...

. In 1999, he took part in

Les Enfoirés Les Enfoirés (, 'The Tossers' or 'The Bastards') is the name given to the singers and performers in the yearly charity concert for the Restaurants du Cœur The Restaurants du Cœur (literally ''Restaurants of the Heart'' but meaning ''Restau ...

participating for many years with them. In 2000, he decided to leave ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' to concentrate on his fourth album ''Chrysalide''. The album contains a collaboration with Calogero in "Que tu reviennes". The same year, he appeared for the first time in the coveted Paris Olympia. He also wrote "Si je m'en sors" for Julie Zenatti.

Further successes (2000 - present)

In 2002, Patrick Fiori released his fifth album, the self-titled ''Patrick Fiori'' with the first single from the album being "Marseille" dedicated to his home town and written by Jacques Veneruso. Fiori had a collaboration with Jean-Jacques Goldman who wrote four songs for him for the album including "Je sais où aller". In 2003, he toured France, Belgium with many dates and venues accompanied by his band including guitarist Jacques Veneruso, keyboard player Pierre-Jean Scavino, guitarist André Hampartzoumian and percussionist Patrick Hampartzoumian, drummer Laurent Coppola, bass guitarist Patrick Dupont and bagpipes player and flutist Bruno Le Rouzic with backing vocals by Agnès Hampartzoumian and Véronique Mavros. 2005 marked his new album ''Si on chantait plus fort'' with singles "Toutes les peines", " 4 Mots sur un piano" and "Il paraît". His single "4 Mots sur un piano" was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman. Goldman and Christine Ricol accompany him in the song which reached number in the French charts staying there for two weeks and selling 150,000 copies. He also launched a new long tour from 2005 to 2007 to promote the album including two show at the l' Olympia de Paris on 13 and 14 January 2007, where he introduced the young singer songwriter Tommy. In 2008 he released the album ''Les choses de la vie''. The album includes remakes from various famous films including ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'' (in French ''Le Parrain''), ''

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg'' (french: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) is a 1964 musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music and lyrics by Michel Legrand. Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo star as two young ...

'' (in French ''Les parapluies de Cherbourg''), ''

Borsalino Borsalino is the oldest Italian company specializing in the manufacture of luxury hats. Since 1857, the manufacture has been based in Alessandria, Piedmont. The founder, Giuseppe Borsalino, is remembered for creating a particular model of felt ...

'', '' Manon des Sources'', '' Forbidden Games'' (in French Jeux interdits), '' Mayrig'' and many others.Charts in France: Découvrez le nouveau clip de Patrick Fiori
The album went platinum. Singles from the album include "Liberta" from ''Borsalino'' with new Italian lyrics from Bernard Di Domebico. This was followed up in 2009 by "Les Montagnes d'Arménie" a tribute to the

and taken from the soundtrack of the French Armenian-themed film ''Mayrig''. Also in 2009, he recorded with the Budapest Philharmonic a duo with

Tina Arena Filippina Lydia "Tina" Arena (born 1 November 1967) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, musical theatre actress and record producer. She is one of Australia's highest-selling artists and has sold over 10 million records worldwid ...

. The track "Si j'avais le temps" appears in ''Un autre univers'' an entirely French language album by Australian singer Arena. Fiori also engaged in a tour taking him even to Moscow. In 2010 he released ''L'instinct masculin''. It included the single "Peut-être que peut-être" with lyrics and music by Jean-Jacques Goldman.Visionnez le nouveau clip de Patrick Fiori "Peut-être que peut-être"
The album also included "À la vie!", "Dieu qu'elle était belle!" and a collaboration with

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

in "Je viendrai te chercher". The album was accompanied by three tours one acoustic in small venues,Patrick Fiori en tournée acoustique cet automne et en 2013
one electric in various Le Zénith French venues and one in big venues. In 2011, he released a live album recorded at Marseille's Dôme. The concert was available on CD and DVD. In 2014, he released the album ''Choisir'' with a Valentines release of "Elles" written and composed by Goldman.L'Avenir: Patrick Fiori à l’heure des choix
The album had collaborations with

Bénabar Bruno Nicolini (born 16 June 1969), better known by his stage name Bénabar, is a French songwriter and singer, who could be compared to Vincent Delerm and other singers from his generation. As many of them he was influenced by Georges Brassens ...

, Ariane Quatrefages, Robert Goldman, Jacques Veneruso, Eric Chemouny and Patrick Hampartzoumian. It was certified platinum. Patrick Fiori toured with a hundred dates between October 2014 and December 2015, appearing again at Le Zénith of Paris and at the Paris Olympia. In 2015, he took part in a Corsican musical project ''Corsu Mezu Mezu'' containing 16 Corsican-based songs. He reinterpreted three songs in album, "Corsica" with Patrick Bruel accompanied by a music video, "Ci hè dinù" with Chjami Aghjalesi and "Ô Corse île d'amour" with Antoine Ciosi. In September 2017, he released his tenth album ''Promesse'' with the single "Où je vis" from the album. It contained two collaborations with Slimane and with French-Comorian singer and rapper Soprano. The Soprano collaboration "Chez nous (Plan d'Aou, Air Bel)" written by Jean-Jacques Goldman was a tribute to immigrants to France, particularly the immigrant inhabitants of Air Bel, a suburb of Marseilles. It was accompanied with a music video where Fiori's parents appear in roles of Armenian immigrants. Additional writing collaborations included Arianne Quatrefages,

Serge Lama Serge Lama (born Serge Claude Bernard Chauvier on 11 February 1943 in Bordeaux) is a French singer and songwriter. His most famous song is '' Je suis malade'', written with Alice Dona Alice Donadel, stagename Alice Dona (Maisons-Alfort, 17 F ...

and Ycare. Fiori went on tour in the summer of 2018 interpreting the album. He has collaborated with a great number of artists. In addition to artists mentioned above, we can add

Gérard Lenorman Gérard Lenorman (born 9 February 1945) is a French singer-songwriter. Lenorman was born at the Château de Bénouville, Calvados (Normandy) when it was a maternity hospital. He is the son of Madeleine Lenormand and an unknown German soldier. ...

, Zucchero, Chico and the Gypsies, Anne Etchegoyen. In 2015, he was a coach in season 2 of France's ''The Voice Kids'' joining Jenifer and

Louis Bertignac Louis Bertignac (; born 23 February 1954) is a French guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. An ex Shakin' Street member and a founding member in 1976 of the rock band Téléphone, he formed Bertignac et les Visiteurs after Téléphone split in 19 ...

. Jane, the finalist from his team won the season. In 2016 he was invited again to coach for season 3 alongside Jenifer and

M. Pokora Matthieu Tota (; born 26 September 1985), artistically known as Matt Pokora and later M. Pokora (), is a French pop and R&B singer. In 2016, he became a coach for ''The Voice Kids France'' and '' The Voice: la plus belle voix''. Early life ...

Personal life

Patrick Fiori had a relationship with Julie Zenatti for 8 years. They met during the musical '' Notre-Dame de Paris'' where they both had acting roles. The love relation led to an artistic collaboration with Fiori and Zenatti co-writing and co-composing for each other and for others. Zenatti's first and greatest success was "Si je m'en sors" written by Fiori. Despite separating, they remained friends and continued meeting each other. Between 1998 and 2000, Fiori was in a relationship with Canadian-Belgian singer

Lara Fabian Lara Sophie Katy Crokaert (born January 9, 1970), better known as Lara Fabian, is a Belgian-Canadian pop singer and songwriter. She has sold over 20 million records worldwide as of 2021Broadway World (2017)"Lara Fabian annule finalement sa tourn ...

. Patrick Fiori married Ariane Quatrefages in June 2008. Quatrefages was a beauty pageant contestant who was crowned Miss Rhône-Alpes 1999 and came fourth in Miss France 2000 elections.Téléstar: Qui est Ariane Quatrefages, la femme de Patrick Fiori?
The couple had their first child Sevan in 2009. In 2014, the couple had a second son. Ariane co-writes certain songs with her husband Fiori.

Charities

Fiori is heavily involved in charities. He is a member of the

the big charity ensemble since 1999, Fiori has persistently taken part in the show in aid of Restos du Cœur charity for a decade and a half . Fiori actively supports many charities including Les enfants de la Terre, Solidarité inondations, Sidaction, Opération pièces jaunes, Les blouses roses, Téléthon, Sol En Si (Solidarité Enfants Sida), Les Vendanges du cœur, Les Étoiles de l'espoir, Televie, Association européenne contre les leucodystrophies (ELA) etc. He is a ''parrain'' (godfather) of Association Grégory Lemarchal, and on 7 January 2017, appeared in Le Zénith de Paris directly broadcast on TF1 in the event ''Grégory Lemarchal, 10 ans après l'histoire continue'', singing an unreleased new song written Grégory Lemarchal titled "Pour mieux s'aimer" with all benefits going to the Association Grégory Lemarchal.Charts in France: "Pour mieux s'aimer" : Patrick Fiori chante un titre inédit de Grégory Lemarchal
Fiori also is a ''parrain'' of the Corsica-based La Marie-Do against cancer and of the French Armenian Foundation.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Live albums

Singles

^ACharted on the Belgian

Ultratip Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization of ...

chart.

Filmography

*1998: ''

'': "Shang" (European French dubbed version) *1998: '' The Prince of Egypt'':

(Ramsès II) (European French dubbed version)

Theatre

*1998: '' Notre-Dame de Paris'' (musical) in the role of Captain Phoebus. From the musical, the song " Belle" interpreted by Patrick Fiori,

and Garou was chosen "Song of the Year" and the show the "Show of the Year" in France. *2010: ''La Femme du boulanger'' of

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionabl ...

, in the role of the shepherd (mise en scène by Alain Sachs, a French version of ''

The Baker's Wife ''The Baker's Wife'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and the book by Joseph Stein, based on the 1938 French film of the same name by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono. The musical premiered in the West End in 1989 for a shor ...

'' costarring with

Michel Galabru Michel Louis Edmond Galabru (27 October 19224 January 2016) was a French actor. Career Galabru appeared in more than 250 films and worked with directors such as Bertrand Blier, Costa-Gavras, Luc Besson (for ''Subway''), and Jean-Luc Godard. ...

Philippe Caubère Philippe Caubère (born September 21, 1950 in Marseille, France) is a noted French film actor, writer and producer. He is known for his memorable performances as Molière in the 1978 French movie and the TV series as well. His other movies incl ...

, Bernadette Lafont, Laëtitia Milot and others) It was rebroadcast on French TV station

, on 30 December 2010 from the

Rueil-Malmaison Rueil-Malmaison () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Île-de-France region. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 78,152. It is one of the wealthiest suburbs of P ...

theatre.

References

External links

Official website

Biography of Patrick Fiori
from

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of France. With 37.2 million listeners in 2014, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with ...

CorsicArmenia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiori, Patrick 1969 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1993 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for France French male singers French pop singers Musicians from Marseille French people of Corsican descent French people of Armenian descent