"Ça m'énerve" (, ) is a 2009

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and w ...

recorded by French singer

Helmut Fritz Éric Greff (; born 19 July 1975 in Forbach, Moselle (department), Moselle), better known by his aliases Helmut Fritz and Géronimo, is a French singer-songwriter and record producer. Greff is known for his 2009 single "Ça m'énerve", in which he ...

. It was his debut single from his album ''En observation'' and was released on 16 March 2009. It was a huge hit in France, where it topped the singles chart. The song was produced by Laurent Konrad, who had previously worked with

Discobitch Discobitch is a French electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers ...

. The radio edit version and the vip dub mix are included on the track listing of the album.

Lyrics meaning

The song narrates the story of the fictional character Helmut Fritz, a rich German-born

dandy A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance and personal grooming, refined language and leisurely hobbies. A dandy could be a self-made man both in person and ''persona'', who emulated the aristocratic style of l ...

who has moved to live in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He tries to become a

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

, but with funny results; therefore the

high society High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...

, its attitude and habits all end up getting on his nerves (hence the title).

Chart performance

The single was a hit on the French Digital Chart, staying for 10 consecutive weeks at number one. On 21 March 2009, it went to number seven on the

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

singles chart and reached number-one in its 13th week. It was number-two for ten weeks, becoming the major hit of 2009 in France. As of August 2014, it was the 75th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 342,000 units sold. In Wallonia (Belgium), the single debuted at number 29 on 18 April and reached a peak of number three for four weeks. It peaked at number eight on 24 May in Switzerland and achieved a moderate success in Flanders (Belgium) where it was ranked for seven weeks.

Cover versions

German female singer Ursula Bretzel parodied the song under the title "Ça m'excite". In 2010,

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. Founded at the initiative of Coluche in 1986, a year after the Restaurants du Cœur, ...

recorded a cover of the song for their album ''La Crise de nerfs!'' ; the singers on this version are

Patrick Fiori Patrick Chouchayan (; born 23 September 1969), known by his stage name Patrick Fiori (, ), is a French singer of Armenian descent. Biography Beginnings Fiori was born in Marseille to a French-Armenian father (Jacques Chouchayan) and a Corsica ...

Pascal Obispo Pascal Michel Obispo (; born 8 January 1965) is a French pop and rock singer, music producer and songwriter. Early life Pascal Obispo, son of Max Obispo (a former Bordeaux Girondins football player of Basque origin) and Nicole Guérin (origin ...

Jean-Louis Aubert Jean-Louis Aubert (, born 12 April 1955) is a French singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer and producer. He went on a solo career after the split of the rock band Téléphone that he co-founded. Early life Born in Nantua, Ain, France in 195 ...

Christophe Maé Christophe Martichon (; born 16 October 1975), better known by his stage name Christophe Maé (), is a French pop singer. Career Maé learned to play the violin at age five, and later began playing the guitar and harmonica at age 16 after he wa ...

Kad Merad Kad Merad (born Kaddour Merad, ; 27 March 1964) is a French-Algerian writer and actor. Life and career Kad Merad was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, on 27 March 1964 to an Algerian father and a French mother. During his teens, he played d ...

and

Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy ''troupe'' Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian C ...

for the verses. In 2020, it was covered by

himself, singing about the 2020 confinement due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Track listings

; CD single ; Digital download

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ca M'enerve 2009 debut singles Helmut Fritz songs Novelty songs SNEP Top Singles number-one singles 2009 songs