"Appelle mon numéro" (English: "Call/dial My Number") is a 2008 song recorded by French singer
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a French singer and songwriter. Having sold more than 30 million records worldwide, she is among the most successful recording artists of all time ...
. Released on 3 November 2008, it was the second single from her seventh studio album, ''
Point de Suture''. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was more aired on radio and television than Farmer's previous single, "
Dégénération". In France, the single allowed Farmer to establish a new record: to obtain a sixth number-one hit.
Background and release
In late August 2008, when ''Point de Suture'' was available digitally, several sites announced "Appelle mon numéro" as the singer's next single from her album, but often presented as a probability. However, this information was not officially confirmed before 12 September 2008. That day, a promotional format was sent to the radio stations which began to broadcast the radio edit version.
On 9 October, ''Cede.ch'' site announced the date of release – 3 November 2008 – and two formats that would be available – two
CD maxi
A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especiall ...
. Two days later, ''Amazon.fr'' and ''Alapage.com'' revealed other two formats: a CD single, a digipack CD maxi and a vinyl. The cover art of the CD maxi was shown on 19 October 2008, and those of the CD single on 21 October.
Music and lyrics
This "pop ballad" uses an acoustic guitar. The psychologist Hugues Royer said the song is naughty and speaks of love on the phone, Farmer hoping that her lover came to share her privacy. He said that the lyrics "''my most beautiful gesture''" is for the singer "the act of placing her head on the pillow, and that this privilege is reserved for the person who "''enters the history''", i.e. that of the singer".
Music video
On 8 October, some media revealed that the music video was shot on 4 and 5 October in the studios of
Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis
Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine (; literally "Audoin (bishop), St. Audoin on Seine") is a Communes of France, commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. It is part of the Seine-Saint-Denis Department ...
, France. This video was scheduled to be broadcast on television on 22 October but, according to Polydor, it could be delayed on 29 October if the assembly is not finished. It was directed by Benoît Di Sabatino, the singer's companion, who had also produced the music videos for "
C'est une belle journée
"C'est une belle journée" (English: "It's a Beautiful Day") is a 2001 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. It was the second single from her best of ''Les Mots (album), Les Mots'' and was released on 16 April 2002. The song ...
", "
L'amour n'est rien..." and "Drôle de creepie" (for
Lisa
Lisa or LISA may refer to:
People
People with the mononym
* Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA"
* Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978)
* Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980)
* Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...
). The first images were shown on the Internet on 17 October 2008 and the full video was eventually available on the Internet and on television on 22 October. It was elected "Video of the month" of November 2008 on the radio Radio Jeunes Reims. On 17 November 2008, the video was available digitally on the official sites of download.
The video has no screenplay and uses the radio edit version of the song. In it, the singer is lying on a huge white bed, while four way of colors illustrating the four seasons are shown (dead leaves, rain, snow, sun). In each of them, Farmer wears different clothes, and has successively in her hands a crystal ball, a pillow, a telephone, a shoe that she repairs while wearing round glasses, an umbrella. The video ends in the same way it began, i.e. showing the singer being asleep.
The video was generally well received by the media. ''Virgin'' site said the clip is "fresh and colorful", and expresses "the naughty and the childhood side of the artist". According to ''Obiwi'', the video is "sweet and paradisiac" and "we would believe it was taken from a fairy's tale". For ''Musique.evous'', Farmer seems surprisingly "happy" in this video which "shows the red icon in a new light". However, ''Plurielles'' said the video, "full of thoughtlessness", was not appreciated by all the singer's fans, adding that it shows Farmer "as a child woman, a little candid". However, the video was diversely appreciated by the singers' fans: some of them liked the freshness, the colors and the fact that Farmer was smiling in the video, others considered that there was a lack of inspiration.
[ Chuberre, 2009, p. 227.]
Critical reception
The song was generally well received by the critics. According to ''La Meuse'', this song will "win over the public". ''Télé Moustique'' said that "Appelle mon numéro" is "an stubborning song whose freshness makes almost forget the
refrain
A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeated in poetry or in music">poetry.html" ;"title="Line (poetry)">line or lines that are repeat ...
". For ''Cité Gay'', the song is "rather pleasant,
utdoes not give an irrepressible desire to replay without delay". For ''Le Petit Journal'', the song is "a solid, tenderly naughty and very catchy composition". ''Backchichinfo'' stated: ""Appelle mon numéro" holds the attention, with an effective verse and a certain general freshness." According to Royer, the song demonstrates a sense of "indolent humor" and is "musically successful".
However, there were sometimes mixed reviews by the media and Farmer's fans. For example, ''Hit Muse Mag'' stated: ""Appelle mon numéro"
asa minimalist text. The detractors of Mylène who had blamed her for an outdated expression and for a pretentious vocabulary are fulfilled... The poor melody is easy to remember. We wonder if, due to having dug the abysses of a black and painful poetry, Mylène Farmer did not use her lexical field preferred up to the rope." ''Le Matin'' deemed that with this song, "Farmer almost reaches the limits of the easiness : kind melody, simple lyrics". Similarly, French author Julien Rigal said the song has "disappointing lyrics".
Chart performance
On 8 November 2008, the single entered the French Singles Chart at number one, selling 16,236 units, thus becoming Farmer's sixth number-one single in France, which was at the time the new record for an artist on the SNEP Singles Chart. The following week, it dropped to number three, with 5,376 sales (−66%), and continued to drop, re-gained a few places during Christmas, then dropped slowly out of the top 50. It totaled five weeks in the top ten, 21 weeks in the top 50 and 36 weeks in the top 100. "Appelle mon numéro" also entered the digital chart at number 22 on 8 November 2008, then dropped and fell off the top 50 after eight weeks.
The single started at number 12 on the Ultratop 40 in Belgium (Wallonia), on 15 November 2008, then peaked at number seven seven weeks later, and remained in the top 40 for 14 weeks.
In Switzerland, it debuted at number 53 on 16 November 2008, then dropped to number 89 and fell off the chart.
In France, the single was much aired on radio than "Dégénération". It reached number 38 in its fourth week on the airplay chart. The video reached number 13 on the Muzicast television chart in its second week, while the single peaked at number 42 on the club chart in its fifth week, on 4 December 2008. The song was much aired in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and Russia, reaching number 16 in Moscow and 19 in St. Petersburg in 2008 and 2009, and hit number 98 in the whole country in 2010.
Promotion and live performances
The song was actively promoted on
TF1
TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network.
TF1 is part ...
: two advertisements, respectively of 20 and 30 seconds, were broadcast from the late October to the early November, then a 1:30 teaser in early December 2008. Mylène Farmer performed the song in
lip sync
Lip sync or lip synch (pronounced , like the word ''sink'', despite the Hard and soft C, spelling of the participial forms ''synced'' and ''syncing''), short for lip synchronization, is a technical term for matching a Speech, speaking or singin ...
on 13 December 2008, on
France 2
France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...
, on the TV show ''Ça ne finira jamais'', devoted to
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 music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France.
During a career ...
. On this occasion, the singer was sitting near a window and was dressed as on the single cover, plus few rings with skulls at her fingers.
The song was also performed during the
2009 tour: at this point, Farmer wore a glittering short dress with red cape with hood and the stage became pink. The introduction being very different from the album version, the first notes of the song are unrecognizable.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of single releases of "Appelle mon numéro":
* CD single
* CD maxi – Digipack
* 12" maxi
* Digital download
* 12" maxi – Promo – Remixes
* CD single – Promo
* CD single – Promo – Club Remixes
* CD maxi – Promo
Official versions
Credits
These are the credits and the personnel as they appear on the back of the single:
* Mylène Farmer – lyrics
* Laurent Boutonnat – music
* John Nollet /H&K – photo
* Henry Neu – design
* Isiaka – editions
* 2008 Stuffed Monkey
* Made in the E.U.
; Manhattan Clique remix and Manhattan Clique-X directory dub
** Manhattan Clique – remix, additional production
** Philip Larsen, Chris Smith – keyboards
; MHC Star69 remix
** Manhattan Clique – remix, additional production
** Philip Larsen – keyboards
** Lee Turner – guitar
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
*
*
*
*
Notes
External links
*
Mylène Farmer — "Appelle mon numéro"All about the song, on ''Mylene.net''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appelle Mon Numero
2008 singles
Mylène Farmer songs
Songs with lyrics by Mylène Farmer
Songs with music by Laurent Boutonnat
SNEP Top Singles number-one singles
Songs about telephone calls
2008 songs
Polydor Records singles