"Contre nature" (meaning "against nature") is a song by Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

from her twentieth studio album, '' 1 fille & 4 types'' (2003). It was written by Jacques Veneruso and produced by

Erick Benzi Erick Benzi (born 1 March 1959) is a French musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer from Marseille. He was previously part of the duo Die Form, with Gildas Arzel, and the group Canada (with Arzel, Jacques Veneruso, and Gwenn Arzel) ...

. "Contre nature" was released as a promotional single on 18 March 2004. It entered the airplay charts in Francophone countries, reaching number two in Quebec. The music video premiered on 30 April 2004.

Background and release

Dion started working on her next French-language album on 8 October 2002 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 ...

where she met with four French songwriters and producers:

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...

, Jacques Veneruso and Gildas Arzel. After four days of rehearsals, Dion met with them again in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in May 2003, during her break from performing in A New Day.... The songs were recorded between 2–11 May 2003. Goldman, who wrote and produced Dion's best-selling French-language albums of all time, ''

D'eux ''D'eux'' (French for "of them, "about them", or "from them"; homophonic with , meaning "two") is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her tenth French-language album. It was released by Sony Music on 30 March 1995 in ...

'', guided '' 1 fille & 4 types'' as the artistic director. "Contre nature", written by Veneruso and produced by Benzi, was selected as the third, but promotional only single. The cover art of the promotional cd with song's radio edit was revealed on 6 March 2004. "Contre nature" was sent to radio in France on 18 March 2004 and in Canada on 12 April 2004. The music video premiered on 30 April 2004. In 2005, "Contre nature" was included on Dion's greatest hits album, ''

On ne change pas ''On ne change pas'' ( ''We Don't Change'') is the first comprehensive French-language greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music on 30 September 2005. It features songs recorded between 1981 and 2005, including t ...

''.

Commercial performance

In Quebec, "Contre nature" peaked at number two on the ADISQ Correspondants Radio chart. It also entered the BDS Radio chart in Quebec on 1 May 2004, reaching number 22 and spending 18 weeks inside top fifty. In Poland, the song peaked at number 9 on the Regional Airplay chart on 2 May 2004. In Belgium Wallonia, "Contre nature" reached number 38 on the Ultratop Airplay chart on 25 May 2004. In Belgium Flanders, it peaked at number 70 on 27 April 2004.

Music video

The music video, directed by Didier Kerbrat, was filmed on 27 March 2004 in the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert (; ; ) is a desert in the rain shadow of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains and Transverse Ranges in the Southwestern United States. Named for the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous Mohave people, it is located pr ...

and released on 30 April 2004. In 2005, it was included on Dion's greatest hits DVD collection, ''

''. The making of "Contre nature" music video was also included there as a bonus.

Track listing and formats

* French promotional CD single # "Contre nature" (radio edit) – 3:33 * French promotional DVD single # "Contre nature" (making of) – 15:30 # "Contre nature" (music video) – 4:12

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control Celine Dion songs 2004 singles Songs in French Pop ballads Songs written by Jacques Veneruso 2003 songs Columbia Records singles