Adila Sedraïa (; born 26 June 1984), known professionally as Indila (), is a French singer-songwriter and record producer. She collaborated with many musicians on vocals and lyrics prior to releasing her first single, " Dernière danse" (English: "Last dance"), in December 2013, which reached

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 ...

second in France and became in December 2023, 10 years after its release, the first French-language song to exceed one billion views on YouTube. She released her debut album '' Mini World'' in February 2014.

Early life

Adila Sedraïa was born on 26 June 1984, in Paris, France. Her mother was a caregiver, while her grandmother sang at weddings. She has two older sisters. Indila describes herself as a "child of the world" of Algerian, Cambodian, Indian and Egyptian descent. Prior to her singing career, she worked as a tour guide at the Marché international de Rungis. She explained that her stage name comes from her immeasurable love for India. In addition to her native French, Indila has provided vocals in English, including "Dreamin" with

Youssoupha Youssoupha Mabiki (; born August 29, 1979), better known by his nickname Youssoupha is a French rapper of Congolese descent. Early life and career He was born to a Congolese father, the musician and Congo-Kinshasa political figure Tabu Ley Ro ...

and "Bye Bye Sonyé" with

DJ Abdel Abdel-illa Lamriq, better known as DJ Abdel, is a French Moroccan DJ and record producer playing hip hop, funk and contemporary R&B on major radio stations in France. DJ Abdel became known through his musical participation in the French Canal ...

, and sung

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

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 ...

s in "Criminel" by TLF and "Thug mariage" by

Rohff Housni M'Kouboi (; born 15 December 1977), better known as Rohff and at times stylized as Roh2f, is a French rapper. Born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, to a family of Comoran origin, he immigrated in 1985 to France living in Vitry-sur-Seine, i ...

Career

Indila's meeting with record producer

Skalp Pascal Boniani Koeu better known by his stage name Skalpovich, is a French record producer, composer, songwriter and record executive. Between 2001 and 2006, he was part of duo Kore & Skalp with DJ and producer Kore before continuing solo. Biog ...

ovich allowed her to enter into the world of rap and eventually collaborations with several French rappers. Indila began her music career in around 2009, providing vocals for "Invitaation" by

Vitaa Charlotte Gonin (; born 14 March 1983), known by her stage name Vitaa (), is a French singer-songwriter. Early life Born March 14, 1983, in Mulhouse, Charlotte Gonin, also known as Vitaa, grew up in Lucenay. Her father is French and her mothe ...

, "Trinité" by

L'Algérino Samir Djoghlal (; born 2 May 1981), better known as L'Algérino (), is an Algerian-French rapper and singer whose family came from the Chaoui-Berbers, Berber tribes in Khenchela, Algeria A childhood friend of Jul (singer), JUL, he was discovered ...

, "Thug mariage" by

, "Hiro" by

Soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, and composing "J'ai besoin d'y croire," sung by

Admiral T Christy Campbell (born March 29, 1981), known by the stage name Admiral T, is a French singer, rapper, songwriter, DJ, and actor. He is one of the most popular and successful Guadeloupean singers. He is also a designer and the creator of the clo ...

and among others. "Hiro" was Indila's first successful collaboration, reaching number 26 in the charts in France and 27 in Belgium. She continued to collaborate with several other French rappers and DJs over the next three years, including "Poussière d'empire" with

Nessbeal Nabil Sahli (born 16 August 1978), better known by his stage name Nessbeal, is a French rapper. Nessbeal started earlier as NessBeal under which he released his debut studio album ''La mélodie des briques''. At times he has also used NE2S or ju ...

, "Criminel" with TLF, Press pause" with OGB, "Bye Bye Sonyé" with

, "Dreamin" with

, which peaked in July 2012 at number 14 in France's SNEP charts, and "Ma Reine" with

Axel Tony Axel Tony (born in Colombes in 1984) is a French singer of mixed Cameroonian / Martinique / Vietnamese origin. He is signed to Universal Music France. Career Axel Tony was born to a Cameroonian father and a Martiniquais-born mother (of Vietname ...

. Indila also composed the songs "Plus Haut" by

Matt Pokora Matthieu Tota (; born 26 September 1985), artistically known as Matt Pokora and later M. Pokora (), is a French pop singer. He is very well known for his catchy melodies and smooth vocals. Pokora mostly sings in French but he has also recorded ...

along with "Avec Toi" by Axel Tony featuring

Tunisiano Bachir Baccour (born 19 May 1979), better known by his stage name Tunisiano, is a Tunisian rapper living in France. Prior to pursuing a solo career, he was a member of M, Sniper (group), Sniper and other rap groups. Career Bachir Baccour's paren ...

, in which she is credited by her real name "Adila Sedraïa". "Avec Toi", which was produced by Skalpovich, reached number 7 in the charts in France in November 2012. In November 2013, Indila released her first single, " Dernière danse" (English: "Last Dance"), from the album '' Mini World,'' which quickly found success. It reached the top 10 of the French charts on 4 January 2014 and reached number 2 on 18 January 2014, where it remained through the week of 22 March 2014. The song remained in the top 200 in France through April 2015, for a total of 77 weeks in the top 200. It was also a success outside France, by the end of February 2014, "Dernière danse" was the number one song on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

in Greece and Romania, and the number two song on iTunes in Turkey. The music video for "Dernière danse", released 4 December 2013, reached 100 million views on YouTube 30 July 2014, and has over 1.1 billion views as of , not least because of its popularity on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. In February 2014, Indila released her first album, '' Mini World'', which was produced by Skalpovich. In addition to ''Mini World'' and "Dernière danse", two other singles from the album reached the top 20 in the charts in France: ''Tourner dans le vide'' (English: "Spinning in the Emptiness"), which reached number 13, and '' S.O.S'', which reached number 8. ''Mini World'' was the best-selling album in France at the week of its debut and remained among the ten best-selling albums through the week of 11 October 2014. A limited-edition CD/DVD version of ''Mini World'' was released in November 2014, with two new songs, orchestral versions of "Tourner dans le vide" and "Love Story", an acoustic version of "S.O.S", and video of live performances of several tracks from the album. A second limited-edition release of ''Mini World'' in February 2015 contained ten tracks from the original release, the two new songs from the first limited edition, and another new song. ''Mini World'' found success both in France, where it was the third-best-selling album of 2014, and outside the country, where it was the best-seller of 2014 in Poland and second-best-seller of 2014 in Belgium. In October 2014, Indila won the

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

for Best French Artist. In February 2015, she won Best New Album of the Year award (for ''Mini World'') at the 30th '' Victoires de la Musique''. In 2015, Indila was among the ten artists to receive the

European Border Breakers Award The Music Moves Europe Award, also known as the MME Award, is an annual prize recognizing the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the pas ...

. On 23 August 2019, after five years without releasing a song or album, Indila returned with her new song " Parle à ta tête" (English: "Speak to Your Head"). On 14 November 2019, the music video for the song was released. In October 2020,

Amir Emir (; ' (), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has ...

's single "Carrousel", a duet with Indila, was released; a music video for this song followed, in April 2021. In January 2023,

Zaho Zahera Darabid ( ; born May 10, 1980), known by her stage name Zaho (), is an Algerian-Canadian R&B singer. Biography Zahera Darabid was born on May 10, 1980, in Bab Ezzouar, a suburb of the Algerian capital Algiers. At the age of 18, sh ...

unveiled the track "Roi 2 cœurs" in duet with Indila, on her album ''Résilience''.

Artistry

Vocal range

Indila's vocal range spans from F₃ – D♯₅ and has

alto The musical term alto, meaning "high" in Italian (Latin: '' altus''), historically refers to the contrapuntal part higher than the tenor and its associated vocal range. In four-part voice leading alto is the second-highest part, sung in ch ...

type.

Influences

She has cited

Enrico Macias Gaston Ghrenassia (born 11 December 1938), known by his stage name Enrico Macias, is a French singer, songwriter and musician. Early years Gaston Ghrenassia was born to a Sephardic Jews, Sephardic Jewish family. His father, Sylvain Ghrenassia ...

as her first musical influence, with others influences being

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, Ismaël Lo, Buika, Warda,

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

and

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Other charted songs

As featured artist

*Did not appear in the official Belgian

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Other vocals

Songwriting credits

Besides songs appearing in ''Mini World'' and ''Parle à ta tête'', Indila is credited as a songwriter in the following songs: * 2010: "Poussière d'empire" by

feat. Indila. * 2010: "J'ai besoin d'y croire" by

feat. Awa Imani and Indila. * 2010: "Thug mariage" by

feat. Indila. * 2011: "Bye Bye Sonyé" by

feat. Indila. * 2012: "Avec toi" by

featuring

and Indila. * 2012: "Plus haut" by

M. Pokora Matthieu Tota (; born 26 September 1985), artistically known as Matt Pokora and later M. Pokora (), is a French pop singer. He is very well known for his catchy melodies and smooth vocals. Pokora mostly sings in French but he has also recorded ...

feat. Indila. * 2012: "Plus jamais" by Sultan feat. Indila. * 2012: "Dreamin'" by

feat. Indila and Skalpovitch. * 2013: "Ma reine" by Axel Tony feat. Admiral T and Indila. * 2016: "Baila" by

Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

feat. Indila. * 2016: "Pour toi et moi" by Ishtar feat. Indila. * 2021: "Carrousel" by

feat. Indila.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Living people 1984 births 21st-century French singer-songwriters 21st-century French women singers French women singer-songwriters French women pop singers French women record producers French people of Indian descent French people of Algerian descent French people of Cambodian descent French people of Egyptian descent