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Kendji Girac

Kendji Girac
Kendji in 2022
Kendji in 2022
Background information
Birth nameKendji Jason Maillié
Born (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 (age 28)
Périgueux, Aquitaine, France
Genres
OccupationSinger
Years active2014–present
LabelsMercury
Websitekendji.fr

Kendji "Girac" Jason Maillié (French pronunciation: [kɛndʒi ʒiʁak dʒɛzɔn maje]; born 3 July 1996), also known mononymously as Kendji, is a French singer. He is the winner of season 3 of the music competition The Voice: la plus belle voix as part of Team Mika.[1] He has released five studio albums, Kendji, Ensemble, Amigo, Mi Vida, and L'école de la vie, as well as a string of hit singles.

Biography

Beginnings

The youngest of a Catalan Gitano family, Kendji grew up in Saint-Astier and was taught to play the guitar and sing by his grandfather. He left school at 16 to follow the family business as an arborist.[2] He speaks Catalan with his parents.[3] He gained some fame through publishing materials online. His Romanes version of "Bella" by Maître Gims filmed by a friend went viral. His video garnered 5.8 million views.[4] Another popular song he uploaded was "Si j'étais président" a cover of Gérard Lenorman.

The Voice

For season 3 of The Voice: la plus belle voix, he auditioned with the song "Bella" by Maître Gims in the second episode of season 3, broadcast on 18 January, with only judge Mika turning his chair, whereas the three others, Florent Pagny, Jenifer and Garou refrained.

In the Musical Battles Round broadcast on 8 March 2014, Mika put him against Youness both singing "Tous les mêmes" by Stromae. Kendji moved to "L'épreuve ultime" round, in which he performed "Hotel California by The Eagles in the 29 March 2014 emission.

In the live rounds he performed "Ma philosophie" by Amel Bent (5 April 2014), "Mad World" from Tears for Fears (19 April 2014) and "Allumer le feu" by Johnny Hallyday (19 April 2014). In the semi-final on 3 May 2014, he sang "Belle" by Garou and Daniel Lavoie qualified for the finals as Team Mika's finalist.

Career

Kendji Girac on stage in 2016

His first official single the bilingual French/Spanish "Color Gitano", was released in June 2014 from his eponymous EP,[5][6] followed by his official album release in September. In December 2014, he won two NRJ Music Awards for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year and "Color Gitano" as Francophone Song of the Year.[7] His album Kendji sold 600,000 copies by January 2015,[8] and over 1 million copies by October 2015,[9] certifying Diamond and becoming France's second-highest selling album of 2014 after Racine carrée by Stromae. He is currently the biggest-selling The Voice alumnus worldwide. His follow-up single "Andalouse" proved even more successful commercially. Other notable singles included "Conmigo" from the repackaged version of Kendji released on 4 May 2015.[10]

A second album titled Ensemble was released on 30 October 2015.[11] Notable singles from his second album include "Me Quemo", "Les yeux de la mama" and "No Me Mires Más" (jointly with Soprano).

On 31 August 2018, his third album, titled Amigo was released. It started at number one on the French sales chart with 48,408 sales.[12]

On 22 August 2020, he joined the cast of The Voice Kids France, becoming the first French former contestant to join the jury of the French franchise of the show, alongside Jenifer, Patrick Fiori, and Soprano.[13]

Charity work

In 2017, Kendji joined the Enfoirés, a team of high-grossing artists involved in the hugely popular charity mission Restos du Coeur, which hosts yearly concerts to raise money for one of France's most respected soup kitchen networks.[14]

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
FRA
[15] 		BEL
(Fl)
[16] 		BEL
(Wa)
[17] 		NLD
[18] 		SWI
[19]
Kendji 1 119 1 53 22
  • FRA: 1,500,000 (incl. streaming)[20]
Ensemble
  • Released: 30 October 2015
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 88 1 — 1
  • FRA: 1,000,000 (incl. streaming)[22]
  • SNEP: 2× Diamond[23]
Amigo
  • Released: 31 August 2018
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 69 1 — 7
  • FRA: 350,000 (incl. streaming)[22]
  • SNEP: 3× Platinum[24]
Mi Vida
  • Released: 9 October 2020
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download, LP
 2 83 1 — 5
L'école de la vie
  • Released: 11 November 2022
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: Digital download, LP
 1 — 3 — 11
Vivre...
  • Released: 4 October 2024
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: Digital download, LP
 3[25] — 3 — 14

Live albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
FRA
[15] 		BEL
(Wa)
[17]
Ensemble / Le Live
  • Released: 17 March 2017
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 15 5

Other album releases

Title Album details Peak chart positions
FRA
[15]
Kendji / Ensemble / Kendji Girac, de l'ombre à la lumière
  • Released: 20 May 2016
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD
 123
Kendji / Ensemble
  • Released: 18 August 2017
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD
 69
L'Intégrale
  • Released: 29 November 2019
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD, download, streaming
 64
[26]

EPs

Title EP details Peak chart positions Notes
FRA
[15]
Kendji Girac EP
  • Released: 1 January 2014
  • Label: Mercury Records
  • Formats: digital download
 44
Tracklist
  1. "Color Gitano" (3:30)
  2. "Toi et moi" (3:06)
  3. "Bella" (3:56)
  4. "Ma philosophie" (3:23)
  5. "Tous les mêmes" (2:37)
  6. "Elle m'a aimé" (3:25)

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[15] 		BEL
(Fl)
[17] 		BEL
(Wa)
[17] 		POL
[27]
"Color Gitano" 2014 11 — 12 — Kendji
"Cool" 20 — 17 —
"Andalouse" 3 14*
(Ultratip) 		3 10
"Elle m'a aimé" 22 — 53* —
"Je m'abandonne" 25 — — —
"La bohème" 61 — — — Aznavour, sa jeunesse
"Conmigo" 2015 7 — 6 — Kendji (2015 reissue)
"Les richesses du cœur" 57 — — —
"Me Quemo" 7 — 8 — Ensemble
"Les yeux de la mama" 5 — — —
"No me mirès màs"
(with Soprano) 		2016 9 — 11 —
"Sonrisa" 25 — 42 —
"Ma câlina" 2017 40 — 15 —
"L'envie" 53 — 26*
(Ultratip) 		— Non-album single
"Maria Maria" 2018 8 — 19 — Amigo
"Pour oublier" 7 23*
(Ultratip) 		3 —
"Tiago" 12 34*
(Ultratip) 		5 —
"Tu vas manquer" 2020 — — 10*
(Ultratip) 		—
"Habibi" 109 — 2*
(Ultratip) 		— Mi Vida
"Dernier métro"
(featuring Gims) 		79 — 11 —
"Dans mes bras" (with Dadju) 2021 43 — 12 —
"Conquistador" — — 32 —
"Eva" 2022 104 — 14 — L'école de la vie
"Desperado" 2023 — — 29 —
"Le feu"
(with Vianney) 		29 — 9 —
"Je suis fou"
(with Vianney and Soprano) 		61 — 42 — À 2 à 3
"Si seulement..." 2024 38[28] — 16 — Non-album single

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[15] 		BEL
(Wa)
[17]
"One Last Time (Attends-moi)"
(Ariana Grande featuring Kendji Girac) 		2015 11 — My Everything
and
Kendji (2015 Reissue)
"Fais comme ça"
(Vitaa and Slimane featuring Kendji Girac) 		2019 — — VersuS

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[15] 		BEL
(Wa)
[17]
"Amor de mis amores" / "Volare"
(credited as Kendji) 		2014 94 — The Voice 3 - La Plus Belle Voix (2014)
"Belle"
(credited as Kendji) 		96 —
"Mi amor" 118 — Kendji
"Avec toi" 179 —
"Baïla amigo" 187 —
"Mon univers" 192 —
"Au sommet" — —
"Ma solitude" 2015 130 — Ensemble
"C'est trop" 142 —
"Besame" 198 —
"Tu y yo" 2016 153 8*
(Ultratip)
"Elle a tout" 80
[29] 		—
"Jamais à genoux" 85
[29] 		—
"Que Dieu me pardonne"
(with Claudio Capéo) 		2018 133
[30] 		31 Amigo
"Dans mes bras"
(with Dadju) 		2020 119 — Mi Vida
"Évidemment" 2021 87 13
"Bebeto"
(with Soolking) 		33 10

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Awards

Year Award Song
2014 NRJ Music Awards/Francophone Song of the Year "Color Gitano"
2014 NRJ Music Awards/Francophone Breakthrough of the Year
2015 NRJ Music Awards/Nominated for Best French Male Artist of the Year Album Kendji

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Kendji Girac - Biography | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ VIDEO. Kendji: « Avant The Voice, j'avais une vie de gitan » (in French)
  3. ^ Kendji Girac et le français : "Parfois, c'est un peu compliqué pour moi" (in French)
  4. ^ fugitif73 (10 August 2013). "Bella (maître Gims) version Gitane par Kendji Girac" – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ MetroNews (Paris): "The Voice" : Découvrez Color Gitano, le premier single de Kendji Girac (in French)
  6. ^ Charts in France: Clip de "Color Gitano" : Kendji Girac ("The Voice") profite de la vie et impose son style (in French)
  7. ^ Les grands vainqueurs des NRJ Music Awards sont... sur le site leparisien.fr
  8. ^ Kendji franchit le seuil des 600.000 ventes avec son premier album (in French)
  9. ^ "Kendji Girac franchit le cap du million d'albums vendus". Le Figaro. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Kendji Girac : Bientôt une nouvelle réédition de son premier album !". 31 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Kendji : "Ensemble", son deuxième album, bientôt dans les bacs". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  12. ^ ""Amigo" : Kendji Girac numéro un des ventes avec son nouvel album". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  13. ^ Média, Prisma (5 August 2020). "The Voice Kids : Kendji Girac fera ses premiers pas de coach le… - Voici". Voici.fr (in French). Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  14. ^ "Kendji Girac rejoint la troupe des Enfoirés - Vidéo Dailymotion". Dailymotion. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g "lescharts.com - Discographie Kendji Girac". lescharts.com.
  16. ^ "Discografie Kendji Girac". ultratop.be.
  17. ^ a b c d e f "Discographie Kendji Girac". ultratop.be.
  18. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Kendji Girac - dutchcharts.nl". www.dutchcharts.nl.
  19. ^ Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kendji Girac - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch.
  20. ^ "Kendji Girac : son premier album est certifié triple disque de diamant". chartsinfrance.net. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Les certifications. Kendji Girac - Kendji". snepmusique.com.
  22. ^ a b "Kendji Girac : un million de ventes pour son deuxième album "Ensemble"". chartsinfrance.net. 24 July 2019. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Les Certifications. Kendji Girac - Ensemble". snepmusique.com.
  24. ^ "Les Certifications. Kendji Girac - Amigo". snepmusique.com.
  25. ^ "Top Albums (Week 42, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Top Albums (Week 49, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Kendji Girac - Andalouse (Airplay Top 20 - 11.04. - 17.04.2015)" (in Polish). ZPAV. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Top Singles (Week 43, 2024)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  29. ^ a b "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 48, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  30. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 14, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
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Awards and achievements
Preceded by The Voice: la plus belle voix Winner
2014 		Succeeded by
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