"Désenchantée" (English : "Disenchanted") is a 1991 song recorded by the French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. First single from her third studio album L'Autre..., it was released on 18 March 1991 and achieved a great success in France, topping the chart for more than two months. It was Farmer's most successful song and is generally considered as her signature song.
In 2002, the song was successfully covered by Kate Ryan, who reached number-one in Belgium.
[edit] Mylène Farmer version
[edit] Background and writing
After two years of absence in the media, Farmer launched this new single, "Désenchantée" on March 18, 1991, three weeks before the release of the album L'Autre.... In addition, at the time, many demonstrations were organized by students throughout France to protest against their status and conditions for learning, and the Gulf War was raging. As a result, the pessimistic lyrics of the song found a strong echo in the worldwide events and thus certainly contributed to its success. According to the sound engineer Thierry Rogen, "Désenchantée" was recorded four times. Boutonnat originally wanted a jerky song with techno influences, but Rogen had convinced him to add drums and a more funk sound.[1] The text was inspired by the 1934 book On the Heights of Despair by the Romanian philosopher Emil Cioran.
Very quickly, the song had a great success in France, becoming the biggest hit of Farmer. As a result, the song was also released in other countries including Canada, UK, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Japan. There were many formats for this song.
[edit] Lyrics and music
"Désenchantée" has a melodious music, and its text has "unexpected hyphenate which dissect the phrases in small sections". This song also has "a very dancing rhythmic color" thanks to the chords played on the piano in the introduction, the bright and chiseled percussion or vocals (performed by Debbie Davis and Carole Fredericks) which brings out the refrain.[2] In the lyrics, the singer expresses her great lucidity on the absurdity of the world and discusses topics related to the existentialism.[3]
[edit] Music video
The music video was produced by Requiem Publishing and Heathcliff SA and directed by Laurent Boutonnat who also wrote the screenplay. Shot for five days (from 18 to 23 February 1991) in Budapest, Hungary, with a budget of about 240,000 euro, this video was one of the longest ones at the time (10:12) and used many extras : 119 children, many Hungarian actors such as Erika Francz Jánofné. There is another version shortened of four minutes. The video for the single features a riot in what appears to be a concentration camp or gulag facility[4] where people and children are subject to forced labor and being treated abysmally by armed guards. The riot scenes are quite realistically shot and contain much violent action. The anthem-like song goes well with the visual background. According to French magazine Instant-Mag, this music video has a fairly similar structure to that of "Tristana". It has a gloomy screenplay, an ambiguous end, allows various interpretations and deals with the theme of messianism. Farmer "symbolically embodies the spirit of freedom". The final scene is inspired by the 1830 painting La Liberté guidant le peuple by Eugène Delacroix.[5]
The music video is included on the videos albums L'Autre and Music Videos I.
[edit] Promotion and performances on tours
During the shooting of the music video, Farmer also gave a lengthy interview to French television host Laurent Boyer, in Budapest. The interview was later aired on M6, on 7 April 1991.[6] Farmer also performed the song in live on Studio 22, broadcast on the radio RTL on 15 May 1991.[3]
In 1991, Farmer appeared in five televison shows to promote the song : Sacrée soirée (17 April, TF1), La Une est à vous (20 April, TF1), Stars 90 (13 May, TF1 ; Farmer also sang "L'Autre"), Tous à la une (31 May, TF1) and Riva del Garda (Rai Uno, September). On these occasions, Farmer had a short hair (as in the music video) and wore white clothes. The performances was accompanied by a choreographied collective dance.[7]
The song was performed on the 1996 tour, the Mylenium Tour, the 2006 tour à Bercy and the 2009 tour.
[edit] Critical reception
"Désenchantée" was the most aired song on radio in 1991, and was also the song that brought the most money in 1991, 1992 and 2006, according to the SACEM.[8]
The single debuted on the French Single Chart at number 12 on 13 April 1991 and reached number one two weeks after. There it stayed for nine consecutive weeks. After that, the single fell but slowly, and managed to remain for eighteen weeks on the top ten and for 25 weeks on the chart. The song has the second longest chart trajectory of all Farmer's singles in the top 50.[9] It was the best-selling single by a woman in France and was certified Gold disc by the SNEP.[10] The song was also a huge success in Belgium where it also reached number one, in the Netherlands (number three), and Canada where it was a top nine hit.
In the other countries where it was released, "Désenchantée" achieved a moderate success. In Switzerland, the single peaked at number 23 on 9 February 1992.[11] In Austria, the single was charted for eleven weeks, from 11 August to 20 October 1991, reaching a peak of number 16 on 29 September.[12] In Germany, the song was ranked only number 46.[13]
[edit] Cover versions
The song was covered by many artists, including :
- In 1996, Lio recorded her own version for the compilation album 1991 - Les Plus Belles Chansons françaises.[14]
- In 1998, the French band Alliage covered the song on Hit Machine, but this version was not released as a single.
- In 1999, the French singer Allan Theo performed the song on stage.
- The Belgian dance-music singer Kate Ryan in 2002. This version is perharps the best known cover, because it was released as a single and achieved a great success in many countries.
- In 2002, Liloo covered the song which was remixed by Mad' House.[15]
- In 2005, the song was recorded by Pascal Obispo and Zazie and is available on Les Enfoirés' album 2005 : Le Train des Enfoirés.[16]
- The song was covered by the Swedish artist Christer Björkman.[17]
- In 2006, Cynthia Brown, Cyril Cinelu, Domy Fidanza and Elfy Ka covered the song in a rock version for an album of the Star Academy.
- In 2008, German Dance Band Siria (An offshoot project of Cascada) Covered the song in a "Handz Up/Euro-Trance Format.
- The lyrics of Electronic's 1992 single "Disappointed" were partly inspired by "Désenchantée".
[edit] Formats and track listings
- 7" single - France, Germany
- 7" maxi - France
- CD single - Japan
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (single version) | | | 2. | "Désenchantée" (chaos mix) | | - CD maxi - France, Germany, Canada1, Australia
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (single remix) | | | 2. | "Désenchantée" (club mix) | | | 3. | "Désenchantée" (chaos mix) | | - Cassette, double length - France, Canada (promo)
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (single version) | | | 2. | "Désenchantée" (club remix) | | - 7" maxi, double length - Promo - France
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (single version) | | | - 7" maxi - Germany, Canada2
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (club remix) | | | 2. | "Désenchantée" (chaos mix) | | - 7" maxi - Promo - English version - Canada
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (club remix) | | | 2. | "Désenchantée" (chaos mix) | | | 3. | "Désenchantée" (single version) | | - 7" single - Promo - United Kingdom
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (edited version) | | | 2. | "Désenchantée" (single version) | | - 7" single - Promo - Italy
|
1 French promo and English promo versions
2 Mainstream and promo versions
[edit] Official versions
| Version | Length | Album | Remixed by | Year | Comment[3] |
| Album version | 5:22 | L'Autre... | — | 1991 | See the previous sections |
| Single version | 4:45 | — | — | 1991 | The musical bridge is shortened. |
| Chaos mix (short version) | 4:10 | — | Laurent Boutonnat, Thierry Rogen | 1991 | This dance version is fast and begins with the sound of thunder. |
| Chaos mix (extended version) | 6:50 | — | Laurent Boutonnat, Thierry Rogen | 1991 | Various sounds are added to the music. Farmer's voice is very mixed at the end of this remix. |
| Edited version | 3:55 | — | — | 1991 | The musical bridge is entirely deleted. |
| Remix club | 8:10 | Dance Remixes | Laurent Boutonnat, Thierry Rogen | 1991 | The song begins with the sounds of children in a playground, and then with a musical introduction in which the words "génération", "désenchantée" and "tout est chaos" are sampled. The music is accelerated and the bridge is extanded. |
| Live version (recorded in 1996) | 8:15 | Live à Bercy | — | 1996 | This version is very dynamic. See 1996 tour |
| Live version (recorded in 2000) | 7:12 | Mylenium Tour | — | 2000 | This version has techno sonorities. See Mylenium Tour |
| Album version | 5:00 | Les Mots | — | 2001 | The musical bridge is shortened. |
| Thunderpuss club anthem | 10:04 | RemixeS | Thunderpuss | 2003 | This dance/techno version has a musical introduction which lasts about 2:30. |
| Live version (recorded in 2006) | 6:42 | Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy | — | 2006 | See Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy (tour) |
Live version
(recorded in 2009) | 7:42 | N°5 on Tour | — | 2009 | See Mylène Farmer en tournée |
- Unofficial mentionable fan remixes
- St.Ken's mylenium club mix — 3:32
[edit] Credits and personnel
- Mylène Farmer – lyrics
- Laurent Boutonnat – music
- Requiem Publishing – editions
- Polydor – recording company
- Marianne Rosenstiehl (Sygma) – photo
- Com'N.B – design
[edit] Charts, certifications and sales
| Chart (1991) | Peak
position | | Austrian Singles Chart[12] | 16 | | Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart | 1 | | Canadian Singles Chart | 9 | | Dutch Top 40[18] | 18 | | French SNEP Singles Chart[9] | 1 | | German Singles Chart[13] | 46 | | Swiss Singles Chart[11] | 23 | | | Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified | Physical sales | | France[10] | Gold | 1991 | 500,000 | 800,000 (1,300,000 worldwide)[19] | |
[edit] Kate Ryan cover version
In 2002, Belgian singer Kate Ryan released her own version of "Désenchantée" as the third single of her debut album Different, released in the same year. This version was successful in many European countries.
In 2009, the song was remastered and remixed by Paris Avenue, with dance/electronic style. The remix was included in Kate Ryan's greatest hits album French Connection.
[edit] Track listings
- CD single
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (radio edit) | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Désenchantée" (extended mix) | 8:27 |
- CD maxi
| 1. | "Désenchantée" (radio edit) | 3:38 |
| 2. | "Désenchantée" (extended mix) | 8:27 |
| 3. | "Désenchantée" (club version) | 8:12 |
[edit] Certifications
| Country | Certification | Date | Sales certified |
| Belgium[20] | 2x Platinum | 29 June 2002 | 100,000 |
| France[21] | Silver | 14 August 2002 | 125,000 |
| Sweden[22] | Gold | 18 February 2003 | 10,000 |
[edit] Chart performances
In Belgium (Flanders), the single went directly into the top ten, which happens not very often in this chart, then it reached number one in the third week and stayed there for six weeks. Then it dropped very slowly and even spent ten weeks in the top three and twenty weeks in the top ten. After 27 weeks on the chart, it fell off the top 50. This chart running was the very best of Kate Ryan in this country. The single also reached number one in the Belgian dance chart.
The single was also very successful in other European countries, like Germany, Austria and Norway, where it reached the top three of the singles chart and stayed for several weeks in the top ten. It had the best chart performances of all Kate Ryan singles ever.
| | | End of year chart (2002) | Position | | Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[26] | 2 | | Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[27] | 48 | | French Airplay Chart[28] | 100 | | French TV Music Videos Chart[28] | 41 | | French Singles Chart[29] | 74 | | End of year chart (2003) | Position | | Austrian Singles Chart[30] | 32 | |
[edit] References
- ^ Instant-Mag, No. 14, 2003, p. 9
- ^ Habib, Elia (in French). Muz hit. tubes. Aliéna Bis. p. 207. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
- ^ a b c Cachin, Benoît (2006) (in French). Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer. Tournon. pp. 85-91. ISBN 2-35144-000-5.
- ^ Instant-Mag, No. 20, 2005, p. 9
- ^ Instant-Mag, No. 15, 2003, p. 12-16
- ^ * "Interview, by Laurent Boyer (1)" (in French). Daylimotion. http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/farmer%2Blaurent%2Bboyer/video/x1fhbc_pour-un-clip-avec-toi-12_music. Retrieved 8 July 2009.
* "Interview, by Laurent Boyer (2)" (in French). Daylimotion. http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/search/farmer%2Blaurent%2Bboyer/video/x1f8yx_pour-un-clip-avec-toi-22_music. Retrieved 8 July 2009. - ^ ""Désenchantée", television performances" (in French). Sans-logique. http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/tv/index.php?chanson=desenchantee. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ Chuberre, Erwan (2007) (in French). L'Intégrale Mylène Farmer. City. pp. 101-02. ISBN ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7.
- ^ a b ""Désenchantée", French Singles Chart" (in French). Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?key=2381&cat=s. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ a b "Singles certifications in France, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 23 November 2009.
- ^ a b ""Désenchantée", Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Hitparade. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=D%E9senchant%E9e&cat=s. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ a b ""Désenchantée", Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. http://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer&titel=D%E9senchant%E9e&cat=s. Retrieved 5 January 2008.
- ^ a b c "German Singles Chart, database" (in German). Charts-surfer. http://www.charts-surfer.de/musiksearch.php. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
- ^ ""Désenchantée", by Lio" (in French). Sans-logique. http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/reprises/reprise.php?reprise=lio-desenchantee. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ ""Désenchantée", by Liloo" (in French). Sans logique. http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/reprises/reprise.php?reprise=liloo-desenchantee. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ ""Désenchantée", by Pascal Obispo and Zazie" (in French). Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Zazie%2C+Obispo&titel=D%E9senchant%E9e&cat=s. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ ""Désenchantée", by Christer Björkman" (in French). Sans-logique. http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/reprises/reprise.php?reprise=christer-bjorkman-desenchantee. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40, week 30, 1991" (in Dutch). http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=30&jaar=1991. Retrieved 26 April 2009 (2009-04-26).
- ^ Quid, 1993
- ^ "Belgian certifications" (in French). Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/certifications.asp?year=2002. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ^ "French certifications" (in French). Disqueenfrance. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259165&year=2002&type=6. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
- ^ "Swedish certifications" (in Swedish). Ifpi. http://www.ifpi.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/ar-20033.pdf. Retrieved 17 May 2009. )
- ^ a b c d e f g h ""Désenchantée" (by Kate Ryan), various singles charts". Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Kate+Ryan&titel=D%E9senchant%E9e&cat=s. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40, week 26, 2002" (in Dutch). http://www.top40.nl/index.aspx?week=26&jaar=2002. Retrieved 26 April 2009 (2009-04-26).
- ^ "Hungarian Airplay Chart" (in Hungarian). Mahasz. http://mahasz.hu/m/?menu=slagerlistak&menu2=archivum&lista=radios&ev=2003&het=32&submit_=Keres%E9s. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
- ^ "2002 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2002. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
- ^ "2002 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart" (in French). Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2002. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
- ^ a b "2002 French Airplay and TV Music Video Charts" (in French). Yacast. http://www.yacast.fr/fr/index.html. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
- ^ "2002 French Singles Chart" (in French). Disqueenfrance. http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/page-259376.xml?year=2002. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
- ^ "2003 Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. http://www.austriancharts.at/2003_single.asp. Retrieved 17 May 2008.
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