Turtle-Power

Christophe Willem, known as 'La Tortue' (The Turtle), was the winner of French TV's 'Nouvelle Star 2006' competition. The 4th Winner, honed down from 25000 candidates.

I didn't watch any of the competition, but on You Tube you can see him performing 'Ca Plane Pour Moi' in the contest, a version which, though not anywhere as brilliant as Plastic Bertand's 1977 original, was at least a good musical choice, especially considering Christophe was not born until 1983.

Much better stuff from his album 'Inventaire' has been airing over the last couple of months on French TV. Here it is, packed with gallic charm:

First off, the latest release 'Double je', with one of my favourite videos of all time:



Then, the previous video 'Elu produit de l'année' (Elected product of the year), which, I warn you, is super-catchy.



And finally, a slow song at the piano called 'Jacques a dit'.



The next Serge Gainsbourg? We can always hope.

And if you want to discover more You Tube music, have a look at poet George Szirtes blog where a round up poll of the best music 'ever' is underway. Lots of stuff to discover. Check out especially Pere Ubu. Who must be French, musn't he?