Misplaced Pages

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Pierre Lapointe" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (June 2014) Click for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Pierre Lapointe}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation. (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Pierre Lapointe
Lapointe performing in the Côté-Cour café-théâtre in Jonquière, QC (March 2011).
Background information
Born	(1981-05-23) 23 May 1981 (age 43) Alma, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Chanson
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, keyboard
Labels	Audiogram, Columbia France
Website	www.pierrelapointe.com

Pierre Lapointe (born 23 May 1981) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His work largely follows in the tradition of French chanson, though he is influenced by modern pop music. Defining himself as a "popular singer", he has built an egocentric persona of a dandy onstage, but says he does this mostly to deflect attention from himself. His records have found critical and commercial success in Canada. His regular tours in France ensured him a growing popularity as well as critical recognition.

Life and career

Early life

Pierre Lapointe was born in Alma, Quebec, and grew up in Gatineau.

He began studying visual arts in 1999, but changed his program and started to take theatre courses at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe. He left after a few months to focus on songwriting, but later returned to complete his studies in visual arts. While there, he entered a competition called Tout nouveau, tout show. Lapointe won the "Award for Songwriter-Performer of the Year" and the "Audience Award". He moved to Montreal and continued studying art at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). In September 2001, he came first in the songwriter category at the Festival international de la chanson de Granby. In November 2002, he held two critically acclaimed shows in Montreal. In December, he received a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec which allowed him to prepare his first commercial album.

Initial success

In the summer of 2003, he signed on with Audiogram. He released his debut studio album, Pierre Lapointe, in May 2004 and it achieved platinum status in July 2006. In June 2004, he was invited to perform at the Festival Pully Lavaux in Switzerland, where he won the Jury Award. In July of the same year, at the FrancoFolies de Montréal, he played a full house for four days in a row, during which he won the Prix Félix‑Leclerc de la chanson.

In celebration of International Francophonie Day on 22 March 2005, he appeared as a guest speaker on Couleurs francophones, a radio show broadcast to French-speaking Europeans. In May 2005, he won the Académie Charles Cros Special Jury Award at the Alors... chante Festival in Montauban, France.

In October 2005, he won a total of six Félix Awards: three on his own for Pop Album of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Art Direction of the Year, as well as three in conjunction with his collaborators, Jean Massicotte (for Arrangement of the Year and Producer of the Year) and Louis Simon Hétu (for Sound Technician of the Year). In November 2005, the Académie Charles Cros awarded him the Grand Prix du Disque for French Song for his album, Pierre Lapointe.

In March 2006, Lapointe released a second album, La Forêt des mal-aimés, which attained platinum status in July 2006. In October 2006, he received three more Félix Awards for La Forêt des mal-mimés: one for Songwriter of the Year, one for Pop Album of the Year and another in collaboration with Philippe Brault and Jean Massicotte for Arrangement of the Year. On 28 October 2007, he won a Félix Award in the category of "Performance of the Year – Singer-Songwriter" for La Forêt des mal-aimés during the 29th ADISQ Gala.

In April 2007, he joined Brigitte Fontaine in performing her song, La symphonie pastorale, at both the Printemps de Bourges music festival and the La Cigale concert hall in Paris. He was also the recipient of the 2007 Rapsat-Lelièvre Award for La Forêt des mal-aimés, which the jury considered to be of "exceptional quality".

In August 2007, Lapointe was joined by the Orchestre Métropolitain, with director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to close the 19th annual FrancoFolies de Montréal. He performed for a crowd of over 100,100 – the largest in the festival's history.

He returned to the festival the next year, where he staged his new work, Mutantès, for four nights at the Place des Arts. Featuring a futuristic stage production by Claude Poissant, the show tells the story of a mutant on his quest for happiness.

Following the show's success, he reworked Mutantès into a studio album, releasing it under the title Sentiments humains. He again went on tour, concluding at the FrancoFolies de Montréal in June 2010, marking his ninth consecutive appearance at the festival. In January 2011, he released Pierre Lapointe Seul au piano, which saw him revisit earlier songs in a stripped-down form, featuring an unaccompanied Lapointe on piano. 2013 saw two new releases: a studio album proper, Punkt, and Les callas, an EP of short compositions and rough takes. In June of that year, Punkt was longlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.

International success

In July 2014, he appeared at the Francofolies de La Rochelle in France. During this time, he hosted his own weekday radio show, Les Petites Morts, which was broadcast nationally on France Inter. In the program, Lapointe discussed some of his favourite artists and featured guests such as Christophe, Christine and the Queens and Alexandre Tharaud. The exposure greatly increased his popularity in France.

In November 2014, he released Paris tristesse in France and Belgium. The album, recorded in Paris, consists of reworked songs from Punkt as well as covers of French pop classics. The album was later released in Quebec on 10 February 2015.

He was a coach on La Voix, the Quebec edition of the international reality show The Voice, from its third to its fifth season, and returned in the eight season.

In 2022, Lapointe and Charlotte Cardin performed Daniel Lavoie's "Ils s'aiment" at the ceremony inducting Lavoie into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Artistry

Themes

Failed relationships are often the subject of Pierre Lapointe's songs, though he prefers to maintain a degree of ambiguity as to the relationships in question, allowing for more diversity in interpretations. Another recurring theme in his work is death, which he believes has a far greater presence in music than either love or happiness. With La Forêt des mal-aimés (Forest of the Rejected), he explains that it is usually the feelings of sadness and heartbreak that move an audience. He strives to create a tender and melancholic atmosphere on stage. Rather than tell a story through his songs, he aims to elicit images and emotions. Lapointe considers his work to be symbolic, mystical and surreal, as well as abstract and avant-garde. His provocative words, which typically deal with sexuality, are a way to challenge the music industry, whose demands, he believes, have resulted in a culture of polite and acceptable music.

Although he is out as gay, he tends to keep his personal life private and is rarely open about who he is dating. He has, however, spoken out on occasion about experiencing public incidents of homophobia.

Influences

Pierre Lapointe has been described as having an eclectic style, drawing inspiration from genres as varied as disco, cabaret, and gospel. However, chanson and pop remain the foundation of his work. Among his influences, are French singer-songwriters (Léo Ferré, Serge Gainsbourg and Barbara), contemporary chanson artists (Matthieu Chédid and Vincent Delerm) and pop artists (Robert Charlebois, ABBA and France Gall). He also credits Diane Dufresne, Beck and Björk for shaping his musical development, claiming that, like his influences, he aims to innovate and bring an intellectual approach to popular music. However, he denies having invented anything new, asserting that his "postmodern" work simply seeks to revitalize French-language pop.

Visual arts and choreography play a prominent role in Pierre Lapointe's work, given his background in graphic arts and theatre. He works with dancers and many contemporary artists, particularly when producing music videos, and he often includes them on stage.

Lapointe has been influenced by visual artists like Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami and Montreal native David Altmejd, whom he credits as a major inspiration for Mutantès In 2016, he collaborated with the French designer Matali Crasset, who designed the scenography for Amours, délices et orgues. Having been introduced to the Bauhaus and Dada movements at a young age, several of his shows (such as Mutantès) give the impression of being performance art. Lapointe has lamented the indifferent attitude toward contemporary art expressed in modern society and education.

Discography

Studio albums

Remix albums

Live albums

Songs / Videos

• 2004: "Le Columbarium"
• 2005: "Tel un seul homme"
• 2006: "Deux par deux rassemblés"
• 2007: "Qu'en est-il de la chance?"
• 2009: "Je reviendrai"
• 2009: "Au bar des suicidés"
• 2013: "La Sexualité" (with Random Recipe)
• 2013: "Nos Joies Répétitives"
• 2017: "Sais tu vraiment qui tu es"

Collaborations

This section needs expansion with: more collaborations. You can help by adding to it. (June 2014)

• 2004: Various artists, Un dimanche à Kyoto, songs, tales and nursery rhymes by Gilles Vigneault: La Petite Adèle, La Petite Annette, C'est le vieux Pipo, Comptine en mode zen (with Ariane Moffatt, Garou, Luce Dufault, Luc De Larochellière, Martin Léon and Jessica Vigneault)
• 2005: Various artists, Aujourd'hui encore... Hommage à Charles Aznavour, Les plaisirs démodés (avec le Consort contemporain de Québec)
• 2006: Malajube, Trompe-l'oeil vocals on Montréal-40°
• 2006: Various artists, Salut Joe! Hommage à Joe Dassin, Les yeux d'Émilie
• 2007: Plaza Musique, L'amour et l'Occident, vocals on La ville aux deux soleils
• 2010: Young Artists for Haiti, K'naan's Wavin' Flag

References

1. Passelègue, Valérie (11 September 2006). "Pierre Lapointe. Sortie française de La Forêt des mal-aimés". RFI Musique. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
2. ^ "Pierre Lapointe, le favori de Montréal". Télérama. 23 September 2014. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
3. "Cinq raisons de tomber en amour pour Pierre Lapointe". 20 Minutes (France) (in French). 5 October 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
4. "Music-Story – Pierre Lapointe. Biographie". Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
5. ^ Frey, Christopher (11 July 2006). "Pierre the Who?". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
6. "Pierre Lapointe – "La création est ma vie"". Canoë. 4 April 2009. Archived from the original on 20 April 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
7. ^ Gomez, François-Xavier (9 February 2015). "Pierre Lapointe. Funambule". Libération Next. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
8. "Québec Info Musique | Pierre Lapointe". www.qim.com. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
9. "Pierre Lapointe". Canadian Blast. Canadian Independent Music Association. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
10. "Pierre Lapointe". MusiMax. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
11. "Pierre Lapointe". Québec Info Musique. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
12. "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
13. "Les 'Guy Bel'". Festival Pully Lavaux à l'heure du Québec. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
14. "Prix Félix-Leclerc". FrancoFolies de Montréal. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
15. "La nouvelle vague". CBC/Radio-Canada. 22 March 2005. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
16. Bernard, Nicolas. "Les coups de coeur Charles Cros Chanson 2005" (PDF). Charles Cros. Académie Charles Cros – L'abbaye. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
17. "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2005 – Nommés et gagnants". ADISQ. Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
18. Bernard, Nicolas (24 November 2005). "Grands Prix 2005 – 58ème Palmarès" (PDF). Charles Cros. Académie Charles Cros – L'abbaye. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
19. "La Forêt des Mal-Aimés". Pierre Lapointe. Archived from the original on 25 April 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
20. "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
21. "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2006 – Nommés et gagnants". ADISQ. Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
22. "Archives Gala – Gala de l'ADISQ – 2007 – Nommés et gagnants". ADISQ. Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
23. acoustic (4 November 2014). "Pierre Lapointe et Brigitte Fontaine 'La symphonie pastorale' – Acoustic/TV5MONDE". Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2015 – via YouTube.
24. Andrieu, Pierre (20 April 2007). "Critique de concert Shannon Wright + Brigitte Fontaine + Pierre Lapointe + Motel Martel et Seb Martel (Printemps de Bourges 2007)". Concert And Co. Neolab Production. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
25. "La forêt des mal-aimés enchante : Pierre Lapointe reçoit le prix Rapsat-Lelièvre 2007". Culture et communications Québec. Gouvernement du Québec. 26 April 2007. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
26. "Pierre Lapointe, prix Rapsat-Lelièvre 2007". CBC/Radio-Canada. 23 July 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
27. "Biographie". Pierre Lapointe. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
28. "Les chansons essentielles de Pierre Lapointe en version symphonique sur CD". Audiogram. 26 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
29. "Programme de l'édition 2008". FrancoFolies de Montréal. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
30. "FrancoFolies Archives – Mutantès, de Pierre Lapointe". FrancoFolies de Montréal. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
31. Cormier, Sylvain (4 April 2009). "Pierre Lapointe, de Mutantès à Sentiments humains". Le Devoir. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
32. "Pierre Lapointe". FrancoFolies de Montréal. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
33. "Pierre Lapointe seul au piano". Audiogram. 8 February 2011. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
34. "Punkt – Vinyle transparent". Audiogram. 26 February 2013. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
35. Chantal-Boivin, Catherine (3 December 2013). "Pierre Lapointe surprend avec LES CALLAS". Canoë. Corporation Sun Media.
36. Hudson, Alex (13 June 2013). "Polaris Music Prize Unveils 2013 Long List". Exclaim!. Exclaim! Media Inc. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
37. "Pierre Lapointe aux Francofolies 2014". Culturebox. France Télévisions. 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
38. "Les Petits Morts de 08H52". France Inter. Radio France. 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015.
39. Dana, Jean-Yves (17 October 2014). "Pierre Lapointe, un Québécois à Paris". La Croix. Bayard Presse. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
40. Boileau, Fabien (24 September 2014). "Un nouvel album parisien pour Pierre Lapointe". Canoë. Corporation Sun Media.
41. "PARIS TRISTESSE - 10 février 2015". Pierre Lapointe. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
42. Chabot-Johnson, Marie (30 July 2014). "Pierre Lapointe – Un nouveau coach à La Voix". Journal de Montréal. Sun Media Corporation. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
43. Cindy Caron, "Alanis Morissette, Bryan Adams, Daniel Lavoie au Panthéon des auteurs et compositeurs canadiens". L'Express, 27 September 2022.
44. ^ Strouk, Cécile (6 June 2011). "Pierre Lapointe : "Je fais de la chanson surréaliste"". Le Figaro. Société du Figaro. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
45. ^ Hache, Victor (17 January 2014). "Pierre Lapointe : "La chanson francophone tourne en rond"". L'Humanité. Société nouvelle du journal L'Humanité. Archived from the original on 1 June 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
46. ^ Passelègue, Valérie (11 September 2006). "Pierre Lapointe". RFI Musique. France Médias Monde. Archived from the original on 26 October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
47. "Quelques « faits divers » sur la carrière de Pierre Lapointe". Ici Radio-Canada, 21 November 2020.
48. Nolin, Stéphanie (18 June 2020). "Pierre Lapointe confie avoir été victime d'homophobie récemment". Showbizz.net (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2021.
49. Paul, Nathalie (30 January 2014). "Pierre Lapointe: concert mythique à l'Olympia avec Matthieu Chedid en special guest". Concertlive. Concert Live publishing. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
50. ^ Blais, Marie-Christine (1 August 2008). "Mutantès de Pierre Lapointe: le sorcier bien-aimé". La Presse. GeSCA Limitée. Archived from the original on 19 October 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
51. ^ "Pierre Lapointe". Apathy is Boring. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
52. ^ "Pierre Lapointe : "La chanson francophone tourne en rond"". L'Humanité (in French). 16 January 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
53. Clément, Éric (25 November 2010). "Conte crépusculaire : performance éphémère de Pierre Lapointe et David Altmejd". La Presse. GeSCA Limitée. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
54. sa (7 June 2017). "Pierre Lapointe". Place des Arts (in French). Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
55. ^ "Pierre Lapointe Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
    • Chansons hivernales: "Billboard Canadian Albums Chart: Week of December 5, 2020". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
56. "Lescharts.com Pierre Lapointe discography in French Albums chart". Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
57. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 41, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
58. "On The Charts: October 15, 2017". Billboard. 15 October 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
59. "Patrick Watson Debuts At 2 As Post Malone Stays No. 1 In 6th Week". FYIMusicNews. 27 October 2019. Archived from the original on 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
60. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 43, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 29 October 2019.

External links

• Pierre Lapointe (official website)

• 1981 births
• Living people
• Audiogram (label) artists
• Canadian pop singers
• Singers from Quebec
• People from Alma, Quebec
• French-language singers of Canada
• 21st-century Canadian male singers
• 21st-century Canadian singers
• Félix Award winners
• Canadian LGBTQ singers
• Canadian gay musicians
• 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people