Johnny Depp Rocks: Vanessa Paradis

(updated 11/20/08)

At age 8, Vanessa Paradis made her European television debut, appearing as a contestant on a talent show. It was apparent even then that she had a gift for singing. A few years later, at the tender age of 14, she had her first huge hit single. That was Joe Le Taxi, which was released on April 27, 1987 and spent 11 weeks at the top of the French chart, keeping Madonna out of the number one spot there. It was also a hit on the UK chart.
From the beginning, Vanessa was determined to do things her own way, by choosing unusual and provocative material when possible. The title track of her 1988 debut album, M&J, was about the rumored love affair between Marilyn Monroe and JFK. Her 1990 album, Variations sur le même t'aime, was written by the legendary French icon, Serge Gainsbourg. Her 1993 self-titled album was produced and largely written by former love Lenny Kravitz, and a live album, recorded in Paris in April of 1993, followed a year later.
By this time, Vanessa was also establishing a career as an actress and doing some modelling, and she spent the next several years in the 90's pursuing those avenues. Then, she and Johnny Depp fell in love in 1998, and the couple had a daughter, Lily-Rose, in 1999. But by 2000, she completed her work on another studio album, Bliss, which was released late that year. Bliss marked the first time that Vanessa had a substantial input into the songwriting, arrangements and production of an album. Several of the songs relate her personal thoughts and feelings about Johnny and her new daughter, and both actually participate on the album (Johnny as a co-writer of two songs and guitarist on one song, and Lily-Rose doing "vocals" on two songs). In 2001, a live album, Au Zenith, was released, with performances from earlier that year.
After another break during which son Jack was born to Vanessa and Johnny in 2002, Vanessa was ready to resume both acting and singing careers. For her 2004 film, Atomik Circus, the soundtrack by The Little Rabbits featured Vanessa singing as her character, Concia, on 6 songs. In 2006, she participated in a soundtrack by singing 3 songs for a project called Le Soldat Rose (The Pink Soldier), which is described as a musical fairytale for children. Vanessa portrayed a rag doll called Made In Asia. She also participated in two live performances of Le Soldat Rose at Le Grand Rex in Paris on November 12, 2006. In addition, Vanessa will reportedly compose songs for an upcoming animated film called A Monster In Paris.
While Johnny was doing studio demos to assess whether he'd be able to sing the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street, Vanessa was there to offer support and advice. Johnny remembers, "When I was doing the demos in Los Angeles, I came home and played it for Vanessa. That was one of the more frightening moments. You go, I'm gonna fall flat on my face…They [Vanessa and the kids] said, 'Is that you?'" "Vanessa was very helpful, because she was the initial victim. Before I sent my first recordings to Tim, I brought them home to her and said, “If I’m going to be fully embarrassed, I may as well play it for you! So, I played it to her to see if I was doing the wrong thing. She was very supportive about it. She’s a very talented singer. She offered me all kinds of advice in terms of holding a note. More than anything, she gave me confidence. Oddly, she liked my voice. That was a miracle to me!"
Vanessa performed with M at a private benefit concert at the Olympia in Paris, on February 6, 2007, as reported at Vanessa Paradis In Translation. The songs performed were Vanessa's Pourtant, and M's Le radeau de l’amour and Mama Sam. The concert was organized to raise money for an African AIDS association called “Fonds Solidarité Sida Afrique.”
Vanessa's latest studio album, Divinidylle, was released on September 3, 2007, and it reached #1 on the French sales chart in its first week of release. It remained in the Top Ten for eleven weeks. The album contains 11 songs; Vanessa wrote or co-wrote 5 songs, and other composers include M, Thomas Fersen, Franck Monnet, Didier Golemanas, Brigitte Fontaine, Alain Chamfort and Albin de la Simone. See a rough English translation of a lesinrocks.com article about the album here. Jack Depp makes his recording debut on the song Jackadi, singing an intro of Popeye The Sailor Man, and Lily-Rose is credited with interior artwork. The album cover (below left) was created by Johnny (credited on the album as "JD"). It appears to be a modification of a portrait he did of Vanessa a few years ago (see the 2003 Annie Leibovitz photo from Vanity Fair, below right):

In a recent interview in The Independent (UK), Vanessa describes the portrait: "It's a serious look, yes. He painted it from a photograph. He put in some Klimt, something of a Russian icon, a biblical icon. It's not religious at all, it's just a bunch of things I love." Read the rest of the interview, in which Vanessa speaks about Divinidylle, her career as a whole, and a bit about her home life, here!

The album's first single, Divine Idylle, was released on June 7, 2007. Vanessa toured in support of Divinidylle from October through late December. At the first preview concert on October 16 in Noisiel, Jack called out "coucou, Maman!" (roughly, "peek-a-boo, Mom!") at one point during the show! Johnny and Lily-Rose were also present, as were Vanessa's parents and her sister Alysson. According to ChartsInFrance.net, the tour was the #9 French tour of 2007, earning nearly 1 million euros. The site also mentions that the album sold 350,000 copies. The Japanese version of the album was released on October 3, 2007 and contains 2 bonus tracks not found on the French release. They are I Wouldn't Dare, cowritten by Bill Carter and Ruth Ellsworth (see the Johnny Depp Rocks! page for Bill and Ruth here) and Emmenez-Moi. The album was also released in the United States (with no bonus tracks), on January 1, 2008. In 2008, Vanessa was nominated for 2 NRJ (French Music) Awards: French Album of the Year and French Song of the Year (Dès que j'te vois). She didn't win, but she attended and performed her nominated song. She also won 2 Les Victoires de la Musique awards on March 8, 2008: Female Group or Performer of the Year and Album of the Year. She performed 2 songs at this ceremony, including a tribute to French legend Henri Salvador. Vanessa also appeared at a number of music festivals in France, Belgium and Switzerland in the summer of 2008. There have also been several videos released from the album, including those for Divine Idylle, Dès que j'te vois, and most recently, L’incendie. L’incendie was directed by Johnny, and it is suspected that he appears in the video as a mysterious man wearing a hat. A Divinydylle Tour CD and DVD live set was released via download on September 8, 2008 and on CD, DVD and Blu-Ray on Sept. 15.
On December 15, 2007, Vanessa received the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister for Culture. The Order of Arts and Letters recognized her for her significant contributions to music and cinema, and the award is the equivalent of receiving a "knighthood;" an outstanding achievement, indeed! Attending the ceremony with Vanessa were Johnny, Lily-Rose, Jack, Vanessa's parents and sister Alysson. Thanks to Vanessa Paradis In Translation for the news.

Here are some great Vanessa Paradis links:

Some great performances and other live clips:

Scans from Bliss, Au Zenith, Divinidylle, and Divinidylle Tour (click to enlarge):

Johnny and Vanessa during the Divinidylle Tour, December 18, 2007

Some additional photos:

performing True Colors in 1990	1990 French OK! with both Vanessa and Johnny on cover	from the 2001 Au Zenith CD	Le Soldat Rose Nov. 12, 2006 (from Vanessa Paradis de A à Z)	AIDS benefit Feb. 6, 2007
in the studio for Divinidylle	Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres Dec. 15, 2007	Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres Dec. 15, 2007	NRJ Awards Jan. 26, 2008	Victoires de la Musique March 8, 2008

Vanessa Paradis Top 50 UK Hits (from IMDb)

Joe Le Taxi (#3, March 1988)
Be My Baby (#6, November 1992)
Sunday Mondays (#49, March 1993)
Just As Long As You Are There (#57, July 1993)

Vanessa Paradis Discography
Year Title

1987	Joe Le Taxi (first single; released April 27, 1987)
1988	M & J
1990	Variations sur le même t'aime
1993	Vanessa Paradis
1994	Vanessa Paradis Live (recorded April 1993)
2000	Bliss
2001	Au Zenith (live; recorded May 30, 2001)
2004	Atomik Circus (soundtrack; Vanessa sings on 6 songs)
2006	Le Soldat Rose (soundtrack; Vanessa sings on 3 songs)
2007	Divinidylle
2008	Divinidylle (US release)
2008	Divinidylle Tour (live)

Vanessa Paradis Compositions
Year Title {collaborator(s)}

1994	Bauernschach (TV) - IMDb credit
2000	When I Say {with M. Chedid}
2000	Que fait la vie? {with D. Golemanas}
2000	Les acrobates {with F. Monnet}
2000	La la la song {with G. Devreaux}
2000	L'air du temps {with M. Chedid}
2000	St Germain {with J. Depp}
2000	Firmaman
2000	La ballade de Lily Rose
2000	Bliss {with J. Depp}
2007	Les Revenants (The Ghosts){music}
2007	La Bataille (The Battle){music}
2007	La Mélodie (The Melody){music}
2007	Jackadi {music and lyrics}
2007	L’Incendie (The Fire){co-written}

Please

if you have any corrections or additions!