| Natasha St-Pier | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Natasha St-Pier |
| Birth Date: | 1981 2, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Origin: | Saint-Hilaire, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Genre: | Pop, French pop, pop/rock, adult contemporary, dance |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Label: | Guy Cloutier Communications, Sony Music France |
| Years Active: | 1996–present |
Natasha St-Pier (born 10 February 1981) is a Canadian singer and songwriter of Acadian origin. She has spent most of her career in France, and represented France in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Je n'ai que mon âme" (English translation: "I have only my soul").
She began her professional career at a young age in Canada, bringing out her first single at the age of 12, followed by her first album (Émergence) in 1996, at the age of 15. Her theatrical experience includes roles in the musicals Notre-Dame de Paris (in Canada and the U.K) and Don Juan (Canada, 2012).
St-Pier has had considerable commercial success in francophone countries, including France, Canada, Belgium and Switzerland. She has also become popular in a number of other countries, including Spain, Poland, Russia, Turkey and Japan. Her Eurovision song ("Je n'ai que mon âme") reached second position on the charts in France and Belgium when released as a single in 2001. In the following year, her single "Tu trouveras" ('You will find') reached position no. 3 in France and Belgium, and position no. 1 in Quebec. In 2006, her single "Un ange frappe à ma porte" ('An angel is knocking at my door') reached no. 1 in Belgium and no. 2 in France. Her albums De l'amour le mieux (2002) and Longueur d'ondes (2006) also reached places 3 and 1 respectively in French album sales.
In interviews, Natasha St-Pier has spoken about the importance of her Catholic faith. She recorded most of the tracks of the concept album Thérèse – Vivre d'amour (2013), based on the poetry of St Thérèse of Lisieux. She herself released a further album based on St Thérèse´s poetry: Thérèse de Lisieux – Aimer c'est tout donner (2018), as well as an album of personal devotional compositions: Croire (2020). St-Pier also released the album Jeanne (2022), focused on St Joan of Arc.
St-Pier has appeared as a guest in a number of TV series. She was coach in the second and third season of The Voice Belgique (The Voice of Belgium). In 2024, she and her dancing partner were winners in the French TV series Danse avec les stars season 13.
Natasha St-Pier was born 10 February 1981 at Bathurst, New Brunswick (Canada). Together with her brother Jonathan, she grew up in Saint-Hilaire, New Brunswick, a small village in the valley of the Saint John River near Edmundston. Both of her parents are ethnically Acadian. Her father, Mario Saint-Pierre, was a primary school teacher who became teacher in a prison for minors and later director of the prison. Later he worked in the Ministry of Justice and in public security. Her mother, Rose-Marie Bard was a nurse, before becoming director of a retirement home.[1] In April 2013, Natasha St-Pier stated during a broadcast of the radio programme Faites entrer l'invité (presented by Michel Drucker) that she is a cousin four times removed of Pope Pius X.[2]
At the age of 8 years, St-Pier took the stage for the first time, and began studying classical dance, modern jazz, piano and song. In 1992, she was spotted by Alain Morisod and invited to participate in the Sweet People Show, a program for young talents produced by a local television station in Quebec. The following year, at the age of 12, she became the youngest finalist in the singing competition Le pouvoir de la chanson. She was then invited by producers Regean and Michela Lacroix to sign her first recording contract with their Mi Re La label. In July 1995, she recorded her first single: "Le parcours du cœur", written to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Maurice Tanguay Foundation for underprivileged children.[3] Subsequently, she concentrated her artistic efforts on singing.
In August 1996, she released her debut studio album in Canada, entitled Émergence, which she worked on with Steve Barakatt. She promoted the album with singles: “Il ne sait pas” and "Sans le savoir". After the release of the album, she broke her contract with her agents, which she explained by divergent perceptions of further artistic development. After parting company, she interrupted her career for less than three years. Negotiations between the two sides' lawyers over the broken contract lasted more than two years. Producer Guy Cloutier then decided to help St-Pier and offered her a partnership, in which he invested about one million Canadian dollars in the further development of her career.
In the late 1990s, during a tour in Quebec, she was offered the opportunity to replace Julie Zenatti in the role of Fleur-de-lys for the Canadian French-language production of Notre-Dame de Paris (directed by Luc Plamondon). In the same year, she completed her baccalaureate, majoring in the sciences since she wished to become a biologist.[4] [5] Thanks to her performance in the Canadian production, she was cast in the London production of the musical, where she sang the same role in English, starring alongside Tina Arena. In 2000, she recorded the song “My Heart If You Will Swear”, which was included in an album of songs from the show.[6]
Natasha St-Pier´s second album À chacun son histoire was initially released only in Canada (11 April 2000). The same year, she brought out three singles from the album (the title track, as well as "Et la fille danse" and "Tu m’envoles"). In the same year, she appeared as supporting act for the Québecois singer Garou at Olympia (Paris).[4] Together with Florent Pagny, she recorded a cover version of the Jean-Jacques Goldman song "Là-bas"; the track appeared in Pagny's 2001 album 2 and later in St-Pier's own album De l'amour le mieux (2002).[7]
St-Pier was chosen by the media network France 3 to represent France in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest in Copenhagen, singing the power ballad "Je n'ai que mon âme". Music and lyrics for the song were written by Robert Goldman (as "Jill Kapler"), the brother of Jean-Jacques Goldman. St-Pier released the song as a single (30 April 2001) and added it to the European recording of the album À chacun son histoire (released 3 April 2001).
Several days before the Eurovision Song Contest, St-Pier revealed in a media interview that she was undecided as to whether to use English or not in her performance of the song. (The single and video clip had been recorded only in French.) On 12 May 2001, she performed the song under its French title, but sang the final verse in English.[8] She was given 12 points (the maximum score) by Bosnia & Herzegovina, Portugal and Russia, and gained fourth place overall among the 23 participants.[8] Her performance was the seventh time a French contestant had gained 4th place since the beginning of the competition, and was not again equalled until the second place gained by Barbara Pravi in 2021. After participating in the contest, she became the winner of several music industry awards in Canada and France, and toured internationally.
The single version of "Je n'ai que mon âme" reached no. 2 on the charts in France and Belgium. St-Pier subsequently released an English version of the song: "All I Have Is My Soul". The album À chacun son histoire gained Gold certification in France.[9]
In 2002, her collaboration with Pascal Obispo on the album De l'amour le mieux propelled Natasha St-Pier to her greatest commercial success. The album was certified as double platinum status in France,[10] and gold in Canada, Belgium and Switzerland.[11] [12] [13] Three tracks from the album were released as singles ("Tu trouveras", "Nos rendez-vous" and "Alors on se raccroche".) All three singles reached the top 100 singles, and "Tu trouveras" was certified platinum in France and Belgium and no. 1 in Quebec.[14] [15]
The album was released in slightly different versions in France, Canada, Japan and Spain. The Spanish version featured three tracks re-recorded in Spanish, including "Encontrarás" ("Tu trouveras"), with Miguel Bosé singing the male vocal part taken by Pascal Obispo in the French original.[16] When released as a single on 5 October 2003, "Encontrarás" peaked at no. 2 on the Spanish charts and remained in the charts for 15 weeks. As a result, she was invited to perform at the Premios Ondas gala the following year. St-Pier also appeared in a duo with Johnny Hallyday at concerts to celebrate his 60th birthday at the Parc des Princes in Paris (10 and 11 June 2003). The two performed his song J'oublierai ton nom.[17] [18] [19] In 2004, St-Pier released the album L'Instant d'après, which reached platinum status in France.[20] She promoted the album with the singles "Tant que c'est toi", "Quand on cherche l' amour", "Je te souhaite" and "Mourir demain" (recorded with Pascal Obispo); the latter sold 182,000 copies in France and was ranked #24 in the European charts. In the same year, Sony Music France released a Natasha St-Pier DVD, Un Instant Avec Natasha St-Pier, that included a video tour diary, a personal video dictionary, and seven music videos.[21] At the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004, she released two double-disc compilation albums featuring her most popular songs,[22] [23] as well as a debut concert release entitled Un instant avec Natasha St Pier.[24]
At the beginning of January 2006, St-Pier released a studio album entitled Longueur d'ondes,[25] including the singles "Un ange frappe à ma porte", "Ce silence" and "Tant que j'existerai". The latter track was used as the theme song in French for the Canadian children's animation film "Franklin et le Trésor du lac".[26] Longueur d'ondes debuted at the top of the list of most-sold albums in France and reached, among others, the second place of the charts in Belgium. The album was certified Gold for its national sales of over 160,000 copies sold.[27] [28]
On 14 March 2006, St-Pier was a member of the jury to choose the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The jury was presided over by Charles Aznavour; other members were Lara Fabian and the Canadian singer Gage. The event, which was presented by Michel Drucker and Claudy Siar, was broadcast live in prime-time on France 3 under the title Eurovision 2006, et si c'était vous?. In the same year, St-Pier flew to Poland at the invitation of the weekly magazine Gala and played a mini-concert during the award ceremony for the "Róże Gali" (Polish: "Gala's Roses") statuettes. During much of 2006, St-Pier was on tour promoting Longueur d'ondes, including five days at the Olympia in Paris, one of France's largest concert venues. She extended her run at the Olympia with a further three dates in January 2007.
In November 2008, she released an album simply titled Natasha St-Pier.[29] Earlier reports had suggested the album would be called "Embrasse-moi", from the title of the first single.[30]
In November 2009, she released her seventh album, Tu Trouveras: 10 Ans De Succès, which is largely a "Best of" compilation of previously recorded songs, but also included the new single "L'instant T". By 2010, St-Pier had released 7 albums, topped the French album and singles charts, and made it to the top 10 of the Eurochart Hot 100. St Pier has become popular in francophone Europe, and in countries such as Poland and Russia.[31]
During 2010 St-Pier toured Canada, Belgium and France. In that year, she was also invited to sing the song "Hero" at a French air base during a France 2 presentation by Michel Drucker to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the French air force.[32]
In 2012, she sang the role of Elvira in the musical Don Juan, performed in Montreal.[33] Her interpretation of the role was praised by the critic Alexandre Vigneault, who described her as having "the richest voice in the cast".[34] The same year, Natasha St-Pier opened the 20th Salon du Chocolat at Paris, wearing a dress made of chocolate in the style of a geisha (ja|芸者).[35]
In 2013, Natasha St-Pier was invited to be one of the singers on the concept album Thérèse – Vivre d'amour. Roberto Ciurleo conceived the idea of setting to music the devotional poetry of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and commissioned French musician Grégoire as composer. Although the album features the voices of several artists, St-Pier appears in nine of the twelve tracks. The duet "Vivre d'amour", which she recorded with Anggun, was released as a single. The album reached position two in France and four in Belgium, and was certified in France as Platinum.[36] .
In interviews, St-Pier talked about how encountering the poetry of St Thérèse had challenged her to be more aware of the spiritual dimension in daily life: "I am not a saint... (Pope) John Paul II has said that it is more difficult to do small acts in daily life than the large exceptional acts. I think that, in that, she is a model."[37] [38] [39] .
On 7 December 2013, St-Pier and Anggun were invited to sing their duet "Vivre d'amour" at the 21st annual Vatican Christmas concert (Concerto di Natale XXI edizione) in Auditorium della Conciliazione, Rome. The concert was performed in the presence of Pope Francis, who told them that he greatly enjoyed the album.[40]
On 31 March 2015, St-Pier sang the song “Je n'ai que mon âme” during the Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits anniversary concert prepared by the BBC to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest.[41] In October 2015 St-Pier, signed to the Smart label, released the album Mon Acadie, a collection of covers of traditional folk songs.
On 9 August 2018, St-Pier gave a concert ("Confidences pour un piano") at Courseulles-sur-Mer in Normandy, as part of a week-long festival of Acadian culture ("La semaine Acadienne").[42]
She released the album Croire ("Believe") in 2020, which was produced by Thomas Pouzin from the group Glorious. Unlike the previous albums based on the poetry of St Thérèse, the texts from this album were written by St-Pier and Pouzin. She wrote three of the song texts ("Par amour" and "Peu m’importe"), which were set to music by Vincent Bidal (jazz pianist, composer and producer). In interview, she said: "This time I wanted to express what I feel without using Thérèse's words. Using my own words can help people know where I am in my spiritual journey. Especially since, for the first time, three of the album's texts are entirely my own work. I wanted to address Mary a little more, as Thérèse did, and speak directly to the public."[43]
St-Pier has recorded duets (and trios) with Pascal Obispo, Florent Pagny, Mickaël Miro, Anggun, Élisa Tovati, Sonia Lacen, Grégory Turpin, Les Stentors, Les Petits Chanteurs à la Croix de Bois, Jean-Michel Di Falco, Roch Voisine, Tony Carreira, Michel Fugain, Grégoire, Florent Mothe, Hélène Segara, Vincent Niclo, Anne Sila and Glorious, among others. She has also appeared in the troupe of Les Enfoirés.
In 2024, St-Pier announced a new tour between November 2025 and January 2026 under the title "Mon histoire d'amour c'est vous", with concerts in France featuring her great hits and giving homage to composers and singers who have inspired her.[44] She also continued her programme of performances in Catholic churches, based on the albums Jeanne and Thérèse.[45]
From 2011, Natasha St-Pier began making appearances as a TV presenter. On 2 March 2011, she co-hosted a primetime TV special commemorating twenty years since the death of Serge Gainsbourg. The event, broadcast simultaneously on pay TV channels AB1 and Club RTL, was called "Gainsbourg, 20 ans déjà"; her co-host was French TV presenter Jacky. Other singers performing on the evening included Julie Zenatti, Emmanuelle Seigner, Arielle Dombasle, Stanislas, Sylvie Vartan, Sanseverino and Micky Green.[46] In 2012, she presented a tribute to Céline Dion called "We Love Céline" on NRJ 12 with Matthieu Delormeau.[47]
Between September 2013 and June 2014, Natasha presented the weekly television show "Les chansons d'abord" (Songs First) on France 3.[48] On 26 January 2014, she presented on the show the three finalists to be the French entry in Eurovision Song Contest 2014. on 2 March 2014, she announced on the broadcast that Twin Twin had been chosen to represent France in the contest. During the broadcast of Eurovision 2014, she was one of the commentators for French television.[48]
In 2013 and 2014, she was also one of the four coaches in the Belgian French-language version of the syndicated TV program The Voice (The Voice Belgique).[49] .
Beginning 2001-2004, the French media began referring to St-Pier as one of the grandes voix québécoises (big Quebecois voices) at the centre of contemporary trends in popular music. Other singers grouped in this category included Isabelle Boulay, Céline Dion, Lara Fabian, Garou, Daniel Lavoie, Lynda Lemay, Bruno Pelletier and Roch Voisine. However, the musicologist Catherine Rudent concludes that only Boulay, Dion and Fabian truly resemble St-Pier in répertoire, voice and techniques of interpretation. These singers have in common a style inherited from soul music, in which expressive vocality takes priority over the text, making full use of registers of the chest and head, vocal ornamentation and improvisation.[50]
On 9 March 2012, she married her boyfriend of a year and a half, Gregory Quillacq, a member of the aquatic and subaquatic fire brigade of Paris). They married at a private ceremony in Lit-et-Mixe.[51] St-Pier has a son named Bixente Maxime (born 13 November 2015), who underwent a successful operation to correct a congenital heart malformation.[52] She is a dietitian, vegetarian[53] and a Catholic. She is also a yoga teacher[54] and an occasional scuba diver. In 2021 she announced she and her husband were separated.
Studio albums
| Year | Album | Charts | Certification | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (WAL) [55] | CAN (QC) | ESP [56] | FRA [57] | POL | SWI | TUR | ||||
| 1996 | Émergence | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000 | À chacun son histoire | 23 | — | — | 37 | — | — | — | Gold (FRA) | |
| 2002 | De l'amour le mieux | 3 | — | — | 3 | 8[58] | 12 | — | 2 x Platinum (FRA); Gold (BEL, CAN, SWI) | |
| 2003 | Encontrarás | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| L'instant d'après | 6 | — | — | 3 | 17[59] | 14 | — | Platinum (FRA); Gold (BEL) | ||
| 2006 | Longueur d’ondes | 2 | — | — | 1 | 29[60] | 11 | — | Gold (FRA) | |
| 2008 | Natasha St-Pier | 16 | — | — | 16 | — | 63 | — | ||
| 2012 | Bonne nouvelle | 11 | — | — | 11 | — | 80 | — | ||
| 2013 | Thérèse – Vivre d'amour | 4 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | Platinum (FRA) | |
| 2015 | Mon Acadie | 18 | 8 | — | 16 | — | 62 | — | ||
| 2017 | L'alphabet des animaux | 68 | — | — | 44 | — | — | — | ||
| 2018 | Thérèse de Lisieux – Aimer c'est tout donner | 55 | — | — | 23 | — | 40 | — | Gold (FRA) [61] | |
| 2020 | Croire | 29 | — | — | 31 | — | — | — | ||
| 2022 | Jeanne | 113 | — | — | 52 | — | — | — | ||
| 2023 | Christmas Album | 20 | — | — | 68 | — | — | — | ||
Rereleases / Compilations
| Year | Album | Charts | Certification | Note | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (WA) | CAN (QC) | FRA | SWI | |||||
| 2001 | Je n'ai que mon âme | — | — | — | — | Gold (CAN) | Compilation – Best of | |
| 2003 | À chacun son histoire / L'instant d'après | — | — | 102 | — | — | Double CD rerelease | |
| 2004 | À chacun son histoire / De l'amour le mieux | 23 | — | 37 | — | — | Double CD rerelease | |
| 2009 | Tu trouveras... 10 ans de succès | — | — | — | — | — | Compilation – Best of | |
| 2010 | Natasha St-Pier / De l'amour le mieux | — | — | 117 | — | — | Double CD rerelease | |
| 2013 | La sélection - Best Of 3CD | — | — | — | — | — | Compilation – Best of | |
| 2021 | Croire + Aimer c'est tout donner - Thérèse de Lisieux | — | — | — | — | — | Double CD rerelease | |
| 2021 | Je n'ai que mon âme | — | — | — | — | — | Compilation – Best of | |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (Wa) | CAN (QC) [62] | ESP [63] | FRA | POL | SWI | TUR | |||
| 1993 | "Le parcours du cœur" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Émergence |
| 1996 | "Il ne sait pas" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Sans le savoir" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997 | "Portés par la vague" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2000 | "À chacun son histoire" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | À chacun son histoire |
| "Et la fille danse" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Tu m’envoles" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001 | "Je n'ai que mon âme" | 2 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | "Tu trouveras" (with Pascal Obispo) | 3 | 1 | — | 3 | 29[64] | 20 | — | De l'amour le mieux |
| 2003 | "Nos rendez-vous" | 15 | — | — | 15 | 5[65] | 45 | — | |
| "Alors on se raccroche" | — | — | — | 47 | — | 72 | — | ||
| "Toi qui manques à mon vie" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Encontrarás" (with Miguel Bosé) | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | Encontrarás | |
| "Por probarlo todo (No se pierde nada)" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Tant que c´est toi" | 5 | — | — | 11 | 6[66] | 31 | — | L'instant d'après | |
| 2004 | "Quand on cherche l' amour" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Mourir demain" (with Pascal Obispo) | 4 | — | — | 7 | — | 18 | — | ||
| "Je te souhaite" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Ce silence" (with Frédéric Chateau) | 25 | — | — | 28 | — | — | — | Longueur d'ondes |
| 2006 | "Un ange frappe à ma porte" | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | 19 | — | |
| "Tant que j'existerai" | 23 | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | ||
| 2008 | "Embrasse-moi" | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | Natasha St-Pier |
| "1, 2, 3" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 90 | ||
| 2009 | "L'instant T" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 73 | Tu trouveras... 10 ans de succès |
| 2012 | "Bonne nouvelle" | — | — | — | 194 | — | — | — | Bonne nouvelle |
| "Juste Comme Ça" (with Mickaël Miro) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013 | "Vivre d'amour" (with Anggun) | 63 | — | — | 86 | — | — | — | Thérèse: Vivre d'amour |
| 2015 | "Cap enragé" (with Roch Voisine) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Mon Acadie |
| "Tous les Acadiens" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "Mon pays bleu" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | "Le cantique des cantiques" (with Glorious) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Thérèse de Lisieux – Aimer c'est tout donner |
| "Aimer c'est tout donner" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020 | "Viens sois ma lumière" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Croire |
| 2022 | "Jeanne" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Jeanne |
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL (Wa) | FRA | SWI | QUE | |||
| 2007 | "Pour que tu sois libre (La rose Marie Claire)" (Leslie / Anggun / Jennifer McCray / Natasha St Pier / Elisa Tovati / Julie Zenatti) | — | 21 | — | — | |
| 2013 | "Donne-moi le temps" (Segara / St Pier / Keim / Alizée / L'Orchestre Ostinato) | 45 | 99 | — | — | |
| 2014 | "Laissez-nous chanter" (live) (Goldman / Fiori / Clerc / Youn / Lorie / Laroque / Foly / Tal / Ségara / St-Pier / Nolwenn Leroy / Zazie) | — | 196 | — | — | |