“Might as well tell you that the second verse, I finished it two days ago,” Vitaa told Léa when she revealed to her Strongersong written and composed with Renaud Rebillaud for the finalist of the star Academy. “We’re going to win Vitaa millions, don’t worry,” joked the candidate to her comrades once she returned to the castle. Since then, the candidate has made this title resonate – which, it must be admitted, is irritating as it remains in the head – in the walls of the castle.
The show has not yet named its winner, and the four finalists each have their original song. We also know that the winner of the season will interpret his title at the end of the final. Unpublished for the residents of the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys, this piece was “offered” by a popular artist.
With the exception of season 7 where the finalists, Claire-Marie and Quentin, had interpreted an original title during the final on TF1, the star academicians had never presented an unpublished song before the end of the adventure… How did the production come up with this idea and how was the work of the authors organized? Two days before the final premium of the season, the production of the star Academy respond exclusively to 20 minutes.
“Valuing uniqueness”
The ambition to offer star academicians a song written especially for them has germinated “since the return of the program”, assures Endemol, the production company to which we owe the comeback of the program which revealed Jenifer in 2001. C t is Saïd Boussif, the artist manager who helps the production on the show – seen in Dammarie-les-Lys during a masterclass alongside Camélia Jordana – who came up with the idea.
This project materialized the day after the semi-final with the visit of Hoshi, Camélia Jordana, Vitaa and Slimane. Each artist presented a star academician with a title written for them. It is therefore respectively on Hello, I’ll introduce myseld, From up there, Stronger and Not even hurt that the young artists defended themselves against the teachers during the last evaluations of the season broadcast in the daily newspaper this Wednesday, November 23.
“We thought it was important to value the singularity of the students for their last evaluations by giving them the opportunity to express themselves on an original song and no longer a cover”, we still justify on the production side. .
Six songs prepared before the final
To go fishing for songs, Sony Music – the record company that will produce the winner’s album – and Saïd Boussif have reached out to their respective networks. A vast call for compositions was organized on the sly for the students of the program. No specific instructions were communicated to the authors. “Many artists have proposed songs”, reveals the production.
“I think you have already noted on the bonuses that the artists were still really sensitive to your career, your story. […] Between that and writing a song, the margin is not necessarily huge”, explained the director Michaël Goldman to the young singers before the meeting with the authors of their songs. Each artist wrote “for the student of his choice, the one who touched him the most”, specifies Endemol.
“The artists who have submitted songs follow the program. They became attached to the students and therefore easily managed to identify their personality and their musical universe,” adds the production company. Unveiled the day after the semi-final, the exclusive titles were already ready before knowing the names of the four finalists. So songs were also ready for Tiana and Chris, yet eliminated at the gates of the final stage of the show. The production did not wish to reveal whether these songs would still be offered to the two unfortunate semi-finalists.
“From student to artist”
Endemol recalls that “the purpose of star Academy is to give birth to artists”. The titles offered to the four finalists are a way for the production “to support this transition from student to artist for the last week of their training”.
To surf on this transition but also on the success of the show, the production is already working on the preparations for a documentary entitled From Castle to Victory. It will follow the winner’s first steps outside the castle. “You are going to discover how the winner will enter their new life: television set, radio, contract signing, showcase and recording of a title, the film will follow the first moments of a student. become an artist”, presents TF1 in a press release.