It was a twist of fate that brought Apolline, alias Lady Attila, to the stage of France has an unbelievable talent. Several, even. A little over a year ago, this young woman, actress and singer, had never dared to try air guitar. And yet, it is with a striking performance as a guitarist without an instrument that this 30-year-old from Nîmes will electrify, this Tuesday evening, the M6 telecrochet set.
It was by embarking on writing a screenplay that Apolline became interested in this unique discipline. “In this story, a young woman takes an air guitar competition,” the artist confides to 20 minutes. With friends, I had already had fun playing air guitar at parties, like everyone else, but no more. I told myself I needed to know how it was going, really. » La Gardoise was then invited, in June 2022, to a qualifying air guitar competition for the French Championships, in La Bruyère, a small village in the north of the department. “I just went there to watch… And finally, I signed up! », she smiles. Without knowing that this madness would propel her onto a television set, a little over a year later.
His first performance was “a real burst of joy”
That day, “it was incredible,” remembers Apolline. It was absolutely not planned, I had not prepared anything. It was total improvisation. ” On American Idiot, from Greenday, a title which marked her adolescence, the young woman amazed the spectators. “It was a real burst of joy! “, she confides. But the competition was tough that day, and Apolline was not selected. This was without counting on a new twist of fate: a champion withdrew, and it was the Gardoise who was called to replace him at short notice! “And here I am off to the French Championships! », she laughs.
But this time, Apolline refined her performance. She made herself a green and purple costume, and invented a character, Lady Attila. And above all, she trained, before taking charge of Gers, in August 2022, to, perhaps, get a ticket for the World Cup. “And my first visit went very, very badly, it was horror! “, she remembers. “I was very stressed, and I don’t know what happened to me, I fell to the ground! » Despite this memorable fall, Lady Attila, selected by the jury, flew through the final stages. And, incredible (but true), she won the title of French Air Guitar Champion hands down. ” I was not excpecting that at all ! », she is still surprised. “At the time, it had only been two months since I tried air guitar! »
Powered to the Air Guitar World Championships in Finland
She qualified for the World Cup, which took place a few weeks later in Oulu, Finland, the capital of air guitar. “It was great!” We find ourselves propelled onto a huge stage, in the middle of the city, with 3,000 spectators and a giant screen which projects our performance live! », she smiles. And facing the best on the planet, some of whom have been strumming imaginary guitars for years, the Gardoise snatched a breathtaking third place. Without ever, or almost, having touched a real guitar.
Because to be a hit at air guitar, you don’t have to be Jimi Hendrix. “I know music, I sing, I play a little piano, and the ukulele, quickly,” smiles Apolline. But that’s all. Among the people who play air guitar, there are some who play the guitar, but also many, many who are absolutely not musicians. »
“When you play air guitar, you can’t hold a gun”
So of course, when we prepare for an air guitar competition, we learn about how to place our fingers, we watch our friends play the electric guitar. Because the jury is always very attentive to the fact that the technique fits, or not, with reality. “To summarize, it’s ‘Can we see the guitar?’” explains Apolline. “If certain notes in the song are high, for example, we are careful to respect as much as possible what a guitarist would do on a real guitar. That’s what makes the difference”
But these are not the only criteria that count in air guitar. There is, also, “airness”. The attitude, the face, the way of occupying the stage, the character… “It’s the way in which we see the rockstar or not,” smiles the artist from Nîmes. But air guitar is not wind, assures Lady Attila. “The motto of air guitar, which I find very beautiful, is “Make air, not war” [“Faites de l’air, pas la guerre”], she confides. When you play air guitar, you can’t hold a gun. It is a message of peace, joy, love. »