Ten years ago, on May 18, 2013, Yoann Fréget won “The Voice”. In front of nearly seven million viewers, this then 26-year-old Montpellier resident, inhabited by his songs, was crowned best talent of the second season of the show. Ten years after his victory, Yoann Fréget became Yoann FreeJay, and he is rare, very rare, in the media. But the limelight, under which he burned for many months after his consecration to “The Voice”, does not miss him. Not at all, even. Because Yoann FreeJay, even if he is not in “50 minutes Inside”, never stopped singing, in France, in the United States, in churches, in small, like large rooms. Ten years later, he answers the questions of 20 minutes.
How are you, ten years after “The Voice”?
Very very good !
Is your victory in the final still fresh in your memory?
Ah, that’s a good question… (He thinks) I have evolved so much since then that it seems very far away. But, at the same time, I feel so close to my child’s soul, and therefore to a young man’s soul, that it seems very close to me at the same time.
Do you still remember the sensations you felt when Nikos Aliagas announced your name? Was there adrenaline?
I remember it very well. But it wasn’t adrenaline! If you look at my reaction, you can see that I didn’t jump for joy at all. I felt gratitude, of course, but also a weight. A responsability. A certain seriousness. I am a very intuitive person, and I must have felt everything that this victory was going to entail. That’s why I didn’t jump all over the place! Looking back, I understand why.
And the trophy, do you still have it?
There is no trophy! They must have made one, then. It’s true that it’s missing in my library! But on my library, on the other hand, I have another trophy, which means a lot to me. That of The Sankofa Soul Contest, which I won, and which allowed me to go on stage for the first time in Paris. It was there that the team of “The Voice” spotted me, and offered me to pass the casting of the show. It was not me who signed up, I never sent an application to “The Voice”. I said to myself “Why not”, it was a good opportunity to share good energy in music. But I already knew that with my personality, show business, it might be a bit complicated… I started. And I never had any regrets.
Did you expect to go this far on this show?
I have a philosophy in life, it’s that everything is possible. Especially if you give your heart, 100%. And since that’s what I did, 98% of the time I was on this show, I knew it was possible. But I never said to myself, “I’m going to win!” “, Never.
Before the show, you were already a singer, and you had done a lot of scenes for years…
Yes. “The Voice” was a real amplifier. But music had been my job since I was 19. In particular, I had done many scenes alongside Emmanuel Djob [un musicien montpelliérain, lui aussi candidat de la saison 2] and Marianne Aya-Omac [une musicienne montpelliéraine, candidate de la saison 6]. Without them, Yoann FreeJay would not exist. What I am today was awakened by these two immense artists. They were of considerable importance in showing me that music is about transcending oneself, it’s something deep. Beyond glitter.
In 2013, after your victory, you released an album, few hours with mewith title will you be able to love methe soundtrack of The beauty and the Beast by Christophe Gans. But it didn’t work out as much as you would have liked… Did that surprise you?
No.
No ?
No. (He’s laughing) This is my answer! I’m very proud of this album. But this album, people didn’t know it was out. And still today, people say to me “Ah well, you have released an album! “.
A few years after your victory, you regretted not having been supported, in terms of promotion of the record… In particular by TF1.
I made the choice now to start a new cycle. I have a lot of gratitude, for all that “The Voice” has given me. It made me grow, more than anything. I had to draw more strength, within myself, to overcome the obstacles I encountered. Thanks to this strength, I was also able to come out. It is priceless. But for me, ten years later, a page is turning. Today, I want to devote myself to my new project.
What is this project?
It’s an experimental project, based on the magic of improvisation, to show that music is something that exists beyond control, beyond the traditional “verse, chorus, verse, etc.” scheme. “. Ten years after “The Voice”, I will travel all over the world, to develop this project, #TheImproGuy [L’homme impro]. Those who know me well know that it suits me perfectly. I’ve never, ever interpreted a song the same way. It will also be a very personal project, because this capacity for improvisation, which few people have, I have it thanks to my stutter, because my brain is not made up in the same way. And my memory is very random. It pushed me to develop this talent for improvisation, since I was very young. A lot of times I tell people, “Give me three words, and I’ll sing you a song.” This is what I will do, in particular, during my concerts.
It’s a confusing project!
Yes, I understand that one can say it. What I deplore, today, in the record companies, is that they are economists, who base themselves on statistics. That’s why the songs all sound the same. We want to make music that has already been proven. We just change a little chouïa, and we are served the same thing again. There are exceptions, it’s true. But my exception to me must be scary, because I have never been contacted to do anything new. I’ve been contacted to do a lot of mundane things, which I haven’t done…
Sometimes, when artists aren’t in the spotlight, it feels like they’re struggling. Not you. You have always done lots of concerts…
And singing lessons. I have always been close to people. In the summer, just after my victory at “The Voice”, I did a singing course with a hundred people. I know that this accessibility has cost me a certain credibility in the industry, because artists are sometimes expected to behave like stars.
Do you still sing in the street, or in the metro, for fun?
In France, no. When I did, people called me even less than before. They thought I had lost everything. It disgusted me a bit… Once again, proof that you always have to be in a box. When I sang in the metro, I also sang at the Olympia, I did lots of concerts… So I only do it abroad today. I love France, but what I like abroad is that there is a certain freshness. When people see me, they don’t think “Ah, how many albums has he sold? “, “Ah, we don’t see it anymore”… No. They judge me a bit like the Blind Auditions, actually.
Are you the proof that we can do this job, without existing in the media?
Yes quite. But the media, I like them very much! I am not at war. Neither with TF1 nor with Universal. I’m on my way.
Yoann FreeJay participated in two tracks on Marianne Aya-Omac’s new album, Just a human, available here. And to follow the news of Yoann FreeJay’s new project, go to hereand by here.