1 photo by Gregorie Alexandre
Yelle
The feisty French electro-pop singer tells it like it is
By Britt Julious
Published: April 2nd, 2008 | 1:10pm
Yelle is not just an Internet sensation; she’s a new female phenomenon for a young, energetic, and international audience. Clad in silver lamé leggings, neon hoodies, and the freshest kicks, Yelle (born Julie Budet) has surprisingly made a very buzz-worthy name at home in France and with international fans alike.
Like Lily Allen and Uffie before her, Yelle broke out in the international underground music scene by embracing the now-standard source for discovering new music: MySpace. In September 2005, the spunky singer posted a song called “Short Dick Cuizi” about a friend from the popular French house band TTC. The song now shortened and re-named “Je Veux Te Voir” (“I Wanna See You”), garnered more than 2,000 plays only two days after it was originally posted. “One week after, we received an e-mail from our label,” the singer says.
Although that defining first single was released in late 2005, its popularity continues to grow. The song has been played during commercial breaks for popular MTV nightly programs, including The Hills. Now with the April 2008 release of her debut album, Pop-Up, Yelle is prime to continue to cross over.
One of the benefits of the MySpace music consortium is that it allows musicians from all over the world to benefit from free publicity. Musicians can stream songs on individually customized sites, and curious listeners can discover a musician who, perhaps, would never see the light of day in today’s monopolized radio industry. However, this “free publicity” can often come at a price, as many international acts choose to perform in English, thereby opening their music up to an even wider audience. Yelle, it seems, is rejecting that standard and listeners, likewise, could care less. “It’s really cool to be a French band in the U.S.!” the singer exclaims.
Not surprisingly, Yelle’s life in the music scene began as sporadically as the popularity of her first single. “I was playing in bands when I was student, but just for fun with friends,” says the 25-year-old singer. “I started to make music with a different goal with [producer] GrandMarnier.” The two first met five years ago at a party, and Yelle began singing on his demos for fun. However, the singer’s half-sung, half-rapped flow became as distinct as her multi-colored tights, interesting costumes, and energetic personality both on and off stage. GrandMarnier, who produced Yelle’s first track back in 2005, ended up producing Pop-Up more than a year after the release of the brassy MySpace sensation. “We were thinking about something very happy, fresh, and fun,” the singer says. “But we didn’t plan anything. It was really spontaneous!”
The “happy” and “fresh” goal for her debut translated well. Recent single “A Cause Des Garcons” (“What We Do for Boys”), is a modern, electro interpretation of the popular French ’80s anthem. In the lyrics Yelle sings, “What we do for boys / We wear stockings, we fight each other / Boys make us worry, we cry all the time.” It’s evident that her new twist on a French classic is as relevant as ever.
In her original songs, Yelle disagrees with some critical sentiment that describes her music as “explicit.” “I talk about relations between boys and girls — seduction, love, parties — just [like any] 25-year-old girl,” the singer says. “I think people like the fact I sing like I talk.”
For example, in “Mon Meilleur Ami” (“My Best Friend”), the singer proclaims her love of dildos when singing, “I talk to you like you are a sweet and sensitive man / The only thing that annoys me about you is I have to change your batteries.” In “85A,” a French bra measurement and a song about small breasts, she sings, “Pamela would never have given me self confidence on that side / Thankfully Jane Birkin was a classier woman.”
Despite the language barrier, it seems Yelle is proving herself to be an interesting, provocative new female musician and icon. “Maybe it’s easier to talk about sex or something like that in 2008,” the singer says. “But girls must still fight to say what they want, like they want.”
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Yelle's MySpace
Yelle's official Web site
Issue #35
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