/ Biography - Marie-Mai

Who is Marie-Mai...

 

Marie-Mai is a Canadian pop-rock singer-songwriter. Fluently bilingual, she is equally comfortable expressing herself in both French and English. She is now considered one of the most significant Quebec pop rock artists of the decade.

 

Her goals: "My dreams have no limits. I work hard and believe deeply in what I do, which allows me to constantly push myself further. Music is a universal language and art. It allows you to tour the world, which is one of my goals. I am patient and I've always known how to seize opportunities to develop my career. I am driven by my dreams and my passion, and that's why I never give up!" Marie-Mai, February 2010.

 

300 000 albums sold

• Inoxydable: 135 000
• Dangereuse Attraction: 100 000
• Version 3.0: 65 000

 

223 tour performances to date

• Inoxydable - 87 performances
• Dangereuse attraction - 77 performances
• Version 3.0 - 59 performances and more to come (tour currently active)

 

Over half a million spectators in venues and at festivals to date (Québec, Ontario and France)

 

40 549 active fans in Quebec on various Web platforms

• http://www.mariemai.com/
• Facebook
• MySpace

 

425 articles in the Quebec press in 2009

 

8 number 1 radio singles in Canada

• Il faut que t'en ailles (December 13^th, 20^th, 2004)
• Tu t'en fous (March 21^st, 28^th and April 4^th, 2005)
• Encore une nuit (August 15^th, 22^nd and September 5^th and 19^th, 2005)
• Qui prendra ma place? (July 16^th, August 6^th, 13^th, 20^th, 27^th and September 3^rd, 10^th, 24^th, 2007)
• Mentir (Décember 17th, January 21^st, 28^th, February 4^th, 25^th, March 3^rd, 10^th, 24^th, 2008)
• Emmène-moi (May 12^th, June 2^nd, August 11^th, 2008)
• Dangereuse attraction (August 24^th, 2009)
• C'est moi (October 5^th, 12^th, 19^th, 26^th, November 2^nd, 9^th, 2009)

 

3 major awards

• Talent de l'été M6 in 2006 (France)
• Félix for rock album of the year in 2008 (Dangereuse attraction)
• SOCAN Award for pop song - composer in 2008 (Si pour te plaire)

 

4 gold certifications as discerned by CRIA

• Inoxydable - 2005
• Inoxydable DVD - 2008
• Dangereuse attraction - 2008
• Version 3.0 - 2009

 

4 special headline performances

• Closing Ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Games (Vancouver 2010)
• National Hockey League All Star Game (Bell Centre - Montreal 2009)
• Canada Day (Ottawa - 2009)
• Fête du Québec (Montréal - 2009)

 

 

A native of Varennes on Montreal's South Shore, Marie-Mai enrolled in auditions that would lead to her participation in the very first Quebec edition of Star Académie in 2003. She reached the women's final and set off on a challenging and memorable tour, delivering 45 performances in just 52 days!

 

In autumn 2004, she released her debut solo album as singer and songwriter, Inoxydable, selling over 120,000 copies.

 

In 2005, Marie-Mai was nominated for a MuchMusic Video Award in the Best French Video category for the video Il faut que tu t'en ailles. In April 2005, Marie-Mai kicked off her very first solo tour. In summer 2005, she delivered the closing show of Les Francofolies de Montréal before a crowd of over 40,000.

 

In 2006, Marie-Mai set off to conquer a new audience in France. She was the grand winner at the Talent de l'été contest, sponsored by French TV channel M6. Marie-Mai would go on to sell 35,000 copies of her album Inoxydable on the continent. In November, she performed as the opening act on a French tour headlined by Garou, including shows at the prestigious Olympia. In December 2006, she delivered her debut solo show in France at the Bataclan in Paris, following up with more Quebec dates of the Inoxydable tour, with a performance in the Spectrum de Montréal.

 

On August 29, 2007, Marie-Mai released Dangereuse attraction, her 2^nd album, produced by Fred St-Gelais. She was involved in every level of production, as well as co-writing all lyrics and music. The album was launched with great fanfare in La Ronde's Jardin des Étoiles and on its massive Goliath rollercoaster, specially renamed the Dangereuse attraction for the occasion. Singles from the album were immediate smashes with fans and radio programmers, with Qui Prendra ma place, Mentir and Emmène-moi rocketing into the upper reaches of the Pop Rock Top 25. The album would be certified gold in August 2008 with over 50,000 copies sold.

 

On January 26, 2008, Dangereuse attraction led to Dangereuse attraction live, Marie-Mai's concert tour, with shows received enthusiastically by fans and critics alike. Nominated for two awards at the 30^e Gala de l'ADISQ, the tour featured two sellout dates in the prestigious Bell Centre in Montreal (on November 14, 2008 and May 1, 2009) and over 70 performances across Quebec, reaching over 51,000 spectators. Album, singles, tour... Dangereuse attraction confirmed Marie-Mai's arrival as a star. In November 2008, Marie-Mai was awarded her first Félix at the 30^e Gala de l'ADISQ in the Album de l'année-Rock (Rock album of the Year) category. And this year continued her successful roll, bringing Marie-Mai 3 nominations at the Gala de l'ADISQ 2009, for Interprète féminine de l'année (Female Performer of the Year), Vidéoclip de l'année (Video of the Year) for Emmène-moi and Site internet de l'année (Website of the Year) (www.mariemai.com). 

 

On Tuesday, September 22, 2009, Marie-Mai launched her 3^rd album, Version 3.0, in Montreal's Métropolis, once again produced with Fred St-Gelais. Featuring her blend of rock, pop and electronica influences, the artist described Version 3.0 as "a genuine accomplishment and a rollercoaster of emotions, with each song bringing its own colour and telling its own story." The first single, C'est moi, hit radio stations on August 17, 2009 and was a blockbuster smash, with the album reaching #1 in sales in Quebec during its first week of release and #3 in Canada. Version 3.0 was certified gold on December 7, 2009. Marie-Mai has just launched a new tour for 2010, which will naturally feature dates in the Bell Centre in Montreal and the Capitole in Quebec City. All tour dates will be posted and updated on Marie-Mai's official website.

 

On Sunday, February 28th 2010, Marie-Mai was among the artists to be invited by Vancouver 2010’s Organization Committee, to participate in the Winter Olympic Games official ceremonies. She performed one of her greatest hits Emmène-moi live, in front of BC Place stadium’s 60,000 audience members: the event was retransmitted all around the world for over 3 billion viewers to experience.