For her first solo performance, “Everything is in the voice”, Marianne James chose… not to be alone! At each performance, she takes her entire audience with her in an original and hilarious singing exercise. Thursday June 13, she will give her class at the Théâtre de Beausobre, as part of the 36e edition of Morges-sous-Rire. Since the success of her musical show “L’Ultima Récital” in the 1990s, and her time in the jury chair of “Nouvelle Star”, during seasons 2 to 5 which notably revealed Amel Bent, Christophe Willem and Julien Doré , the singer is an essential figure in showbiz. In turn host, actress and candidate for “Mask Singer”, the former Eurovision presenter for France has been enjoying her position as a juror for “France has incredible talent” since 2018.
Twenty years after telling viewers of Nouvelle Star her famous “You have shit in your ears”, the magnificent diva from Montélimar has lost none of her endearing frankness. Interview.
As a voice and stage expert, what did you think of Nemo’s victory for Switzerland at Eurovision and Slimane’s performance for France?
I found Slimane’s performance unique and powerful, almost desperate. Too much perhaps? As for Nemo, it’s the song itself that is very “Eurovisian”! His victory was logical.
With your one-woman show, you reconnect a little with your old profession: singing teacher. How does this masterclass take place?
When I arrive on stage, I consider that I am facing the choir that I have been leading with mastery for a year and our concert is in two days. The spectators look at each other with eyes like saucers, because they don’t know what I’m talking about. I tell them: “Okay, then we’re going to start everything from the beginning!” And the beginning was 4 million years ago, with the australopithecines and their borborygmi.
Why go back so far to learn to sing?
Because something essential happened at that moment: the human stood up. His bone structure changed, his body evolved, the pharynx and larynx were created and large areas of vibration opened.
What experience have you “students» will they live?
They will learn a lot about themselves, discover their voice. They will have cramps the next day from laughing so much and working on their breathing. But people shouldn’t be afraid to come: I never accept those who don’t want to participate.
What motivated the writing of this comedy show about singing?
Arrival at the age of transmission. I always see people asking questions about the voice, the accuracy, but they are often missing the point. When you play the saxophone, you maintain your instrument. When you sing, you are both the instrumentalist, the instrument and the case that protects it. I wanted to explain how to play your voice. I also wanted to talk about something that does me a lot of good. Singing is worth a laugh, a restaurant, antidepressants, etc. We don’t realize how much singing or singing with others brings you closer to happiness.
In everyday life, who do you mainly sing with?
I sing every evening with my mother in front of Nagui’s wonderful show, “Don’t forget the lyrics”. She is 88 years old and lives with me now. She has Alzheimer’s disease. When we sing, her memory comes back and, in that moment, I have a very alive mother again. We also sing things from his time. Lyrics learned with music are stored in a part of the brain that is not attacked by the disease. An Alzheimer’s, you sing to him songs from his 20s, his lips are moving again, he’s going to leave again.
What place did music have in your home when you were growing up?
Mom always loved singing. She also had a group in her youth. She sang Dalida, Gloria Lasso, Edith Piaf,… My father did not sing, but my paternal grandfather was a pastry chef and street tenor. He sang all of Luis Mariano, on the sidewalk, in front of his pastry shop. So it seemed normal to them, when at 13-14 years old, I started singing like a finch, jazz, classical, everything that caught my ear.
When did you decide to make it your career?
At 16-17 years old. So I quickly passed my baccalaureate and went to Paris.
Before that, you had envisioned a very different future, in orders.
Yes! When I made my second communion, I followed the last days of a sister, an Ursuline, suffering from cancer. For a month, I went to visit her so that she could tell me about her priesthood. I wasn’t afraid of anything she told me. She explained to me how God had called her. And I felt called too.
And today?
I always feel called. I still believe. I have always been very in love with Jesus. For me, he was the ideal man. I have never been disappointed by him. Obviously, if we have to compare it with us humans, there is no comparison, we cannot fight. It’s easy to say that we love Jesus and that we weren’t disappointed by him because it’s an illusion. What is certain is that human love is limited for great lovers like me.
How are you a great lover?
Love has been so important to me that few men have been able to withstand the shock of such a request, not to say demand! The love we have for Jesus can be gigantic. He will not complain about it, will never suffer from it. While a simple man will be afraid of such love! This is why people are so in love with their dog, their cat and why they are so unhappy when they leave: there is no limit to the love for an animal either. You can be annoying to him, he will still love you. With a human, you can’t because you’re suffocating them. A dog, you can also tell him what you wouldn’t dare say to humans, you can be totally you. I want to have a dog soon, but I’m waiting a bit, because I’m moving too much. I will take it to the SPA.
What is the advice your parents gave you as a child that still sticks with you today?
“There’s no point in being afraid. Try it and you’ll see!” They told me to live my ambitions, because it is better to try than to regret. And too bad if in the process, our pride is hurt. This is what makes us move forward in life. Those who do not dare, the timid, are, in my opinion, very proud. They are afraid of subjecting themselves to criticism, they constantly wonder what people might say about them.
Do you ever feel fear or shyness?
Yes, but when it does, I don’t like what I do. If I’m too scared when I’m performing a show, I think I’m bad, I’ll slap myself, I’m not enough of the Marianne people expect. I like being that woman who’s a little too much. This doesn’t mean that I don’t have weaknesses or that I don’t have doubts. But fear is a bad advisor. For example, I think that if people are so hateful on social networks, it’s because they are driven by fear. The hater is often the fearful.
What do you doubt?
Of my talent, sometimes. I also sometimes doubt whether I have found the right words to resolve a difficult situation. Last year, I saw a mother beating her little girl. The mother’s eyes were full of tears, she was at the end of her rope. I invited her for a drink, we talked. I always intervene in this type of situation. But sometimes I got hit. Like this time in the subway where an elderly lady wanted to activate the emergency brake because a 20 year old boy kept bothering her. I tried to control the boy and stop the lady from pulling the brake. She punched me.
And is stage fright something you feel?
Very little with this show, because I am very sure of myself. I enter the stage very naturally, it’s the best thing I can offer to the spectators. They are happy to see me and so am I. Everything is done simply. They sniff me, I sniff them. And I see some who are surprised to see such a tall lady. And also round!
You have often talked about your long battle against your weight.
Yes. I have done ten diets in my life. In total, I lost 130 kilos, almost the equivalent of my current weight! You have no idea how much I regret starting diets. I was 14 years old, I weighed 70 kilos and was 1m80 tall. I did a lot of sport, French boxing, athletics. I thought I was fat. It was stupid because I was comparing myself to my friends who were 10-20 kilos lighter. Except that they were 1m60 tall! I followed the Montignac diet and I lost 63 kilos. As soon as I stopped, I went up to 73-74. I wanted to lose weight again, but I went less, to 67 kilos. Then I went back up to 80. I freaked out. I went back down to 70, back up to 85, back down to 75, back up to almost 100. There, I had a depression and I went down to 90 kilos, before going back up to 107, etc. I’ve been doing the yoyo all my life.
Are you still dieting?
No. You don’t have to go on a diet, you have to change your lifestyle. Today, I have a very healthy lifestyle. It’s important because I need to be in shape to perform my show. I am lucky enough to not have triglycerides, diabetes or cholesterol. But my doctor would like me to lose 40 kilos.
Have you made peace with your body?
Yes. Everyone finds me comfortable in my own skin. It’s really important to feel good about yourself! I could have gone to a surgeon to remove my stomach. But it’s my own stomach! On stage, I grab it, I make it vibrate, I show how I breathe with it. I also want to thank my body because all this fat means that I still have the voice of my 20s. It also makes me unsinkable, because fat floats. And I don’t have any wrinkles on my face. There are still small advantages to obesity! (Laughs). Today, I fully accept my weight. Also because I don’t really have a choice: they are very visible. You can see my addiction to food by the size of my belly and my very generous buttocks.
How does this addiction manifest?
I never snack between meals. But when I’m at the table, I eat like three. What saves me and keeps me from getting fatter is that I don’t like sugar. However, I am the daughter of a nougat maker!
A few days before your show in Morges, do you have a particular memory from your visits to French-speaking Switzerland to share?
I am always very well received there, I have always eaten well there, I appreciate the calm, the luxury and the voluptuousness. I’m also very friends with Joseph Gorgoni, we had the same producer. I have already slept at his place in Geneva. It’s been a few years since we last saw each other, but I really like him and I think he likes me too. We inspired each other a lot.
