New host of the return to Rythme | The “best version” of Mathieu Dufour

Rythme brings out the heavy artillery to compete with Rouge and its star host Véronique Cloutier. Starting January 27, Mathieu Dufour will take the microphone at the Cogeco station late in the afternoon. The man who was crowned comedian of the year at the last Les Olivier Gala is aware of the major challenge that awaits him, but he prefers to approach it with zenitude, taking great care not to exacerbate the situation.

“I never start a project thinking I want to beat someone. If that’s how you think, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons. If I accepted, it’s because it tempts me,” says Mathieu Dufour, who was able to count, ironically, on Véronique Cloutier as a mentor at the start of his career.

The popular host, whose radio show is currently at the top of the ratings among music stations in the comeback slot, had agreed on several occasions during the pandemic to collaborate on the projects of the man who was then still a comedian of succession. Véronique Cloutier will undeniably have played a role in the meteoric rise of Mathieu Dufour, who did not even take five years to go from unknown status to superstar capable of taking over the Bell Center for a Netflix special.

By agreeing to take the helm of the return to Rythme show, Math Duff, as he calls himself on social networks, does not have the impression of being ungrateful. He also specifies in passing that his relations with Véronique Cloutier are in good shape.

“We spoke again recently. We get along very well. It’s certain that Véro and I will work together again one day,” assures the comedian who has just celebrated his 30th birthday.

Carte blanche

Rather than being tempted by the game of comparisons, Mathieu Dufour aspires to be the “best version” of himself in everything he does. If he said yes to Rythme, it is precisely because we gave him guarantees that he could be completely authentic on the air. There is no question for the comedian with the spectacular blonde mane of diluting his flamboyant personality.

In the company of his co-host Marjorie Vallée, with whom he already shared the microphone last summer on Rythme, he promises to give free rein to all his madness and his whims on the air, something to which he is already accustomed his some 270,000 subscribers on Instagram.

“There are perhaps people who will say to themselves that I am another comedian who thinks he is a host. But, hey, gang: it’s because I studied radio. I’ve already learned how to lay wires,” laughs Math Duff, who actually studied radio at the Jonquière CEGEP before enrolling at the National School of Humor.

Bite into success

It will be 10 years this year since Mathieu Dufour left his native Saguenay, where he kept his accent. Everything happened quickly for him after that. Too much ? He is not of this opinion.

Last year, Math Duff withdrew from social media for a month. Then he went to live in New York for three months. “By personal challenge,” he insists: not because he felt the need to distance himself from stardom. Success, the one who recently took his first steps as an actor in comedy Like hi assures that he lives it very well.

He continues: “At worst, I will return to small venues. Fame has never been an end in itself,” he reasons, seeming to display unfailing confidence.

However, Mathieu Dufour also admits to having his share of doubts and anxieties in private. The stress will undoubtedly be at its peak on January 27, around 4 p.m., before going on air for his first time as host.

Now we’ll see if listeners will buy into it. Because it’s difficult to get further away than Isabelle Racicot, José Gaudet and Sébastien Benoît, who hosted the homecoming show on Rythme until December. But now, by banking on Math Duff, the station is seeking to rejuvenate its brand image. A strategy already started at the end of August, when Maripier Morin replaced Patricia Paquin at lunchtime, which gave encouraging results in the latest figures from Numeris.