In his latest album, Imposteur, Julien Doré mixes covers and personal memories. He tells us how these songs, significant in his life, take on a new meaning for him today.
RTL info: In your new album of covers, “Imposteur”, we find titles like “Sara perché ti amo”, “Femme Like U”, “Cuitas les bananas”, and “Un hommeheureux” by William Sheller. Tell us a little about where the idea of doing all these disparate covers came from?
Julien Doré: Disparate, and at the same time… These are all songs that have an anchor point with my life. These are songs that I loved, which are part of my memories, between my childhood and today. During the tour, iThere will perhaps be a few of these covers, but there will mainly be my own songs, those that I wrote and composed, like “Le Lac”, “Coco Câline”, “Paris-Seychelles”,.. It will be a mix, precisely, between remembering these 17 years, the show Nouvelle Star, in which I participated without really knowing what was going to happen, and my life which changes from one day to the next. Today I’m on stage, doing what I love and, when I wake up in the morning, I have the chance, like right now, to talk about my Music.
There is also a cover of your cover of “Moi Lolita”, which exploded your popularity in Nouvelle Star where everyone discovered you at that moment. And there, you take over this piece yourself. The mise en abyme was pretty crazy, right?
The mise en abyme on this album is interesting, because in fact, I bring together these songs that I love with a story that is mine. I started with “Moi Lolita” in Nouvelle Star. When I decide to make this arrangement, I tell myself that, in an arrangement different from the original, it will perhaps be an opportunity for me to say who I am, to present myself in this different sound, around titles that we know by heart. It’s a bit unusual to find myself in an album where I asked myself the question: If you cover this song, you will have to find another reading for it again. It’s the song that ends the album, so it was a way for me to close this page on 17 years of my life and, at the same time, to revisit this song one last time, but in a new way.
Today, do you feel like an imposter or, on the contrary, a bit of a singer?
This is what interested me in choosing this album name: the question of imposture. Today, in the artistic field, but also in our lives, imposture is everywhere. In the life of a human being, at any time, one can have this feeling. Sometimes we experience joyful moments and instead of savoring them as we should, we wonder if we deserve it. We are in a time where we are often made to feel guilty, sometimes by a political power. But human beings, citizens, often wonder if they have the right, if they have the right to be happy, to experience this or that thing. In the artistic field, where suddenly, overnight, you make a living from your passion, it’s a luxury, a real luxury. There are no words to define this happiness of living from your passion. Obviously we wonder. Fortunately, we question this legitimacy, to know if we work enough to continue to experience this opportunity.
However, your rooms are full. The audience has proven that they are attached to your personality, your songs and your style.
We can savor all of this and continue to ask ourselves the question of how to question ourselves to respect this love. Once again, I have seen too many of my fellow artists sit on the throne of their success, on their achievements, and tell themselves that everything should now go well, no matter the quality of what we offer. I go away for three or four years between each project, so that when I come back, I have the feeling of having worked enough and having things to say to justify my return. This is the question of legitimacy, of imposture. The constant wonder of what I experience is also a way of respecting those who love me.
There are some iconic duets in this album, like that of “Paroles, Paroles”, by Alain Delon and Dalida, which you cover with Sharon Stone. You take on the role of Dalida in reverse. Where do you know each other from?
It was a few months ago, in the studio, when we recorded the title. We found ourselves in the studio. I told him that I wanted to reverse the relationship of seduction in the song.
But the first step was how did you contact Sharon Stone and say, “Come sing on my record”?
I took the liberty of sending him a private message on his Instagram account, I wrote to him: Hello Sharon, it’s Julien Doré. And I saw that my message had been seen, and she replied to me telling me that she also painted, that she had an exhibition in Berlin in a few months, and that the idea entertained her. She suggested that we meet in Berlin to record. And that’s how it happened.
And then you said to yourself, “Come on, let’s give it a try!” ?
Exactly. But actually, since, not the previous album, but even before, I had written a message to Pamela Anderson, and a few months later, I found myself on a beach with her, filming the end of my music video. It’s like when, 17 years ago, after winning the Nouvelle Star, I said to myself that in an era which condemns dreams, I should not believe that a meeting was impossible. And that’s why, when I send this message to Sharon Stone, a big part of me thinks she’s going to read it. And she read it. It is also a message for younger generations of artists, and not just for them.
There is also this moving duet with Francis Cabrel. We feel great tenderness. It’s a cover of “A Happy Man” by William Sheller, a poignant song. What relationship do you have with Francis Cabrel?
He’s the man who made me want to make music. He marked my life, like my parents, through his songs. He’s the one who made me want to take my grandfather’s guitar, which I had never touched, and look for chords. Without him, I might not make music today. Can you imagine? Years later, finding myself alongside him in the studio was a moment of great modesty, of great tenderness. It was absolutely magnificent to experience. It was a childhood dream for me.
Let’s talk about your project on social networks. We see you as a fake lookalike, or pretending to cut your hair, you have fun with it. How prepared, orchestrated, arranged was it?
I’m lucky enough to handle all of this on my own. But for me, it’s almost the definition of the connection we have with the public. I can’t even understand how it could be otherwise. All of these are ideas that come either at the last minute or, actually, when I’m shooting a music video or when I’m in the studio. I say to myself: It could be fun to do that. It’s really a part of childhood that speaks. I just need to have fun with it all. And with my years of experience, I try to remember that all these are just songs and that with a little luck, we can evoke an emotion, a smile, a memory, but they are still songs and it You have to have fun with it all. You have to try to find pleasure in that. And for me, humor is really a source around music.
Julien Doré Music singer
