CULTURE – A grandiose introduction. The closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games opened this Sunday, September 8 with a symphonic version of the “ Live for the best » by Johnny Hallyday, brilliantly performed by the rising star of French song, Santa.
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The 31-year-old singer made a stunning entrance on stage, wearing a huge khaki and black hooded dress with a train, reminiscent of a boxer’s dressing gown. She then made the anthem to life, written in 2017 for Johnny Hallyday, by Lionel Florence and David Hallyday, resonate in the Stade de France, as you can (re)see below.
With this choice, Thomas Jolly once again highlights one of the new faces of French song, like Zaho de Sagazan, invited to close the Olympic Games, or Juliette Armanet, who performed at the Olympic opening.
The song “Salty Popcorn”, a hit in summer 2022
Although Santa first became known as a singer in 2009 with the English-speaking rock band Hyphen Hyphen, she has been going solo for several years. The French artist, originally from Nice, returned to the forefront in 2022 with the title “ Salty popcorn ».
This nostalgic and powerful ballad resonated successfully during the summer that followed its release. The song was also covered by Les Enfoirés during the show 2024. The music video for the hit, which you can (re)discover below, was filmed on a square in Brussels where Santa played the piano 40 m high, suspended by a crane.
According to comments from Internet users, his performance at the Stade de France should attract many new fans. “Great voice. Great cover. I didn’t know this talented singer.”comments one of them, “I saw her in a free concert this summer, she is generous, natural. A musician and a crazy voice”, adds another. The singer is currently on tour, and is planning a concert at the Zénith in Paris in April 2025.
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