Travel through time this Saturday on TF 1. After an evening full of surprises last week, the production of the “Star Academy” has chosen this time to highlight season 4 of the program broadcast there is 20 years old on the same channel. An edition forever marked by Grégory Lemarchal, “a student like no other” as Nikos Aliagas reminds us from the opening, dedicating this show to him.
Immediate nostalgia when “Let me dance”, the anthem of this 2004 class, resonates in studio 217. The current academicians quickly mingle on stage with the “old hands”, including Lucie Bernardoni, their coach, Karima Charni, the co-host of the show, or even Sofiane Tadjine and Francesca Antoniotti.
Nostalgia again when Jenifer, the first winner of the telecrochet, arrives on stage to sing her hit “Gemme le temps” with young Julie. The historical figures of the program are also on the faculty bench, exceptionally enriched by the presence of Armande Altaï, Oscar Sisto, Kamel Ouali and Matthieu Gonet.
Everyone in tears
The latter then accompanies on the piano the first tribute of the evening to his former student and “friend”, Grégory Lemarchal, who died in 2007 and was omnipresent this Saturday evening. The singer and actress Camille Lou, a big fan of the artist, then sings her song with Marine, “I write to you”. And ends in tears, just like Nikos and the artist's parents, present on set.
A little later in the program, another celebration, this time with the students' interpretation of an unpublished text by Grégory Lemarchal, written just 6 weeks before his death. Set to music by Mosimann, another former member of “Star Ac”, “Et si tu sens” made Matthieu Gonnet wipe away a tear on the teachers’ bench. At the end of the evening, Lucie Bernardoni will also be overwhelmed by discovering Marguerite and Charles performing the exact same choreography that she had proposed 20 years earlier with Grégory Lemarchal to the music of “Moulins de mon coeur” by Michel Legrand.
After these strong emotions, time for another, more explosive one: Ebony! Thierry Cham's daughter confirms her status as competition favorite by stunning the audience with her cover of “Sweet Dreams”, directed by Kamel Ouali. The young Francilienne shines again a few moments later during the “battle” pitting her against the two other best students of the week, Charles and Franck. She performs on “I am sick” by Serge Lama, winning her place in the big concert tour which awaits its promotion in 2025.
Ulysses saved again by the public
Always playing with the past, the production offers a delicious series of nods to the history of the program, via archive images but also a Medley evoking its highlights. Among them, the unforgettable massacre of “Asereje” from Las Ketchup by Georges-Alain Jones, unfortunately absent this evening. He is replaced by the students of 2024, accompanied in particular by Alexia Laroche-Joubert, the famous TV producer and former director of the academy.
These glances in the retro would almost make us forget the present issue of prime time: knowing which of Masseo, Ulysses and Maïa will leave the adventure. The three apprentice singers move on to hope to save their place. Maïa's broken voice gives way to the friendly Masseo, already in the hot seat last week, and whose interpretation of “Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word” unfortunately suffers from its wrong notes. Facing its third nomination, Ulysse plays the rock card with Axel Bauer's “Turn off the light” performed with guitar in hand. And doing well. At the end of a very long and busy evening, the Marseillais was saved by the public vote, the students for their part drafting Maïa to the detriment of Masseo.
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