Sylvie Vartan (born August 15, 1944 in Iskrets, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian-born French Chanson singer who had a breakthrough during The '60s and The '70s.
Her family left the country for Paris in The '50s in order to escape the country's communist regime at the time of the Iron Curtain. Thanks to her brother Eddie who works in the music business, she records her first songs in 1961.
Starting off with a vocal Pop sound, her early repertoire was mostly comprised of covers of American hit songs but a few original hits made her stand out in the Yé-yé soundscape. For a time she was married to Johnny Hallyday, with whom she sang on stage across the world. The two would end up known as a "golden couple" of French music.
Outside of France, she also became famous in Japan. Her secondary role in the film Cherchez l'Idole and the success of her song "La Plus Belle Pour Danser" codified the Idol Singer trope in Japanese pop culture.
Actor Michael Vartan is her nephew.
Discography
- 1962 - Sylvie
- 1963 - Twiste et Chante
- 1964 - à Nashville
- 1965 - Gift Wrapped From Paris
- 1966 - Il y a Deux Filles en Moi
- 1967 - 2'35 de Bonheur
- 1967 - Comme Un Garçon
- 1968 - La Maritza
- 1970 - Aime-moi
- 1971 - Sympathie
- 1973 - ''J'ai un Problème'
- 1974 - Les Chemins de la Vie
- 1976 - Qu'est-ce qui fait Pleurer les Blondes ?
- 1976 - Ta Sorcière Bien-aimée
- 1977 - Georges
- 1977 - Dancing Star
- 1978 - Fantaisie
- 1979 - Déraisonnable
- 1980 - Bienvenue Solitude
- 1980 - ça va Mal
- 1982 - De choses et d'autres
- 1983 - Danse ta Vie
- 1984 - Des Heures de Désir
- 1985 - Made in USA
- 1986 - Virage
- 1989 - Confidanses
- 1992 - Vent d'Ouest
- 1994 - Sessions Acoustiques
- 1996 - Toutes les Femmes ont un Secret
- 1997 - Sylvie Vartan chante pour les Enfants Volume 1
- 1998 - Sensible
- 1998 - Sylvie Vartan chante pour les Enfants Volume 2
- 1999 - Irrésistiblement Sylvie
- 2004 - Sylvie
- 2007 - Nouvelle Vague
- 2009 - Toutes Peines Confondues
- 2010 - Soleil Bleu
- 2013 - Sylvie in Nashville
- 2015 - Une Vie en Musique
- 2018 - Avec Toi
- 2021 - Merci pour le Regard
Tropes & Trivia in her works:
- Band of Relatives
- Christmas Songs: "Noël Sans Toi", from her EP Par Amour, par Pitié. She was also part of the collective "Noël Ensemble" note along with other artists.
-
Creator Couple: She married Johnny Hallyday and established themselves as French music's most popular couple back in The '60s and The '70s. They sang together on the song "J'ai un Problème" which reflects the past troubles in their engagement. - Cover Album: Avec Toi is a tribute album from Sylvie to her ex-husband Johnny Hallyday which was released after his passing in 2017. It covers 13 songs from Johnny's career.
- Cover Version
- Her first album contains 11 covers out of 14 tracks. Notable covers are Chris Montez' "Let's Dance", Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion" and The Shirelles' "Baby It's You".
- 10 covers out of 12 tracks are featured on her second album, notably The Top Notes' "Twist & Shout".
- Everyone Loves Blondes: 60 years since the release of her first album and she is still rocking her natural blond hair.
- Face on the Cover: On all of her albums.
- Idol Singer: The Trope Codifier, thanks to her success in Japan.
- Live Album: Many of her concert albums were recorded at the Parisian venue L'Olympia and Le Palais des Congrès. She also has two live albums recorded in Japan.
- Long Runner: Still active after more than 60 years in her music career.
- Self-Titled Album: Two albums in her discography are titled Sylvie.
- Sibling Team: Her brother Eddie was also in the music business and was the conductor of the backing band of her first albums.
- Translated Cover Version: Almost all of her covers are sung in French.
