At the end of a high-level and diverse final, it was singer-songwriter Vaëlle who won the grand competition of the Festival international de la chanson de Granby (FICG) on Sunday evening. And she received the Fabienne trophy… from the hands of Fabienne Thibeault herself.
When the organizers of the FICG learned that the unforgettable first Marie-Jeanne of Starmania was in Quebec at the moment, they did everything they could to ensure she could attend the final of the competition that she won exactly 50 years ago.
“It’s so symbolic,” says FICG Executive Director Josée Mailhot. Especially since it’s only since last year that the trophy has borne her name, a decision made to pay tribute to the woman who was the first in a long line of artists who took their first steps in Granby.
PHOTO CATHERINE TRUDEAU, THE VOICE OF THE EAST
Fabienne Thibeault and singer-songwriter Vaëlle
“A delicate attention”, which pleased the main person concerned. She therefore accepted the invitation very willingly, she told us a few hours before the grand finale.
“Fifty years, my God… I prefer to say that it was in 1974, it doesn’t seem as old!” says Fabienne Thibeault, who notes that both “time has passed” and that “the festival is still just as alive”. The 72-year-old singer, who is in the process of bringing to fruition a musical comedy project that she has been working on for 25 years, likes to see things come full circle like this.
PHOTO JEAN GOUPIL, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Producer and impresario Gilles Talbot, presenting a certification disc to Luc Plamondon and the team of Starmania (including Nanette Workman, on the left in the photo, and Fabienne Thibault), in January 1979
I was 22 at the time, it was before Starmania. The Festival was a first step, where you face the public in serious conditions, where you learn a lot. It’s a great first time.
Fabienne Thibeault
A first time that then led her to Chant’Août in 1975 on the Plains, where her exceptional voice was noticed by producer Gilles Talbot and lyricist Luc Plamondon. The rest is history.
The Quebec singer has been living in France for 30 years now. She took advantage of an invitation to participate in a celebration of the 45th anniversary of Starmaniawhich will take place on Friday as part of the SuperFrancoFête in Quebec, to arrive earlier in Quebec… and go see the premiere of the Starmania by Thomas Jolly in Montreal! “Afterwards, I went to my brother’s in Baie-Saint-Paul.”
And does he like this new version? “Yes! I had already seen it in Paris and Rouen. With the technological and financial means, and all the mass of documentation, Thomas Jolly had the material to make something successful, in line with current events. For Luc, it was also really important, I think. And the actors are really good.”
When she sees herself winning Granby at 22, Fabienne Thibeault remembers her parents’ pride. And if she could talk to the Fabienne of that time, what would she say? “Don’t give up! Life is beautiful, lots of things are happening, of all kinds.”
The Final
Among the 24 artists or groups who participated in the four semi-finals of the FICG last week, five went through to the final: four chosen by a jury of professionals, and another acclaimed by the public.
During the evening hosted by Pierre-Yves Lord at the Théâtre Palace, the finalists each took turns presenting three songs, in a show whose artistic direction is provided by the actor, playwright and director Robert Bellefeuille.
Among the particularities of Granby as a competition: the house orchestra of six musicians, under the direction of André Papanicolaou, who accompanies the finalists in their singing tour, but also during the entire fortnight of the FICG, which infuses professionalism into all the performances. And a contagious energy is born from the presence of the other semi-finalists in the room. Sitting in the front rows, they encourage the friends with whom they have just lived a unique experience, with a team spirit that is beautiful to see.
So we saw Mercure, the only ones not to have played with the orchestra, a group from Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu that combines hip-hop and heavy metal. Then we heard Léa Deschênes, from Lac-Saint-Jean, with her very embodied poetry and voice, then the very lyrical Jérémie Arsenault. Next came Louis-Julien Durso, a theatrical singer who has trained as an actor and has an album to his credit, and who masters the stage with intensity and words with confidence. Finally came Vaëlle, who earned her place in the final thanks to the audience, the most pop singer of the lot, with her catchy melodies and contagious joy.
PHOTO CHRISTEL BOURQUE, PROVIDED BY FICG
Singer-songwriter Vaëlle, big winner of the Granby International Song Festival
The vote by the judges – members of the industry, but not the same ones as during the semi-finals – took place while Émile Bourgault, last year’s winner and first official winner of the Fabienne Prize, sang four of his songs. After the announcement of a slew of individual prizes, which were mostly shared by Léa Deschênes and Vaëlle, the long-awaited grand prize was finally revealed. And it was an extremely moved and stunned Vaëlle who came to receive her trophy from Fabienne Thibeault.
A few minutes later, in an interview, the 32-year-old singer-songwriter still couldn’t believe it. “I’m grateful and surprised. Since it was the public who sent me here, I really saw the final as a gift, a bonus. I told myself that I was going to make the most of it, but I wasn’t thinking about what would happen afterwards.”
Vaëlle, who decided to launch her own songs just two years ago, loved her experience at the Festival, both for the learning and the human encounters. The next step, for now, will be to work on the release of her first single. “That was already what was planned.”
And receiving an award from Fabienne Thibeault? “It’s impressive, she’s someone who has had a great career, a presence, a voice… It’s such a great honour! I have no words, I’m so overwhelmed. Fabienne Thibeault giving me the Fabienne. I’ll always have that.”