Audience: Have you wanted to make music for a long time?
Alicia Aylies: I have always sung, for my friends, my family … I even took lessons in 6th year, which I had to stop for financial reasons: my mother taking care of me alone, she could not anymore. to pay. But two years ago, I wanted to try my luck. I recorded the title Mojo early 2020. With the Covid, we preferred to wait to release it: it made me work on my patience, which is not my primary quality!
Are you working on an album?
In the past year, we’ve recorded eight other songs. I’m ready for the next step!
What are your inspirations?
I like lots of different universes. Beyoncé and Rihanna of course, but also Jorja Smith, Alicia Keys, Burn out Boys, Cardi B … I listen to a lot of music. In the morning, I am with my coffee and my headphones. You must not talk to me!
Have you always needed moments of solitude?
Yes. I like being with my friends, but I need some time for myself. When I was little, I was always with my mother, not much with people of my age. And I was very focused on sport: I did fencing from my 4 to 16 years old, my project was to go to the Olympics
“When you win Miss France, you feel lonely. You don’t know who to trust”
Why did you stop?
Material reasons. I lived in Guyana and travel was getting too expensive. I then devoted myself to my bac S, which was not easy: I, who was first in the class for a long time, was no longer very motivated. I had my baccalaureate, but I could have given a lot more!
How did you come to Miss France?
When I was 16, I started modeling in Guyana. The committee spotted me on a parade and told me I should participate. It didn’t interest me: I was a tomboy! But by force, it matured. I thought that when I was 18, I would sign up, and if I lost, it was over. I would have studied law.
How did you experience this victory, at 18?
It was a shock, a total change of life. I found myself alone, far from my relatives, in a country that was unknown to me. I no longer had any benchmarks. Until then, I had only come to France for fencing competitions. I didn’t even know what winter was! You feel alone, even surrounded. You don’t know who to trust, you don’t know if the people who are by your side will stay after.
Have you thought about refusing the crown?
Still not, but I wondered if I was legitimate: I found it unfair to have won, when it was not my dream, unlike the other candidates. It took me two good months to feel like I belonged! Even in interviews, I was asked to tell my life to millions of viewers, to say what I had done before. Except that at 18, I didn’t have a thousand experiences to relate. What did I do before? I was on the forecourt of the school, with my friends!
“During my reign, I took hands to the buttocks”
In any case, you have kept quite a few Miss girlfriends. Clémence Botino and Camille Cerf are also in the clip of Mojo …
Yes, I didn’t even have to ask them, they offered it to me. It’s a real family: when you organize your birthday, you already know that thirty places are leaving for the Misses!
What do you think of the controversies over the competition, which a feminist association has taken to court?
Each year, when December approaches, these controversies return. But the competition represents the woman, the beauty, the glamor. And there is nothing vulgar. The passage in swimsuits is criticized, but we do not put them in thong either! It’s entertainment. It represents France, but with lightness.
During your year of reign, you suffered from sexism, inappropriate gestures?
Yes. In the minds of people, Miss France is the fiancée of all French people, and some take the opportunity to put a hand on your buttocks. It has happened to me to have to crop, to raise a hand … It is generally old men who do that! We are very tall, in heels: the excuse of being small often comes up! (Laughs.)
What is your daily life today? Music and modeling?
Yes, at the moment it’s speed. But I love this energy, especially after confinement. In addition, I believe in my projects. I am also working on the creation of a brand, in textiles.
Would you like to do TV, Dancing with the stars, for example?
I would love ! I followed Vaimalama Chaves this year. It made me want.
What about your loves? New ?
With all the projects I have in mind, I want to put 100% of my energy on me. When I am two, I forget myself a little. I love love, but right now I don’t feel ready to settle down. After that, dating is another question! (Laughs.)
You display your stories little, and did not comment when you were told that you were very close to certain footballers (Kylian Mbappé and Benjamin Pavard, editor’s note). Why ?
I’m not saying that I will never talk about the person I will be with in the future. But I haven’t necessarily met someone yet who made me want to expose myself.
Key dates
April 21, 1998
Alicia is born in Fort-de-France, Martinique. His parents separate a few months later. When she was 10, she moved to live with her mother in Guyana.
2. December 17, 2016
18 years old, she is the first Miss Guyana to become Miss France. “When I review my election, I want to cry: I still don’t realize that I went through this.”
3. October 27, 2021
She paraded at the Salon du Chocolat. Model, she is also an influencer who counts, with 445,000 subscribers on Instagram.
4. December 2021
Release of Mojo, his first single. A dancing and vibrant track, which Alicia hopes to integrate into an album soon.
See also: Fashion Week: Maeva Coucke, Flora Coquerel, Alicia Aylies zoom on the look of the stars
Interview by Maëlle Brun