22 years after his arrival at the star Academy, she remains one of the most iconic teachers of TF1 talent show. This Tuesday, December 19, 2023, Armande Altaï made her return at the castle of Dammarie-les-Lys, fifteen after leaving it. The ex-singing teacher from seasons 1 to 3, and former director of season 8still remains today in the memory of all the fans of the program, many of whom are hoping for her return next year, after the course she gave to the students of the class of 2023. The professional, who will celebrate her 80th birthday next May, gave an unfiltered interview to Le Parisien this Saturday, December 23, in which she reveals how the Star Acsaved her from the precipice.
“I didn’t hesitate for a second before accepting. Before this show, people were almost ashamed to take singing lessons even though France was probably the country with the most singers who sang out of tune! We must have been three teachers in all of Paris whereas today you have two per street!” remembers Armande Altaï, who twenty years later has a clear memory of many candidates who marked her for life, such as the first three winners Jenifer, Nolwenn Leroy and Elodie Frégébut also Olivia Ruiz, Michal Kwiatkowski, Jean-Pascal Lacoste and Emma Daumas.
One thing is certain, the star Academy allowed Armande Altaï to escape a very complex financial situation. The fees she received during the first three seasons allowed him to pay off his debtseven if she regrets that taxes have taxed her so much: “What I received from the show allowed me to settle debts and do some work. But we must not forget that we actually only receive half of our fees, or even less. There are of the terrible taxes that fall and which, in my opinion, are not deserved“ regrets the one who said she was delighted to find Oscar Sisto and Kamel Ouali, twenty after leaving the first, and fifteen years after leaving the second.
She left “Star Ac” because of production
Evoking the reasons for his abrupt departure from the star AcademyArmande Altaï reveals having been frustrated by the dictates of productionand preferred to take off, replaced in the following seasons by teachers who never knew how to make her forget, such as Anne Ducros, Richard Cross and Isabelle Charles: “I have a bad temper. I couldn’t stand people trying to tell me what I should do, how I should do things… So I was angry a lot”. The singing teacher, who, despite his 80 years, continues to practice in Parisregrets that the production scuttled Jean-Pascal, by giving him the role of the turbulent one who cannot sing: “He sings well! They made him sing Brigitte Bardot, all that… In my discotheque, I spotted My lover from Saint-Jean by Lucienne Delyle which, sung by him, would have been magnificent. Well, in the end, it was someone else who did it (Patrick Bruel)… But it irritated me because he was capable of being a magnificent singer and actor. This is one of the reasons that pushed me to stop“.