Jeanne Côté is obviously an example of perseverance. For her seventh attempt (!) to participate in the Francouvertes competition, not only was the 28-year-old singer-songwriter finally accepted among the 21 candidates, but she was crowned the winner of the grand finale on Monday evening, at Club Soda. “I am enormously grateful to the competition for having made a place for me this year. Because I’ve wanted to do it for a long time!” she told the Log the day after his short night.
It was a “wordless” Jeanne Côté who took the microphone on Monday evening after midnight, a few moments after being crowned big winner of the Francouvertes 2023. The artist from Petite-Vallée had just done her hair at the finish line Héron and Parazar .
For Jeanne Côté, it was a double victory, because the door had been closed to her six times before in the Francouvertes selection. “Every year, I told myself that I would not register again, she mentions on the phone. I told myself that I was tired and that I didn’t like contests [rires]. And there I released my album [Suite pour personne, en janvier dernier] and I thought it would be good timing.”
Why was she so keen on taking part in the Francouvertes? “It gives a boost, whatever. My biggest wish with the competition this year was to make it to the semi-finals. It gives a boost visibility, to get to that stage.” She clearly exceeded her own expectations.
Photo provided by Frédérique Ménard-Aubin.
Surround yourself well
With her victory, Jeanne Côté will listen to the offers of the various record companies that have already come forward since the start of the competition. “There is stuff on the table right now. I’m going to give myself the week to breathe and sleep. […] It is to be continued. I would like to surround myself a little more to have less administration to do on my side. That way, I will be able to concentrate and write new tunes.
In addition to the $15,000 scholarship offered by SiriusXM, Jeanne Côté also won numerous prizes, including studio sessions and various concerts across the province. This summer, she will also return to give training at Camp Chanson Quebecor in Petite-Vallée.
“Pedagogy and transmission have always been part of my DNA, says the one who is the daughter of Alan Côté, the general and artistic director of the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée. My sister and I, we both do this together.”
Photo provided by Frédérique Ménard-Aubin.
Don’t be opportunistic
Jeanne Côté also took advantage of her “family connections” to ask her father’s cousin, a certain Louis-Jean Cormier, to produce her first mini-album, Round tripin 2019. “I did it for the beginning, but after that, I said to myself that I was going to find my own collaborators”, she mentions.
“I wanted to go my own way. I never wanted to feel like I was opportunistic because my dad runs a festival or because I have family in music. I’ve always wanted to do my stuff on my own.”
Although she grew up in a very musical world, Jeanne Côté first thought of a career as a writer when she was young. “I did a double DEC in music and literature when I arrived in town,” she says.
For this reason, she has always attached great importance to the lyrics of her songs. “That’s what I like to listen to too, says the one who names Joni Mitchell, Mathieu Boogaerts and Marie-Jo Thério among her influences. I like to focus on the texts. It seems like I’m trying to make music that I’d like to listen to.”