Yelle

Yelle is a French band founded by lead singer and namesake Yelle (Julie Budet) and GrandMarnier (Jean-François Perrier). A third member, Tepr (Tanguy Destable), joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Yelle and GrandMarnier began working on music together in 2000. The band came to prominence when it posted an early version of the song "Je veux te voir" on MySpace in September 2005, which later reached the top five in France. The success of the song on MySpace attracted the attention of a record label, which set them to work on their debut album, Pop Up, which was released in 2007. The group's second album, Safari Disco Club, was released in 2011 and the third, Complètement fou, in 2014.

This article is about the French band. For the Canadian professional ice hockey center, see Stéphane Yelle. For the baseball catcher, see Archie Yelle.

Yelle
Yelle performing in 2011
Background information
OriginFrance
GenresElectropop
Years active2005–present
Labels
Websitewww.yelle.fr
Members
  • Yelle
  • GrandMarnier
  • Franck Richard (touring member)[1][2]
Past members

They have enjoyed a significant following overseas in non-French-speaking countries as well. They toured internationally in support of each of their album releases. Yelle has played at Coachella three times despite performing exclusively in French.

History
Yelle performing live in 2011

Budet met and became good friends with producer GrandMarnier in 2000, and in 2005, they began making music together when both wanted to start an electropop band.[4][5][6][7][8] The name of the band, Yelle, began as an acronym of the phrase "You Enjoy Life", "YEL", but was later feminised to "Yelle" because a Belgian band had the name already.[4][6] Yelle rose to fame on MySpace when they posted a song titled "Short Dick Cuizi", which later became "Je veux te voir", in late 2005.[7][8][9] The song's original title refers to Cuizinier of French alternative hip-hop band TTC and was released as a mock diss track. It received a positive response and soon attracted the attention of record label Source Etc.[5][8] The song later charted at No. 4 in France. Yelle then began working on and recording their debut album, Pop Up, in 2006. While performing at night,[7] producer Tepr had been roped into the band in 2007 after meeting GrandMarnier while working as a journalist.[4] They were in need of a keyboard player on tour.[10]

Pop Up was released in September 2007. AllMusic called it "a perfect storm of glossy production values, smart songwriting, and Budet's sparkling delivery."[11] The album produced another single, "A cause des garçons", which reached number eleven on the French Singles Chart. Yelle was featured on Fatal Bazooka's French number-one song "Parle à ma main" in 2007.[12] The band has enjoyed success outside France despite making songs exclusively in French and have toured extensively overseas in non-French-speaking countries.[4][5][7][8][9] In the US, they were featured as MTV's Artist of the Week at the end of March 2008.[13] After touring for three years, Yelle took three months off – until September 2009, when they began working on their next album.[14][15] By February 2010, they had started their own record label, Recreation Center, overseen by GrandMarnier.[15][16]

Yelle's second album, Safari Disco Club, was released in March 2011. Budet explained that unlike their debut, there was no deadline for the album because they were on their own label, thus allowing them to focus more on the harmonies and melodies and Budet's singing voice.[17][18] They were also able to focus on writing and recording the album for a year as opposed to having to perform at night like for Pop Up. The album received generally favourable reviews, with the Independent declaring that the album was "essential for anyone who appreciates dancefloor-friendly European synth pop."[19] The title track was released for free on their website in January 2011 and was released as a double single with "Que veux-tu". Katy Perry asked them to open for her on her 2011 California Dreams Tour in the UK.[17] They embarked on their own tour afterwards, returning to the US in the fall.[20] On 11 February 2013, the band released the single "L'amour parfait".[21]

In July 2014, it was announced that Yelle's third studio album, Complètement fou, was planned for release in late September 2014. The album was co-produced by Dr. Luke and his team of producers (Kojak, AC, Billboard Mat, Oliver, Cirkut, Jmike, Madmax), who discovered Yelle through their remix of Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold" and a live show in Los Angeles. Dr. Luke eventually signed Yelle to his vanity label, Kemosabe Records.[22] The album was preceded by the single "Bouquet final", for which a lyric video premiered on 30 June 2014.[23] Complètement fou was released on 29 September 2014 through Kemosabe and followed by an extensive international tour that saw the band play at Coachella for the third time in their career as well as all over Europe, the Americas, and China.[24] The band released a song titled "OMG!!!" on 21 August 2018.[25], and a song titled "Je t'aime encore" on 28 April 2020.

Artistry

For their first two albums, GrandMarnier and Tepr produced the music, while Budet co-wrote the lyrics[26] with GrandMarnier.[27] While working on their second album and meeting with American labels, they were repeatedly queried about singing in English in the future. However, Yelle maintain that they would not be able to express themselves in a language that they were not familiar with.[18] Singing French songs to many non-francophone audiences all over the world led Yelle to launch her own YELLE TRANSLATOR companion app (developed by Pomp & Clout) in 2014 The Yelle translator app. The app works to decode lyric videos from the album Complètement fou by letting the user choose whether they'd like to view the original French lyrics or the English translation by holding their phone up to the music video screen and selecting a language (Translator - Lyrics Videos). The user is also able to toggle between the languages in real time. Their debut album Pop Up, is of the electropop genre with 1980s influences.[18] Their lyrics are playful and sarcastic. The debut single "Je veux te voir" was a humorous reply to the misogynist lyrics of some French rappers, especially Cuizinier of TTC.[28] For Safari Disco Club, they retained the sound of Pop Up while incorporating more rhythmic drums into the production, such as Caribbean influences and new wave influences in the synthesizers.[18] Budet described it as a marriage between "hotter rhythms and cooler synthesizer", highlighting the sense of humor and melancholy coexisting in the lyrics as well.[18][28] The melancholy was attributed to Yelle having toured for three years for their first album and having that experience abruptly end to begin work on their next album.[14]

For their third album, Completement fou, the band collaborated with American music producer, Dr. Luke. Luke and his team of producers brought a new focus on melody rather than the beats-driven approach that Yelle previously had to songwriting.[22] The three original members of Yelle draw from different influences in contributing to their music: GrandMarnier is influenced by rock music, including Rage Against the Machine and Red Hot Chili Peppers, while Tepr enjoys rap and minimal techno.[18] Budet has cited Snoop Dogg, Cher, Warren G, Madonna and Blur as influences. They have also listed Prince, Cyndi Lauper and Etienne Daho as influences.[27][29] Budet's colorful stage outfits are influenced by designers such as Jeremy Scott, Andrea Crews, Jean-Paul Lespagnard and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.[30]

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
FRA
[12]		 BEL
(WA)
[31]		 SPA
[32]		 US
Dance
[33]
Pop Up 61——8
  • FRA: 18,708[34]
  • US: 11 000
Safari Disco Club
  • Released: 14 March 2011
  • Label: Recreation Center, Cooperative Music/PIAS, Barclay/Universal
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
 7776929
Complètement fou 52157—9
L'Ère du Verseau
  • Released: 4 September 2020
  • Label: Recreation Center
  • Formats: CD, LP, digital download
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Extended plays
Title Album details
iTunes Festival: London 2008
  • Released: 18 July 2008[36]
  • Label: Source etc.
  • Format: Digital download
The Contest Pack
  • Released: 20 February 2012[37]
  • Label: Recreation Center
  • Format: Digital download
Complètement fou (Remix)

Singles

As lead artist
List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[12]		 BEL
(FL)
[39]		 BEL
(WA)
[31]		 SWI
[40]
"Je veux te voir" 2006 4——[upper-alpha 1]— Pop Up
"A cause des garçons" 2007 11—[upper-alpha 2]4095
"Ce jeu"[41] 2008 ————
"La musique"[42] 2010 ———— Safari Disco Club
"Safari Disco Club"[43] 2011 ————
"Que veux-tu"[44] ———[upper-alpha 3]—
"Comme un enfant"[45] ————
"L'amour parfait"[21] 2013 ———— N/A
"Bouquet final"[46] 2014 ———— Complètement fou
"Complètement fou"[47] 113———
"Ba$in"[48] 2015 ————
"Un million"[49] 2016 — — — — N/A
"Ici & Maintenant"[50] — — — —
"Interpassion"[51] 2017 — — — —
"Romeo"[52] — — — —
"OMG!!!"[53] 2018 — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[12]		 BEL
(FL)
[39]		 BEL
(WA)
[31]		 SWI
[40]
"Parle à ma main"
(Fatal Bazooka featuring Yelle)		 2007 1—131 T'as vu
"Cooler couleur"
(Crookers featuring Yelle)		 2010 —32—— Tons of Friends

Music videos
List of music videos, showing year released and directors
Title Year Director(s)
"À cause des garçons" 2007 Nima Nourizadeh[54]
"À cause des garçons" (Tepr Remix) Bastien Lattanzio and Guillaume Berg[55]
"Je veux te voir" 2008 Nicolas Benamou[56]
"Ce jeu" Yoann Lemoine[5]
"La musique" 2010 We Are from L.A[57]
"Safari Disco Club"/"Que veux-tu" 2011 Jérémie Saindon[58][59]
"Comme un enfant"
"Complètement fou" 2014 Milord and L'Étiquette[60]
"Ba$in" 2015 Diane Martel and Geoffrey Lillemon[61]
"Moteur Action" Aleksandra Kingo and Dmitry Yermolayev
"Ici & Maintenant (Here & Now)" 2016 Paul B. Cummings & Jean-François Perrier
"Interpassion" 2017 Thibault Maîtrejean & Jean-François Perrier

Guest appearances
List of non-single guest appearances, with other performing artists, showing year released and album name
Title Year Other artist Album
"Hot n Cold" (Yelle Remix)[62] 2008 Katy Perry N/A
"Who's That Girl? (Qui est cette fille?)"[63] 2009 Robyn iTunes Foreign Exchange #2
"Ophélie"[64] 2010 Nouvelle Vague Couleurs sur Paris
"Emmène-moi au Futur"[65] 2011 Tomoya Ohtani Girls Make the World Go 'Round:
Sega Vocal Traxx
"Heterotopia"[66] 2017 Oliver Full Circle
"Diane" 2019 Dad Music

Notes
  1. "Je veux te voir" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 10 on the Walloon Ultratip chart.[39]
  2. "À cause des garçons" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number two on the Flemish Ultratip chart.[39]
  3. "Que veux-tu" did not enter the Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 14 on the Walloon Ultratip chart.[39]
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References
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  2. YELLE Verified account. "YELLE on Twitter: "The Yelle boys"". Twitter.com. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  3. Jiménez, Miguel Angel (5 November 2014). "Try My Banana Split". Flaunt. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  4. "Yelle: interview with a French pop artiste". Virgin. 2 March 2009. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  5. Szeto, Greg (10 October 2008). "Interview: Yelle". Aural States. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  6. "The rebel Yelle". Metro International. 14 October 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
  7. Gilchrist, Todd (15 May 2008). "Yelle Interview". IGN. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2009.
  8. "YELLE: LOVE AND FRENCH CHANSONS". Laptop Rockers. 6 November 2008.
  9. Ship, Jesse (17 August 2008). "Yelle". FORMATMAG.COM. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
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  14. Apollo, Chris (22 April 2011). "Is French electro-pop group Yelle moving to Austin? [INTERVIEW + Safari Disco Club ALBUM REVIEW] | Life Music and Culture Blog in Austin Texas – Republic of Austin". Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  15. "INTERVIEW: YELLE | Rocket Magazine – contemporary culture magazine". Rocket Magazine. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
  16. "RECREATION CENTER — RECREATION CENTER?". Recreation Center. 27 February 2010. Archived from the original on 8 April 2014. Retrieved 28 September 2014. The RECREATION CENTER is YELLE's own microlabel.
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  18. "OĂ LES ANIMAUX DANSENT: An Interview with Yelle". GUTFIRE! Magazine. 2 May 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
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  63. "iTunes Foreign Exchange #2 – Single by Yelle". iTunes Store (FR). Apple. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  64. "Couleurs Sur Paris – Nouvelle Vague". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  65. "Girls Make The World Go 'Round - SEGA Vocal Traxx -" (in Japanese). Wave Master. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
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