Kendji Girac

Kendji "Girac" Jason Maillié (French pronunciation: ​[kɛndʒi ʒiʁak], [kɛndʒi dʒɛzɔn maje]; born July 3, 1996), also known mononymously as Kendji, is a French singer and guitarist. He is the winner of Season 3 of the music competition The Voice: la plus belle voix as part of Team Mika.[1] He has released three studio albums, Kendji, Ensemble and Amigo as well as a string of hit singles.

Kendji Girac
Kendji in 2016
Background information
Birth nameKendji Jason Maillié
Born (1996-07-03) July 3, 1996
Périgueux, France
OriginFrance
GenresPop-folk
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocals, acoustic guitar
Years active2014–present
LabelsMercury
Websitekendji.fr

Biography

Beginnings

The youngest of a Catalan Gitano family, Kendji grew up in Saint-Astier and was taught to play the guitar and sing by his grandfather. He left school at 16 to follow the family business as an arborist.[2] His first language is Catalan.[3] He gained some fame through publishing materials online. His Romanes version of "Bella" by Maître Gims filmed by a friend went viral. His video garnered 5.8 million views.[4] Another popular song he uploaded was "Si j'étais président" a cover of Gérard Lenorman.

The Voice

For season 3 of The Voice: la plus belle voix, he auditioned with the song "Bella" by Maître Gims in the second episode of season 3 broadcast on January 18, with only judge Mika turning his chair, whereas the three others, Florent Pagny, Jenifer and Garou refrained.

In the Musical Battles Round broadcast on March 8, 2014, Mika put him against Youness both singing "Tous les mêmes" by Stromae. Kendji moved to "L'épreuve ultime" round where he performed "Hotel California by The Eagles in the 29 March 2014 emission.

In the live rounds he performed "Ma philosophie" by Amel Bent (5 April 2014), "Mad World" from Tears for Fears (19 April 2014) and "Allumer le feu" by Johnny Hallyday (19 April 2014). In the semi-final on 3 May 2014 he sang "Belle" by Garou and Daniel Lavoie qualifying for the finals as Team Mika's finalist.

In the final broadcast on Final: 10 May 2014, He sang "Amor de mis amores" / "Volare" by Gipsy Kings, "Temps à nouveau" by Jean-Louis Aubert and "L'Aigle noir" by Barbara. He won The Voice title for season 3 with 51% of the public vote against 21% for runner up Maximilien Philippe, with Amir Haddad finishing third with 18% and Wesley with only 10% fourth.

Career

His first official single the bilingual French/Spanish "Color Gitano", which was released in June 2014 from his eponymous EP,[5][6] followed by his official album release in September. In December 2014, he won two NRJ Music Awards for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year and "Color Gitano" as Francophone Song of the Year.[7] His album Kendji sold 600,000 copies by January 2015,[8] and over 1 million copies by October 2015,[9] certifying Diamond and becoming France's second highest selling album of 2014 after Racine carrée by Stromae. He is currently the biggest selling The Voice alumnus worldwide. His follow-up single "Andalouse" proved even more successful commercially. Other notable singles included "Conmigo" from the repackaged version of Kendji released on May 4, 2015.[10]

A second album titled Ensemble was released on October 30, 2015.[11] Notable singles from his second album include "Me Quemo", "Les yeux de la mama" and "No Me Mirès Màs" (jointly with Soprano).

On August 31, 2018, his third album titled Amigo was released. It started at number one on the French sales chart with 48,408 sales.[12]

On August 22, 2020, he joins the cast of The Voice Kids France, becoming the first french former contestant to integrate the jury of french franchise of the show, alongside Jenifer, Patrick Fiori and Soprano.[13]

Charity Work

In 2017, Kendji joined the Enfoirés, a team of high-grossing artists involved in the hugely popular charity mission Restos du Coeur, which hosts yearly concerts to raise money for one of France's most respected soup kitchen networks.[14]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
FRA
[15]		 BEL
(Fl)
[16]		 BEL
(Wa)
[17]		 NLD
[18]		 SWI
[19]
Kendji
Including 2015 reissue		 1 119 1 53 22
  • FRA: 1,500,000 (incl. streaming)[20]
Ensemble
  • Released: 30 October 2015
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1 88 1 — 1
  • FRA: 1,000,000 (incl. streaming)[22]
  • SNEP: 2×Diamond[23]
Amigo
  • Released: 31 August 2018
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 1
[24]		 69 1 — 7
  • FRA: 350,000 (incl. streaming)[22]
  • SNEP: 3×Platinum[25]

Live albums
Title Album details Peak chart positions
FRA
[15]		 BEL
(Wa)
[17]
Ensemble / Le Live
  • Released: 17 March 2017
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
 15 5

Other album releases
Title Album details Peak chart positions
FRA
[15]
Kendji / Ensemble / Kendji Girac, de l'ombre à la lumière
  • Released: 20 May 2016
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD
 123
Kendji / Ensemble
  • Released: 18 August 2017
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD
 69
L'Intégrale
  • Released: 29 November 2019
  • Label: U.L.M. / Mercury
  • Formats: CD, download, streaming
 64
[26]

EPs
Title EP details Peak chart positions Notes
FRA
[15]
Kendji Girac EP
  • Released: 1 January 2014
  • Label: Mercury Records
  • Formats: digital download
 44
Tracklist
  1. "Color Gitano" (3:30)
  2. "Toi et moi" (3:06)
  3. "Bella" (3:56)
  4. "Ma philosophie" (3:23)
  5. "Tous les mêmes" (2:37)
  6. "Elle m'a aimé" (3:25)

Singles

As lead artist
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[15]		 BEL
(Fl)
[17]		 BEL
(Wa)
[17]		 POL
[27]
"Color Gitano" 2014 11 — 12 — Kendji
"Cool" 20 — 17 —
"Andalouse" 3 14*
(Ultratip)		 3 10
"Elle m'a aimé" 22 — 53* —
"Je m'abandonne" 25 — — —
"La bohème" 61 — — — Aznavour, sa jeunesse
"Conmigo" 2015 7 — 6 — Kendji (2015 reissue)
"Les richesses du cœur" 57 — — —
"Me Quemo" 7 — 8 — Ensemble
"Les yeux de la mama" 5 — — —
"No me mirès màs"
(with Soprano)		 2016 9 — 11 —
"Sonrisa" 25 — 42 — TBA
"Ma câlina" 2017 40 — 15 — Ensemble
"L'envie" 53 — 26*
(Ultratip)		 — Non-album single
"Maria Maria" 2018 8 — 19 — Amigo
"Pour oublier" 7 23*
(Ultratip)		 3 —
"Tiago" 12 34*
(Ultratip)		 5 —
"Habibi" 2020 109 — — —

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[15]		 BEL
(Wa)
[17]
"One Last Time (Attends-moi)"
(Ariana Grande featuring Kendji Girac)		 2015 11 — My Everything
and
Kendji (2015 Reissue)

Other charted songs
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[15]		 BEL
(Wa)
[17]
"Amor de mis amores" / "Volare"
(credited as Kendji)		 2014 94 — The Voice 3 - La Plus Belle Voix (2014)
"Belle"
(credited as Kendji)		 96 —
"Mi amor" 118 — Kendji
"Avec toi" 179 —
"Baïla amigo" 187 —
"Mon univers" 192 —
"Ma solitude" 2015 130 — Ensemble
"C'est trop" 142 —
"Besame" 198 —
"Tu y yo" 2016 153 8*
(Ultratip)
"Elle a tout" 80
[28]		 —
"Jamais à genoux" 85
[28]		 —
"Que Dieu me pardonne"
(with Claudio Capéo)		 2018 133
[29]		 31 Amigo

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Awards
Year Award Song
2014 NRJ Music Awards/Francophone Song of the Year "Color Gitano"
2014 NRJ Music Awards/Francophone Breakthrough of the Year
2015 NRJ Music Awards/Nominated for Best French Male Artist of the Year Album Kendji

Filmography
  • 2017 : Chacun sa vie et son intime conviction

References
  1. "Kendji Girac - Biography | Billboard". www.billboard.com. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
  2. VIDEO. Kendji: « Avant The Voice, j'avais une vie de gitan » (in French)
  3. Kendji Girac et le français : "Parfois, c'est un peu compliqué pour moi" (in French)
  4. fugitif73 (10 August 2013). "Bella (maître Gims) version Gitane par Kendji Girac" – via YouTube.
  5. MetroNews (Paris): "The Voice" : Découvrez Color Gitano, le premier single de Kendji Girac (in French)
  6. Charts in France: Clip de "Color Gitano" : Kendji Girac ("The Voice") profite de la vie et impose son style (in French)
  7. Les grands vainqueurs des NRJ Music Awards sont... sur le site leparisien.fr
  8. Kendji franchit le seuil des 600.000 ventes avec son premier album (in French)
  9. "Kendji Girac franchit le cap du million d'albums vendus". Le Figaro. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  10. "Kendji Girac : Bientôt une nouvelle réédition de son premier album !". 31 March 2015.
  11. "Kendji : "Ensemble", son deuxième album, bientôt dans les bacs". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  12. ""Amigo" : Kendji Girac numéro un des ventes avec son nouvel album". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
  13. Média, Prisma. "The Voice Kids : Kendji Girac fera ses premiers pas de coach le… - Voici". Voici.fr (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-16.
  14. "Kendji Girac rejoint la troupe des Enfoirés - Vidéo Dailymotion". Dailymotion. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  15. "lescharts.com - Discographie Kendji Girac". lescharts.com.
  16. "Discografie Kendji Girac". ultratop.be.
  17. "Discographie Kendji Girac". ultratop.be.
  18. Hung, Steffen. "Discografie Kendji Girac - dutchcharts.nl". www.dutchcharts.nl.
  19. Hung, Steffen. "Discographie Kendji Girac - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch.
  20. "Kendji Girac : son premier album est certifié triple disque de diamant". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  21. "Les certifications. Kendji Girac - Kendji". snepmusique.com.
  22. "Kendji Girac : un million de ventes pour son deuxième album "Ensemble"". chartsinfrance.net. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  23. "Les Certifications. Kendji Girac - Ensemble". snepmusique.com.
  24. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums - SNEP - Syndicat Nation de l'Edition Phonographique". Snepmusique.com. Archived from the original on 2019-10-18. Retrieved 2019-05-18.
  25. "Les Certifications. Kendji Girac - Amigo". snepmusique.com.
  26. "Top Albums (Week 49, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  27. "Kendji Girac - Andalouse (Airplay Top 20 - 11.04. - 17.04.2015)" (in Polish). ZPAV. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
  28. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 48, 2016)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  29. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 14, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
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