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Kendji Girac facts for kids

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Kendji Girac
KendjiGirac.jpg
Kendji in 2022
Background information
Birth name Kendji Jason Maillié
Born (1996-07-03) 3 July 1996 (age 28)
Périgueux, Aquitaine, France
Genres
Occupation(s) Singer
Years active 2014–present
Labels Mercury

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

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. He speaks Catalan with his parents. 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. 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 18 January, with only judge Mika turning his chair, whereas the three others, Florent Pagny, Jenifer and Garou refrained.

In the Musical Battles Round broadcast on 8 March 2014, Mika put him against Youness both singing "Tous les mêmes" by Stromae. Kendji moved to "L'épreuve ultime" round, in which 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 qualified for the finals as Team Mika's finalist.

Career

Kendji Girac Belval 2016
Kendji Girac on stage in 2016

His first official single the bilingual French/Spanish "Color Gitano", was released in June 2014 from his eponymous EP, 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. His album Kendji sold 600,000 copies by January 2015, and over 1 million copies by October 2015, 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 4 May 2015.

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

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

On 22 August 2020, he joined the cast of The Voice Kids France, becoming the first French former contestant to join the jury of the French franchise of the show, alongside Jenifer, Patrick Fiori, and Soprano.

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.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications
FRA
BEL
(Fl)

BEL
(Wa)

NLD
SWI
Kendji 1 119 1 53 22
  • FRA: 1,500,000 (incl. streaming)
Ensemble
  • Released: 30 October 2015
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
1 88 1 1
  • FRA: 1,000,000 (incl. streaming)
  • SNEP: 2× Diamond
Amigo
  • Released: 31 August 2018
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download
1 69 1 7
  • FRA: 350,000 (incl. streaming)
  • SNEP: 3× Platinum
Mi Vida
  • Released: 9 October 2020
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: CD, digital download, LP
2 83 1 5
L'école de la vie
  • Released: 11 November 2022
  • Label: Mercury
  • Formats: Digital download, LP
1 3 11

Live albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions
FRA
BEL
(Wa)

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
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

EPs

Title EP details Peak chart positions Notes
FRA
Kendji Girac EP
  • Released: 1 January 2014
  • Label: Mercury Records
  • Formats: digital download
44

Singles

As lead artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
BEL
(Fl)

BEL
(Wa)

POL
"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
"Ma câlina" 2017 40 15
"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
"Tu vas manquer" 2020 10*
(Ultratip)
"Habibi" 109 2*
(Ultratip)
Mi Vida
"Dernier métro"
(featuring Gims)
79 11
"Dans mes bras" (with Dadju) 2021 43 12
"Conquistador" 32
"Eva" 2022 104 14 L'école de la vie
"Desperado" 2023 29
"Le feu"
(with Vianney)
29 9
"Je suis fou"
(with Vianney and Soprano)
61 42 À 2 à 3

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

As featured artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
BEL
(Wa)

"One Last Time (Attends-moi)"
(Ariana Grande featuring Kendji Girac)
2015 11 My Everything
and
Kendji (2015 Reissue)
"Fais comme ça"
(Vitaa and Slimane featuring Kendji Girac)
2019 VersuS

Other charted songs

Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
BEL
(Wa)

"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
"Au sommet"
"Ma solitude" 2015 130 Ensemble
"C'est trop" 142
"Besame" 198
"Tu y yo" 2016 153 8*
(Ultratip)
"Elle a tout" 80
"Jamais à genoux" 85
"Que Dieu me pardonne"
(with Claudio Capéo)
2018 133
31 Amigo
"Dans mes bras"
(with Dadju)
2020 119 Mi Vida
"Évidemment" 2021 87 13
"Bebeto"
(with Soolking)
33 10

*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

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kendji Girac para niños

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