French singer garou. Garou: biography, best songs, interesting facts. “I want to open up completely, turn myself inside out, give everything I can, make people happy.” This phrase very accurately characterizes Garou, the singer who charges

Garou: "I can't understand what women see in me"

Garou: "I can't understand what women see in me"

His real name is Pierre Garand, but this thirty-year-old Canadian is known throughout the world under the pseudonym Garou. The standard story of a guy from the provinces, who played in a small group and was noticed by the creator of the famous musical "Notre Dame de Paris" Luc Plamondon, may not have become so important for the development French music, if not for the unique data of our hero.

The two-meter handsome man, as it turned out, was the owner of an absolutely rare voice, and, moreover, magnificent acting skills, which does not happen to singers as often as admirers of their talent would like. The role of Quasimodo became a true classic of the genre, and Garou himself acquired a large army of fans and especially female fans. The album "Lonely", released in 2001, sold three million copies, the hoarse voice of the French star sounded not only in Paris, but also in Warsaw, Moscow, Tel Aviv...

In his personal life, despite the fame of an avid heartthrob, the singer was in no hurry to give away his heart left and right. In 2000, he met former fashion model Ulrika, and soon the charming baby Emily was born. However, despite the birth of his daughter, Garou did not want to tie himself to Hymen. Moreover, information recently appeared in the Canadian press that his family life things went wrong, and Pierre chose to part with his beloved.

Obviously, the reason for the separation was the star’s too busy work schedule. It is known that Garou’s manager for many years has been the husband of the magnificent Celine Dion, Rene Angelil, who achieves truly fantastic contracts for his protégé. Tours in France, Canada, the USA, Poland, work on a new album, offers from leading directors of the world (journalists with amazing unanimity call Garou the new Gerard Depardieu) - alas, the former modest Canadian boy from Sherbrooke has absolutely no time left for his personal life. no strength. What is he really like, this blue-eyed handsome man with the enchanting voice of the hunchback from Notre Dame?

How do you feel on stage, how does your song come about?

It depends on the character, who is like a part of me. I play a small role in every song. Emotions arise that I have never experienced before. Every time, every night, when I sing the same song, something new appears in it.

What part of yourself are you tapping into when you perform "Belle"?

What a question! I guess I’m turning to my memory, feeling a little nostalgic. This song became my talisman.

When you played Quasimodo, was it difficult for you to play the role of an ugly hunchback, rejected by a woman, with such magnificent appearance?

Thanks for the compliment. But I never considered myself handsome. Although physical data is really very important for show business. If you want to achieve something, then you simply have to be beautiful. Playing Quasimodo gave me an incredible chance to step outside the norm.

When you played this character, did you really feel like a hunchback?

I completely got into character. I really cried at the end. And it always surprised me. I seemed to withdraw into myself, into my pain, and when they began to mock Quasimodo, it simply unsettled me.

But in order to play pain, you must first experience it...

A lot has happened in my life too. But on stage this happened, rather, on an unconscious level. I don't even know where my feelings came from. Sometimes they were difficult to deal with. Quasimodo always experienced the same feeling, but Garou changed...

What songs are especially dear to you?

When I sang “God, how unfair the world is” (Quasimodo’s aria), I remembered my past, my own failures in love, the people dear to me whom I had lost. And I always dedicate the song “Ask the Sun” (album “Lonely”) to the same person.

Is your heart broken now too?

I remember this person with pain; she is no longer with us. And every time I part with someone, I also carry pain into my heart and cry...

Because you're in pain?

Yes, it hurts. There is no such thing as time in a relationship. Even if they are over, I continue to love the person I broke up with. Maybe I just imagine a perfect relationship, and when it ends in a breakup, all that's left is sadness.

How much do your songs reflect your inner self?

The more I speak in front of people, the more it seems to me that they feel the same way as I do. You begin to understand who these songs were created for. Everyone reacts differently. As for me, I'm trying to find myself, maybe free myself from my shyness, share my feelings with others.

Aren't you afraid to have such power? You can keep fifteen thousand people on edge at the same time.

I don't like it when it's considered power. Of course, when an actor is constantly called a superstar, he begins to think about "power" over people. It seems that everyone loves you, that you are the center of the world. But for me, I think that people only think about me when I'm on stage. Spectators come to see me. Maybe they will like my performance, and even really like it, but that’s where it all ends.

What are your memories of childhood and youth?

First guitar. It was given to me when I was three years old. My first note on the trumpet. My friends. I have always been surrounded by friends, although I preferred and still prefer loneliness. I felt lonely in any company...

Your debut album is called "Lonely" ("Seul"). Was this an attempt to distance himself from the Garou we saw at Notre Dame?

No, I would consider this name as a new step. While working on the role of Quasimodo, I tried to convey the complete loneliness of my character, which is why he has so many solo parts. It was Quasimodo’s loneliness that gave me the strength to stand in front of an audience of thousands.

Seven of the fourteen songs on the album were written by Luc Plamondon, creator of Notre Dame.

Yes, Luke became a spiritual father to me. When he discovered me, I was singing in a small group in one of the bars. Well, my hairstyle was then: tousled hair. Yes, and I didn’t behave in the best possible way, did all sorts of stupid things. And he saw in me Quasimodo, an unhappy, lonely, quiet man. Thanks to him, I discovered a completely different personality in myself. It turned out that Quasimodo had always lived inside me.

A few years ago you admitted that you didn’t choose your profession because you wanted to become a star. Is this still the case?

Now it’s like I’m living in a fairy tale and I don’t want to lose this feeling for anything in the world. But I didn’t forget my old dreams, I didn’t forget why I wanted to become a singer so much. In my hometown (a creepy little place, by the way), I grew up listening to my father's guitar. He played old rock and roll tunes and people smiled around him. At the age of 19, when I suddenly found myself on stage in a provincial bar and saw people smiling at me, I realized that this place belonged to me by right.

And have you broken many girls’ hearts with your charming voice?

I didn't become a singer to win hearts. When after the concert the girls waiting at the exit start shouting that I’m the best handsome man In the world, I understand that their words must be “divided by ten.” To be honest, for a long time I was very shy about girls, I had huge complexes about my own appearance. And although I am terribly attracted to women, I just can’t understand what exactly they see in me.

Why Garou?

This nickname stuck to me at the age of thirteen. My friends called me that because I was always unsociable (from the word “loup-garou” - beech, unsociable person, werewolf). Yes, I am still like that. I like to wander around Paris at night. I even often sing when there is a full moon in the sky!

What drink do you prefer?

Scotch. This is the first alcoholic drink that I ever tasted when I was in a bar. Years later, I can call myself a true scotch connoisseur. I like to taste it, enjoy its aroma. I don't drink wine or beer often, but scotch is very stimulating for me.

What about cigars?

Yes, a great cigar along with a bottle of your favorite drink... You know, in my youth I tried a lot of things. I still smoke a pipe sometimes, but I prefer cigars. In my apartment there is a separate smoking room where I keep my treasures.

What are your favorite dishes?

When I first arrived in Paris, I ate basically whatever God laid down for my soul. However, enterprises fast food in the French capital they were not very good. So I changed my habits. Now I order sushi more often. However, it all depends on my schedule. Sometimes you have to have dinner at one in the morning, after the performance, in a hurry. But I admit, I love to eat well, and I prefer food with a good dose of spice. So the choice is obvious: Indian cuisine. But I also like Thai food, and, of course, sushi.

So how does the French superstar manage in the kitchen?

No way. I like to clean the apartment myself, even wash the dishes, but I’m not much of a cook... It seems like I have both left hands. In general, without a woman I feel completely helpless.

Traveling, living in hotels, does that suit you?

Yes. I'm a workaholic. For a long time I had no idea what discipline was until I found my own way to become disciplined. I only feel really good when I start singing. In France, I take full responsibility for contracts. I respond to proposals from various agencies, study scripts, new proposals. So you have to be very disciplined. During the day I am a real business person, but in the evening comes my favorite time - time for song. And at night I go to another party.

But when do you sleep in this case?

I sleep quite little. I love a noisy, hectic life. Although sometimes an irresistible need suddenly arises to escape somewhere, to find oneself. Then I really disappear, I am not there for anyone.

What is your attitude towards material well-being?

To be honest, I don't have much respect for money. I started working at age fifteen and squandered my entire salary playing poker. I have never made a single decision related to business. Never.

So you are a player?

Oh yes. When we toured with the musical "Notre Dame de Paris" and stopped in some city where there was a casino, then after the performance you could certainly find me there. I play cards, but I also like to play with life itself. However, when I started a family, I hired a person who is now in charge of my finances. Family is very important to me, even though my name is a werewolf Garou.

Are you a faithful person?

Loyalty? Such a word simply does not exist in my vocabulary, I forgot it. However, in my heart there lives another word that is very dear to me: “devotion.” If loyalty means family chains, then this is not for me, I am a free person. But when I meet a woman who I can truly love, she will become the most important person in the world to me, and I will always be devoted to her.

Your height is 1 meter 90 centimeters?

Yes, it's true. But I'm not the only one in the world. Daniel Lavoie (performer of the role of Frollo in the musical "Notre Dame"), for example, is also far from short.

You have the image of a “happy child”: always joyful, always smiling, is this true?

(After much thought) Uh-huh, actually, yes. I have quite positive attitudes in life.

Are you naive?

Without a doubt. Although now I have learned to understand the essence of some things. But this did not make me cynical.

Your repertoire ranges from classic French chanson to hard rock. Isn’t it difficult to navigate all this variety of genres?

I was a punk back in the day. And a heavy metalhead. He also performed music new wave. In general, we can say that I have been looking for myself in this life for a long time.

You have a little daughter. What does fatherhood mean to you?

When I saw her being born, I felt such great love. I couldn't believe that such a strong feeling could exist. Often I just look at Emily, talk to her, promise that we will live the most beautiful moments of our lives together. She can't understand anything yet, but... When you're at the height of fame, it's very difficult to stay sane. Only Emily helps me stay away from all the temptations of this world. For me, the light that gives meaning to my life is her huge blue eyes.

How do you balance your career and being a father?

You just need to understand what is the highest priority for you in life. In order to do your job well new role father, I must find time for my family. I have already built a house not far from mine hometown in Canada, where we spend the summer months. And when I return to Paris, Ulrika and Emily go with me. When you're famous, it's hard to keep your privacy but I'm trying. No one will come close to Emily.

Would you like to formalize your relationship?

Official relations are the birth of Emily. A child binds spouses together much more powerfully than any other document.

What are you worried about right now?

My personal life is a mess. Family is very important to me. I never wanted to be a superstar. Of course, I'm proud that Garou's career is developing so rapidly, but I would like to remain a normal person. Not a star.

Does anyone else call you by your real name Pierre?

Only a few people: my banker, my mother and my sister. But my father prefers to just call me son.

So your real name has finally faded into obscurity?

For me, Pierre Garand still exists. Of course, he was a little crushed by Garou, although this nickname was not originally an artistic pseudonym.

When you started working in the musical Notre Dame de Paris, did you expect to become such an international star?

No, I didn't expect it at all. I’m still surprised how Luke was able to see Quasimodo in me.

Where do you live now?

In my apartment in Paris and my house in Canada. I think I'll soon move to New York to work on my first English-language album.

Will we see you in the movies?

Maybe, but not in a blockbuster. I would like to play in some good low budget film

Inessa Haider

Created April 23, 2010

“I want to open up completely, turn myself inside out, give everything I can, make people happy.” This phrase very accurately characterizes Garou, a singer who charges everyone with incredible energy every time he goes on stage.

Until 1997, he played in a fashionable establishment of the time called “Liquor’s Store de Sherbrooke”. His owner, Francis Delage, proposed organizing so-called “Garou Sundays,” when he invited other musicians to perform on stage with the newly-minted artist. There is no doubt that everyone present was delighted with these impromptu concerts!

As time passed, Garou improved his skills. Apparently, he himself believed that, after all, he could already do something, and in the summer of 1995 he created his own group “The Untouchables” (“Les Incorruptibles”), focusing on blues and rhythm and blues music, In addition to Garou, the group included three more musicians - a trombonist, a trumpeter and a saxophonist. It was they, “The Untouchables,” who accompanied Garou on his grand tour in 2000, dedicated to the release of the singer’s first album, “Seul” (“Lonely”), consisting of 14 tracks.

During one of the group's performances in 1997, Luc Plamondon, the creator of the libretto for the original French version of the musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", noticed the artist and realized that he had found his Quasimodo. Soon Garou appears before the strict court of Plamondon and composer Richard Cocciant, who offer him to perform some arias from the musical - the famous “Belle” and “Dieu que le monde est injuste” (“God, how unfair the world is”). The next day they informed Garou that he would be Quasimodo!

For two years, Garou brilliantly plays Quasimodo in Notre-Dame de Paris, moving from Montreal to Paris, from London to Brussels... In 1999 he receives several prestigious awards for his role, including the World Music Award for the song “Belle”, which, by the way, stayed in first place in the French charts for 33 weeks and was recognized as the best song of the fiftieth anniversary. In 2000, Garou and several stars of the French production, in particular Daniel Lavoie and Bruno Pelletier, took part in the English production of the musical, which became very popular.

After the great success of “Notre-Dame de Paris”, the artist Garou, already known to the general public, receives huge amount various offers and becomes truly famous. In 1998, he took part in the recording of the album “Ensemble contre le sida” (“Together against AIDS”), and also sang the song “L'amour existe encore” (“Love still exists”), written by Plamondon and Cocciante for Celine Dion, in a duet with the performer of the role of Esmeralda Helen Segara.

At the very end of 1999, Garou, together with the entire Notre-Dame de Paris troupe, took part in New Year's show Celine Dion. At the same time, preparations were underway for her concert dedicated to farewell to Montreal.

Now solo career Garou is developing quite well. His first album, Seul, mentioned above, sold over 2 million copies. And thanks to the popularity and success of the musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", which will never let you forget about itself, it is one of the most famous artists in Francophonie countries. In 2001, he gave more than eighty concerts in some of these countries, and his album “Seul... avec vous” went platinum in France and gold in Quebec. In March 2002, Garou gave big concert at the Parisian Bercy stadium.

For the first time in his life, he became a dad on July 7, 2001. The girl was named Emily, her mother is an ex-fashion model from Sweden, Ulrika. “Thanks to my lucky star, I have always had very powerful incentives to live. But the day I saw my daughter Emily’s eyes for the first time, I realized that now my life had real MEANING.”

He gained wide fame after playing the role of Quasimodo in the musical Notre Dame de Paris in 1998. Garou real name Garegin was born in the city of Sherbrooke in the province of Quebec on June 26, 1972, eight years later than his older sister Helen. He grew up in a house where music was always playing. When he was three years old, his parents began to notice that their child was very musical. His Armenian grandmother once took little Pierre in her arms and quietly said: “Someday this voice will make more than one woman’s heart cry!” And she turned out to be right.

Garou's father had a hobby - he played the guitar, which is why Garou received his first guitar and his first lessons from him. He taught him several chords, and the boy immediately demonstrated his innate talent, because music had been a part of his life since the very beginning. early years.

Two years later, Garou began to master the piano and organ.

Summer, 1991. Garou, who served in the Quebec city of Citadel, often “borrowed” the army vehicle for “hiking” through the “jungle” of Montreal.

A year later, Garou decides it's time to end his military career.

1993. Military service behind, Garou tries to survive and takes on any job: he carries furniture, works in vineyards and briefly as a manager in a clothing store.

And Garou's voice could only be heard in Montreal metro stations. It was a game with which he told passersby about themselves: “Sex Pistols” for a young rebel, Charles Aznavour for a couple of lovers, or funny children's songs for a mother and child. Garou sincerely gave people joy and demonstrated his musical talent.

One day (March 1993), one of his good friends invited Garou to a concert of a musician named Louis Alarie.

Between songs, Garou was offered a microphone. One fearless performance of a single song and he was immediately hired.

“The first thing I did when I left there was buy a sound system. I also had to learn new songs to add something to my repertoire. Only three days were allotted for preparation! This was my first step into the grueling cycle of nightlife."

The Garou's reputation as a local celebrity quickly spread throughout the area.

After many hectic months hauling all his equipment from bar to bar, he was given the opportunity to perform at Sherbrooke's Liquor Store. The evening was an instant success that lasted for four years. “I learned what the energy of the audience is and the connection with them there.”

In the summer of 1995, he created an R&B group called The Untouchables. The group was a success at every performance. There were many attractive contract offers, but something stopped Garou.

“Looking back, Sony offered me a great deal, but I needed time because I didn’t feel ready.”

“With The Untouchables, we never stuck to the same repertoire. The musicians in the band were used to the fact that they never knew what we were going to play next! I love improvisation!”

These same musicians accompanied Garou on a tour of Europe and Quebec after the release of the album "Seul".

As a child, Garou dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. He was fascinated by the romance of travel and history. Both in archeology and in music for the Garou there was one and the same common feature- the sincere joy of discovery.

“As an artist, it’s as if you are communicating with that part of yourself in which you remained a child. You sincerely enjoy life, this instills a desire to live and create. This is the very reason why I love to sing."

In the early school years Garou studied at private school for boys and was considered a model student. However, by the age of 14, he suddenly became a rebel. Both parents and teachers were perplexed and could not understand anything.

During music lessons, as it was decided by the teachers, Garou was supposed to learn to play the trumpet, but he, in turn, refused to study the “science” offered to him. One day, tormented by the wayward teenager’s antics, the music teacher actually kicked him out of class.

After a while, Garu's friends from school decide to create their own group, they invite him to play the guitar.

This was the first performance of the future star in front of the public. Garou played the guitar and sang songs of his idol, Paul McCartney.

It was a great experience. “Every time we played, the auditorium was completely filled: about 300 people came to listen to us! We did everything ourselves: we printed tickets, created our own emblems, mottos - everything!”

After graduating from school, Garou serves in the army. And then he encounters music again, playing in the Canadian Forces Band. But even here, the incorrigible romantic still saw himself as a ballad-singing troubadour. And the senior ranks had to curb the irrepressible rebel...

Summer, 1997. Luc Plamondon attends a performance by The Untouchables and discovers in Garou the one with whose help he can portray the complex character of Quasimodo in the musical Notre-Dame-De-Paris.

“Luke is just a visionary. I still don't understand how he saw Quasimodo's sadness in me when I was singing about joy and happiness. I went to the audition, but I had no idea it was for the role of the Hunchback. Richard (Cocciante) played the intro to “Belle” and I started singing. Suddenly he stopped playing and silently looked at Luke (Plamondon). After which they asked me to sing “Dieu que le monde est injuste”. I felt that this song was unlike anything I had ever sung before. And the next morning they told me: “You are Quasimodo!”

Garou was stunned by this luck. He immersed himself in studying the novel by Victor Hugo, and, according to him, finishing reading, he experienced a state of real horror.

Garou was not afraid of spectators. He knew that the audience would support him. He had no doubt as to whether he was capable of conveying Quasimodo's pain. But he was constantly tormented by the thought: should he take on such a role? There was a moment when he even decided to abandon the project altogether.

“One day I started arguing with our director (Gilles Maheu). Then after the rehearsal he stayed with me and listened carefully, trying to see everything through my eyes, but at that moment he may not have known that I really needed him, I needed his support. He just looked at me, smiled and said: “Keep doing everything the way you are doing.” I know for sure that you are the one I need."

And then to Paris, Montreal, Lyon, Brussels and London, Garou played his role brilliantly. “Every evening I became a hunchback, unloved, an outcast. And when I left the theater, I felt great love from the audience.”

Then the awards started pouring in. Garou won Quebec's highest musical award, the "F?lix R?v?lation de l'ann?e 1999" for his role as the Hunchback, and "Belle" was awarded the Victoire, World Music Awards and was recognized as the best French-language song of the last fifty years.

“Notre-Dame-De-Paris” became a real hit in France, and Garou simply received numerous offers to record an album or star in a film, but again he wanted something else. He saw everything in his own way and rejected offers.

However, even without a contract, it became clear to everyone: he had become a sensation, and it wouldn’t just end like that. “The people of France have given me so much love that I will be indebted to them for a very long time...”

1998. Garou's voice appeared on the album “Ensemble contre le sida”, it was the song “L'amour existe encore”, he sang a duet with Helen Segara (Esmeralda). Two more discs with his participation were also released: “Enfoir?s” and “ 2000 et un enfant.” “I never asked for it, I tried not to get hung up on popularity,” says Garou.

And yet you can’t escape fate; in 1999, another one appeared in his life. important person Thus began a new adventure in the life of the Garou. This person: Rene Angelil - husband, manager, and producer of singer Celine Dion.

“My first meeting with Rene Angelil lasted only 20 seconds. He came up to me, shook my hand, and...” It was something inexplicable, but it greatly excited him.

"My parents are my best friends and the people closest to me. So, after this meeting, I rushed to them to tell them everything. Later, when Rene and I met again, he told me that the defining moment for him was not my voice or my role at all, it turned out that he was impressed by our handshake.” Garou had no idea how much that handshake would change his life.

Montreal, December 1999. Celine Dion invites Garou, Bryan Adams, and many other artists from Notre-Dame-De-Paris to work with her at her New Year's mega-concert to usher in the new millennium.

The concert was the last one before Celine announced a two-year break. After rehearsal, one evening, Celine and Rene invited Garou to dinner. “Celine told me how happy she was to be working with the best team in the world and how sad she was that she would have to spend two years without them. And then: “We think you should work with them...”

“I was not just amazed. The number one singer in the world asks me to work with her team! It was incredible! The offer was very generous, and... very polite, but it was too much! Even in my wildest dreams I never thought this would happen to me."

“The recording of the album has already been a new fairy tale. It's like a huge Christmas tree with gifts!" Melodic themes handled by the likes of Bryan Adams, Richard Coxiant, Didier Barblivien, Aldo Nova and Luc Plamondon, to name a few...

But despite the fact that Garou worked in a team that one can only dream of, he was not modest in disputes about his personal vision. He wanted to record a very special album, an eclectic combination of styles tied together by a special vision.

“I wanted a colorful album, but I was excited when I heard that they were talking to people with styles as different as David Foster, Bryan Adams and Didier Barblivien. But in the end this mixture became one sound, because the people working on the album at that moment became like me. We all agreed that this album is me...” In 2001, Garou had a daughter, Emily. On February 12, 2010, Garou performed at the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver with the song Un peu plus haut, un peu plus loin.

Discography

Version International (2010)

J"avais Besoin d"?tre L?
Version International
Je Resterai Le M?me
Si Tu Veux Que Je Ne T"aime Plus
For You
Salutations Distingu?es
Je l"aime encore
Bonne Esp?rance
Mise? Jour
Un Nouveau Monde
Passagers Que Nous Sommes
T"es L?
La Sc?ne

Gentleman Cambrioleur (2009)

Gentleman Cambrioleur (J. Dutronc)
I Love Paris (F. Sinatra)
Les Dessous chics (Jane Birkin)
Sorry (Madonna)
New Year's Day (U2)
Aux Champs Elys?es (Joe Dassin)
Da Ya think I m Sexy (Rod Steward)
Aimer d'Amour (Boule Noire)
C est Comme Ca (Mitsouko Rita)
Je Veux Tout (Ariane Moffatt)
A Ma Fille (Charles Aznavour)
Sound of Silence (Simon&Garfunkel)
Everybody knows (Leonard Cohen)

Piece of My Soul (2008)

"Stand Up"
"Accidental"
"Burning"
Heaven's Table
"All The Way"
"Take a Piece of My Soul"
"What's The Time In NYC"
"You And I"
"First Day Of My Life"
"Nothing Else Meters"
"Back For More"
"Beautiful Regret"
"Coming Home"

Garou (2006)

"Le Temps Nous Aime"
"Je Suis Le Méme"
"Plus Fort Que Moi"
"L'injustice"
"Que Le Temps"
"M?me Par Amour"
"Dis Que Tu Me Retiendras"
"Trahison"
"Milliers De Pixels"
"Je Suis Debout"
"Viens Me Chercher"
"Quand Je Manque De Toi"

Reviens (2003)

"Pass Ta Route"
"Et Si on Dormait"
"Hemingway"
"Aveu"
"Reviens (O? Te Caches-Tu?)"
"Pour l'Amour d'Une Femme"
"Pendant que mes cheveux poussent"
"Filles"
"Sucre et le Sel"
"Quand Passe la Passion"
"Coeur de la Terre"
"Pri?re Indienne"
“Tout Cet Amour L?”
"Ne Me Parlez Plus d'Elle"
"Ton Premier Regard"
"Derni?re Fois Encore" (feat. Gildas Arzel)

Seul…avec vous

"Je N'attendais Que Vous"
"Gitan"
"Que L'amour Est Violent"
"La Boheme"
"Au Plaisir De Ton Corps"
"Ce Soir On Danse A Naziland"
"Demande Au Soleil"
"Belle"
"Au Bout De Mes Reves"
"You Can Leave Your Hat On"
"Medley R&B: Sex Machine/Everybody/Shout/I Feel Good"
"Dieu Que Le Monde Est Injuste"
Seul
"Le Monde Est Stone"

Seul (2000)

"Gitan"
"Que l'Amour Est Violent"
"Demande au Soleil"
Seul
"Sous le Vent" (feat. Celine Dion)
"Je N'Attendais Que Vous"
"Criminal"
"Calme Plat"
"Plaisir de Ton Corps"
“Moiti? du Ciel"
"Lis Dans Mes Yeux"
"Jusqu"? Me Perdre"
"Gambler"
"Adieu"

Garou's favorite drink is scotch.
The Garan family's roots come from Normandy

In 2009, Garou starred in the leading role in Eric Kivanyan's film "The Return of Love" ("L"amour aller-retour").

Garou(Garou) is a French-Canadian musician, singer and actor. His real name is Pierre Garand. He became widely famous after playing the role of Quasimodo in the musical “Notre-Dame de Paris” in 1998. Garou was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec on June 26, 1972, eight years later than his older sister Maryse. He grew up in a house where music was always playing. When he was three years old, his parents began to notice that their child was very musical. His grandmother, Ketevi Garan, once took little Pierre in her arms and quietly said: “Someday this voice will make more than one woman’s heart cry!” And she turned out to be right.

At my father's Garou was a hobby - he played the guitar, that's why he got his first guitar and his first lessons Garou I got it from him. He taught him several chords, and the boy immediately demonstrated his innate talent, because music had been a part of his life from a very early age.

Two years later Garou began to master the piano and organ.

Summer, 1991. Served in the Quebec city of Citadelle, Garou often "borrowed" an army vehicle for "hiking" through the "jungle" of Montreal.

A year later Garou decides it's time to end his military career.

1993. Military service behind him, Garou tries to survive and takes on any job: moving furniture, working in vineyards, and briefly as a manager in a clothing store.

And Garou's voice could only be heard in Montreal metro stations. It was a game with which he told passersby about themselves: "Sex Pistols" for a young rebel, Charles Aznavour for a couple of lovers, or funny children's songs for a mother and child. Garou sincerely brought joy to people and showed off his musical talent.

One day (March 1993), one of his good friends invited Garou to a concert of a musician named Louis Alary.

Between songs, Garou was offered a microphone. One fearless performance of a single song and he was immediately hired.

Garou's reputation as a local celebrity quickly spread throughout the area.

In the summer of 1995, he created an R&B group called The Untouchables. The group was a success at every performance. There were many attractive contract offers, but something stopped Garou.

“Looking back, Sony offered me a great deal, but I needed time because I didn’t feel ready.”

“With The Untouchables, we never stuck to the same repertoire. The musicians in the band were used to the fact that they never knew what we were going to play next! I love improvisation!”

These same musicians accompanied Garou on tour in Europe and Quebec after the release of the album "SEUL". Even as a child, Garou dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. He was fascinated by the romance of travel and history.

Both archeology and music had one thing in common for Garou - a sincere joy of discovery.

During his early school years, Garou attended a private boys' school and was considered a model student. However, by the age of 14, he suddenly became a rebel. Both parents and teachers were perplexed and could not understand anything.

After a while, Garou's school friends decide to create their own group, they invite him to play guitar.

This was the first performance of the future star in front of the public. Garou played guitar and sang songs of his idol, Paul McCartney.

After finishing school, Garou serves in the army. And then he encounters music again: playing in the Canadian Forces Band. But even here, the incorrigible romantic still saw himself as a ballad-singing troubadour. And the senior ranks had to curb the irrepressible rebel...

"Luc is just a visionary. I still don't understand how he saw in me the sadness of Quasimodo when I was singing about joy and happiness. I went to the audition, but I had no idea it was for the role of the Hunchback. Richard (Cocciante ) played the intro "BELLE" and I started singing. Suddenly he stopped playing and looked at Luc (Plamondon) silently, after which they asked me to sing "Dieu que le monde est injuste". no matter what I had to sing before. And the next morning they told me: “You are Quasimodo!”

Garou was stunned by this luck. He immersed himself in studying the novel by Victor Hugo, and, according to him, finishing reading, he experienced a state of real horror.

Garou was not afraid of the audience. He knew that the audience would support him. He had no doubt as to whether he was capable of conveying Quasimodo's pain. But he was constantly tormented by the thought: should he take on such a role? There was a moment when he even decided to abandon the project altogether.

“One day, I started arguing with our director (Gilles Maheu). Then after the rehearsal he stayed with me and listened carefully, trying to see everything through my eyes, but at that moment he may not have known that I really needed him, I needed his support.

He just looked at me, smiled and said: “Keep doing everything the way you are doing. I know for sure that you are the one I need.”

Then the awards started pouring in. Garou won Quebec's highest musical award, the "F?lix R?v?lation de l'ann?e 1999" for his role as the Hunchback, and "BELLE" was awarded the Victoire, World Music Awards and was recognized as the best French-language song of the last fifty years.

Notre Dame De Paris became a real hit in France, and Garou simply received numerous offers to record an album or star in a film, but again he wanted something else. He saw everything in his own way and rejected offers.

1998. Garou's voice appeared on the album “Ensemble contre le sida”, it was the song “L'amour existe encore”, he sang a duet with H?l?ne Segara (Esmeralda). There were also two more discs with his participation: “Enfoir? s" and "2000 et un enfants" "I never asked for it, I tried not to get hung up on popularity," says Garou.

And yet you can’t escape fate; in 1999, another important person appeared in his life, and so began a new adventure in Garou’s life. This person: Ren? Angelil is the husband, manager, and producer of C?line singer Dion.

“My first meeting with Ren? Angelil lasted only 20 seconds. He came up to me, shook my hand, and...” It was something inexplicable, but it greatly excited him.

“My parents are my best friends and the people closest to me. So, after this meeting, I rushed to them to tell them everything. Later when we're with Ren? met again, he told me that the defining moment for him was not my voice or my role at all, it turned out that he was impressed by our handshake.” Garou had no idea how much that handshake would change his life.

Montreal, December 1999. C?line Dion invites Garou, Bryan Adams, and many other artists from the Notre Dame De Paris production to work with her at her New Year's mega concert to welcome the new millennium.

The concert was the last before the two-year pause announced by C?line. After rehearsal one evening, C?line and Ren? invited Garou to dinner. “C?line told me how happy she was to be working with the best team in the world and how sad she was to have to spend two years without them. And then: “We think you should work with them...”

“Recording the album was already a new fairy tale. It's like a huge Christmas tree, with gifts!" Melodic themes handled by the likes of Bryan Adams, Richard Cocciante, Didier Barbelivien, Aldo Nova, and Luc Plamondon, to name a few...

“I wanted a colorful album, but I was excited when I heard that they were talking to people with styles as different as David Foster, Bryan Adams and Didier Barbelivien. But in the end, this mixture became one sound, because the people working on the album at that moment became like me. We all agreed that this album is me..."

The work of this talented singer is mainly fascinated by those who like the French musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", in which Garou (and it is under this stage name that the artist performs) performs main role- the ugly hunchback Quasimodo. But, it goes without saying, this is not the only thing he is known for. Literally all of Garou's solo compositions deserve attention, because they are performed with such dedication, feeling and skill that it would be simply blasphemy not to listen to them.

Pierre Garand (as you understand, this is the singer's real name) was born on June 26, 1972 in the Canadian city of Sherbrooke, not far from Quebec and Montreal. The singer received his stage name from his friends, who, noticing his passion for nightlife, nicknamed the guy “Garou” ( French word"loup-garou" means "werewolf"). When the baby was only three years old, his parents gave him a guitar. Two years later he began to master the piano, and then the organ. It’s very strange, but as a child Garou dreamed of becoming an archaeologist in order to discover something new.

At first, Pierre was an exemplary student at the Sherbrooke Seminary, but by the age of 14, something rebelled in him. Both parents and teachers tried to find him common language, but everything was to no avail. In 1987, Garou became the guitarist for his classmates' band, which was called "The Windows and Doors" ("Windows and Doors"), and his first stage performance took place in the school hall. After graduation, the guy joins the Canadian army as a trumpet player. In 1992, when he was 20 years old, Pierre left the army and returned to the streets and bars of Sherbrooke, where he sang and played guitar.

In 1993, in order to earn at least a little money, Pierre takes on literally any job, even to the point of being hired as a grape picker. He spends almost every night at discos, still performing songs with a guitar and entertaining local residents. In March of the same year, a friend invited Garou to a concert by chansonnier Louis Alari. During the break, she asked Monsieur Alari to give Garou the microphone and allow him to sing at least one song... In short, the bar owner was so impressed by Garou's performance that he invited him to work at his place. From that time on, he “traveled” from one cafe to another with a guitar at the ready and a self-composed repertoire, and his name became known in certain circles.

Until 1997, he played in a fashionable establishment of that time called "Liquor's Store de Sherbrooke". His owner, Francis Delage, proposed organizing so-called "Garou Sundays", when he invited other musicians to perform on stage with the newly-minted artist. You can There is no doubt that everyone present was delighted with these impromptu concerts!

his grand tour in 2000, dedicated to the release of the singer’s first album, “Seul” (“Lonely”), consisting of 14 tracks.

During one of the group's performances in 1997, Luc Plamondon, the creator of the libretto for the original French version of the musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", noticed the artist and realized that he had found his Quasimodo. Soon Garou appears before the strict court of Plamondon and composer Richard Cocciant, who offer him to perform some arias from the musical - the famous "Belle" and "Dieu que le monde est injuste" ("God, how unfair the world is"). The next day they informed Garou that he would be Quasimodo!

For two years, Garou brilliantly plays Quasimodo in "Notre-Dame de Paris", moving from Montreal to Paris, from London to Brussels... In 1999 he receives several prestigious awards for his role, including the "World Music Award" for the song "Belle", which, by the way, stayed in first place in the French charts for 33 weeks and was recognized as the best song of the fiftieth anniversary. In 2000, Garou and several stars of the French production, in particular Daniel Lavoie and Bruno Pelletier, took part in the English production of the musical, which became very popular.

After the great success of "Notre-Dame de Paris", the artist Garou, already known to the general public, receives a huge number of different offers and becomes truly famous. In 1998, he took part in the recording of the album "Ensemble contre le sida" ("Together against AIDS"), and also sang the song "L"amour existe encore" ("Love still exists"), written by Plamondon and Cocciante for Celine Dion, in a duet with the performer of the role of Esmeralda Helen Segara.

At the very end of 1999, Garou, together with the entire Notre-Dame de Paris troupe, took part in Celine Dion's New Year's show. At the same time, preparations were underway for her concert dedicated to farewell to Montreal. By the way, Garou performed one of the best and most beautiful, in my opinion, songs from his repertoire, “Sous le vent” (“In the Wind”), in a duet with the magnificent Celine. Now this song is at the top of the charts in French-speaking countries.

Now Garou's solo career is developing quite well. His first album, "Seul", mentioned above, sold over 2 million copies. And thanks to the popularity and success of the musical "Notre-Dame de Paris", which will never let itself be forgotten, he is one of the most famous artists in the Francophonie countries. In 2001, he gave more than eighty concerts in some of these countries, and his album "Seul... avec vous" went platinum in France and gold in Quebec. In March 2002, Garou gave a big concert at the Bercy Stadium in Paris. And in the spring of 2003, his English-language album is planned to be released. I hope that over time Garou will not lose his cheerful mood and charm, and will delight fans with sincere songs for a long time to come.

N.B. The seven best, in my opinion, songs from Garu's album "Seul":

1. "Demande au soleil";

3. "Sous le vent";