A few hours before the grand finale of the ninth season of “La Voix”, coaches Corneille, Marc Dupré, Marjo and Mario Pelchat take stock of their experience, and take a lucid look at the potential of their respective finalists.
Corneille, an invested coach
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Corneille lived his coaching experience at “La Voix” with intensity. Even if this adventure only lasted a few months, it was rewarding for him. “There are discoveries and friendships that have been forged, I have met extraordinary human beings whether in production or with the candidates of my team. It stimulated me creatively, with all the emotionally charged moments. There are parts of me that have been positively shaken, like with Sylveo’s number, and others. All of this could be a chapter in my great book of “The Voice”. It passed very quickly, but it’s a whole slice of life.
The singer was so absorbed in his role that he only focused on it. “I’m waiting for April 10 to think about the rest of my career. I haven’t had my mind on anything other than “La Voix” since the beginning. But I know that I’m going to do shows this summer at a festival, and then I’m going to go on tour in Quebec starting in the fall.”
Corneille is proud to have Jay as a finalist on his team. He even thinks that Quebec, and the Francophonie as a whole, needs a talent like him. “There has never been a young guy who sings, dances, entertains, with real charisma and depth at the same time. It is a model that has long been American, but Jay enters into this framework.
He realized from the start that the public was sensitive to the mad charisma of his protege. “He is so grounded and convinced, and therefore compelling. I remember his blind audition, which was quite understated, but with such force in his presence. He’s also such a hard-working boy, one of the most conscientious artists I’ve met.”
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Jay par Jay
“Adding my Afro-Caribbean roots into my numbers is what I wanted to do from the start. In these hard and critical times in Haiti, I wanted to show a positive and joyful aspect that people have another look at my country of origin. I make music for people and for the direct contact I can have with them. With all the negative around us, I want people to remember that there’s always a positive in the middle of it all.”
Marc Dupré, an inspiring coach
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Once again, Marc Dupré is very satisfied with this season at “La Voix”.
“I’m happy with my choices, I had fun. It allowed me to dig into places I hadn’t been in a while. My candidates were calm with all my decisions. It was a very close-knit team, which wanted to have “fun”. I didn’t feel any competition between them, they were always glued.”
Sitting in the red armchair on this show is very inspiring and rewarding for the singer. “When you get there, you experience an adventure that doesn’t usually exist in this profession. It’s a time when you’re going to experience a lot of things, look for inspiration. I feel more settled after a season of “La Voix”, even if I’m burned because I give myself completely. But I love music, I need to create every day. It keeps me alive, it keeps me young and I learn a lot of things.
He sees in his finalist, Adam El Mouna, a complete artist. “He is always in creation and creativity. He can do any song, he sees it as a story he’s going to tell, he lives it completely. He also has a great acting talent, he likes to play with the camera. He is flamboyant, full of ideas and he is always open to trying new things, until the last moment before going on stage. He offers me songs that are sometimes far from him, I love that, but it’s because he sees the potential of what he could play in there. Marc also underlines his great curiosity. “He is always learning. He is interested, open and asks everyone questions, he uses all the tools to go further.
Photo QMI Agency, Joël Lemay
Adam pair Adam
“I still want to amaze myself and surpass myself. Each time I complete a stage, I realize that I can make a living from this job, that I have an impact. I have so much fun going on stage. I approach the final with ambition. I want to give everything to show what I am and who I am.”
Marjo, an instinctive coach
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Marjo admits that she didn’t know exactly what she was getting into when she agreed to sit on a coach’s chair at “La Voix”. “It’s very demanding, she told the QMI Agency. Generosity, the desire to reach out to others and to share, I have that in me. But opening it up to full size is something I had to define. I didn’t know who I was going to be as a coach, I went there gradually. I was a little frozen at the start, I didn’t know how it works, the exchange with the candidates. But I did my best.”
She remains admiring of the work that her candidates have accomplished throughout the adventure, and confides that she has received a lot from their contact. “It was a joy to live with people who love to sing, and who want to sing. Behind this desire to go on stage, there is a hidden reason, which is the desire to share and to be loved. If asked, I’m ready to do it again.”
She will also keep a beautiful memory of her meeting with Corneille. “I have a special connection with him. We look alike in a certain way, in fragility, gentleness, understanding… Corneille has come out with beautiful sentences that make us think, I like that.
About Christopher Therrien, the finalist of her team, she finds him simply breathtaking. “He is a sincere and generous person. He has a constancy in his breath. It’s a tireless, inexhaustible stack. He already had a crazy energy, we saw it during the duels. He also has a wide register, he can have fun in simplicity as well as in madness.
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Christopher par Christopher
“In my heart, I’m already a winner to be in the final. My challenge is taken up, the public has chosen me, I couldn’t ask for better. Since the first season of “Star Académie”, I have dreamed of this. It’s a dream come true. In this adventure, I learned to trust myself, I learned that I had my place, that it is mine.
Mario Pelchat, a sensitive coach
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Mario Pelchat only takes positives from his experience as a coach at “La Voix”, a career that has even rekindled his flame.
“When we are young, we are curious, we are in musical and cultural discovery, we are like sponges, and as we grow up, we are confined to a cruising speed which makes us lose of this curiosity. In this coaching exercise, we discover lots of new talents, it’s very nourishing.
The singer was even surprised to find that his music is attracting more and more young people. “There are young girls who ask me to take pictures with them. It’s pretty crazy the impact that “La Voix” can have on the public, everyone talks to me about it. It gives me incredible moments.”
He says he deeply loved all his candidates and he intends to continue to follow them in the future. “This summer, I am starting my residence at the vineyard again, there are 45 dates on the agenda. I will invite my candidates to come and sing with me as a surprise. People won’t know who will be there, but I want them to experience the stage with my musicians, and allow me to get to know them even better.”
Sophie Grenier, her finalist, knew how to touch the hearts of the public with her originality, but the coach also sees something else in her. “She never hits a wrong note, it’s always the perfect pitch. She also has beautiful nuances, everything is always felt and touching. She doesn’t try to put on too much. But no matter what will happen in the final, I want to continue to work with her and in particular to make her go to more rhythmic songs.
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Sophie by Sophie
“The final is all about excitement, stress, the desire to win, but at the same time, I’m super excited to be able to work with the guest artists. That’s mainly why I wanted to go there. I know myself quite well as an artist, and with the experience of “La Voix”, I know myself even better.
- The final of “La Voix” is broadcast this Sunday, at 7:30 p.m., on TVA.