a candidate with a surprising speech syndrome

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During the fourth blind audition of “The Voice”, Esmé, 21, moved Zazie to tears with her cover of “Don’t judge me” by Camille Lellouche. An interpretation that echoes his experience.

This Saturday March 18, at 9 p.m., on TF1, viewers will have the opportunity to see Esmé’s performance. 21 years old and originally from Cogolin (Var) near Saint-Tropez, she hid her talent for singing for ten years his family. “It’s been twelve years since [The Voice] is the meeting place for the whole family in front of the TV”, she explains to the cameras of the show. His relatives complained that none of the members could sing, before Esmé reveals her passion to them.

If she hid it for so long, it’s because of a confidence issue. At the age of 7, the doctors diagnosed him with Gilles de La Tourette syndrome. According to the Brain and Spine Institute (ICM), “it is a neuropsychiatric disease with a genetic component characterized by involuntary, sudden, brief and intermittent tics, resulting in movements (motor tics) or vocalizations (sound tics).” For Esme, This causes muscle contractions at the level of his eyes, his back and his stomach. Harassed and mocked for her mannerisms, Esmé found refuge in singing and in the support of her friends. “I had a long job of accepting myself, but singing is in the process of confidence”she added.

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A symbolic song

For her blind audition, the young woman chose to interpret a symbolic title: “Don’t judge me”, by Camille Lellouche. His performance moved Zazie to tearswho was the first – and only – juror to press the red button, effectively accepting Esmé on her team. “I noticed a check on something nervouswhich didn’t get along when you were singing”, she said after the hearing. Esme then explained her disability to him. She grabbed the opportunity to break a recurring stereotype about the syndromewhen Zazie asked her if she “[sortait] insanity”. According to the ICM, “coprolalia, often caricatured, which is the repetition of insults, concerns only less than 20% of patients with Gilles de La Tourette syndrome“. On stage, Esmé also confessed that singing gives her endorphins, which alleviate her symptoms. Zazie congratulated her: “You sing very well […] You don’t take a song like that by chance. Everything is body, everything makes sense, and that voice is really beautiful.” Participating in the adventure may allow Esmé to experience the same journey as a celebrity with the same syndrome: singer Billie Eilish.

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Passionate about writing, Floréane is interested in a wide variety of subjects. When she’s not writing about current events, the environment or gender issues, she takes refuge under a blanket…

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