Remember, in December 2022, Elodie had marked the viewers of Do not forget the lyrics. In addition to having dethroned Maestro Caroline, who has been present for 52 shows, the young woman had broken an exceptional record in just three appearances: “We are going to celebrate fifteen years of Do not forget the lyrics. Of all the greatest and greatest Maestros, none or none had three wins and three bells to start their journey”, Nagui had explained, admiringly, at the time. Finally eliminated after 26 victories, the SVT professor had returned the famous Micro d’Argent on December 21, 2022, leaving with the tidy sum of 151,000 euros. But today, Elodie is back on the set of France 2 ! On Monday, August 28, 2023, the former Maestro participated in the preliminary round of the program’s Masters. For the occasion, she agreed to grant an interview to Current wife.
Current Woman: how did this preliminary round go?
Elodie: I was called saying that I was one of the eight best candidates of the season and therefore that I had the chance to face the others to have a place in the Masters. It was decided very recently and I said to myself “My god, I did not revise!” It had been since November that I had not opened my workbooks, while other candidates eliminated less long ago were still in the bath of revisions. I told myself that I was not up to it. As for my first journey, I did hypnotherapy sessions to try to regain my self-confidence. It was beneficial because I finally lived this preliminary round without much pressure, and I liked it more than my initial course. I said to myself, whether I lose or win, I have to take advantage. So I took it more in relaxation mode.
Exactly, have you got used to television sets since, or is the stress still as present?
E. : It’s very weird, because I’m very stressed by nature. The last time, at work, I had a little presentation to make in front of the rector and I started to stutter, to stammer and to sweat like hell, I was so unwell. And on the set, I absolutely didn’t feel that stress, even though there is much greater visibility than in a small room at a small college! I was very comfortable. Stressed when it starts, of course, but I haven’t lost my means. I don’t know if the hypnotherapy really worked, or if I just force-conditioned myself, but I felt like I was at home. I experienced it better.
These “little touches” of Nagui behind the scenes
Is your ease on the set partly due to Nagui, who always seems to reassure stressed candidates?
E. : Yes, completely. The first time, I knocked out a great Maestro, Caroline. She had woven a lot of ties with Nagui, she had had time to integrate well. I felt Nagui a little sad to lose someone he liked. I will always remember the little hug he gave her, where he patted her on the back, giving me a look that seemed to say “you eliminated one of my darlings”. At that time, I said to myself “ohlala, I will have to be up to it” [rires]. Initially, Nagui has no a priori on the candidates, he welcomes everyone with kindness. Afterwards, I think that when he saw that I was managing to stay, that I was trying to hold on, he must have had a certain satisfaction too. Maybe he was happy to see that there was good mic transmission.
Does he behave the same way behind the scenes as he does on set?
E. : Yes, he is still energetic, still hyper operational. I remember that he made me laugh during my journey. He had received a phone call from Bruno Guillon just when the credits of Do not forget the lyrics was launching. We were ready to leave, and he picked up! He has a very professional management, I was in awe. He is very professional, he is very caring. As soon as there is something wrong, he reassures us. My feet hurt because I was wearing high heels, and when you’re not used to it, it’s painful when you watch seven or eight shows, and he said to me “but you can change your shoes If you want !” It was little touches like that that made him very human. He’s great.
“My students came to see me at recess to say congratulations”
How did you reconcile filming with your job as a teacher?
E. : Shootings did not fall during school holidays. Filming takes place over one or two days: there are between eight and twelve programs recorded per day, and since I had done 26, it only lasted two and a half days. So I didn’t miss a lot of classes, and I then made up those hours with the agreement of my headteacher. But maybe also the fact of being a teacher gave me an asset as a candidate, because the filming of a program represents approximately the time of an hour of lessons. I said to myself that it was like at work, that I had to manage to keep the momentum. It gave me the equivalent of a classic day after all. In addition, you really have to be focused throughout, you can’t have a moment of absence on set, otherwise you’ll quickly be lost. So it’s really like in class, where you have to be constantly on the job!
Have your students watched you on TV?
E. : So yes, but I didn’t tell them. I had only talked about it to my colleagues, to explain my absences and also to share a little of what I was going through. It was the next day that my students said to me: “Madam, you were on TV, we took your picture and we rotated it on Snapchat!” They were all happy, they came to see me at recess to say congratulations. These are also memories that will remain engraved. Sometimes I use that as a means of motivation to make them understand that you have to work to get something. My passage in Do not forget the lyrics represents six years of work, it was serious. It teaches them to give themselves the means to succeed.
“It’s the best defeat I’ve ever experienced”
How do you feel after this defeat in the preliminary round?
E. : I was apprehensive because I knew there were very strong candidates, notably Audrey. It is for me one of the best of the show, it has a level of crazy. And indeed, I lost against her. But I’m happy for her because she deserves it. Even having lost, I tell myself that I have won everything. Already, I was first in terms of ranking with my 151,000 euros, so I was not to complain. And we developed a great bond on set with Audrey. It was a very friendly competition, and I came away almost relieved that she won. Honestly, it’s the most beautiful defeat that I could live. I have absolutely no regrets, I even enjoyed the preliminary round more than my first round. I keep a very good memory of it, in addition we have a very good cohesion with the whole group, we send messages almost every day and we look forward to the broadcast. We were very united and it’s also our small victory for all, in the end.
You say you’re scared of people’s reaction, so do you read the comments on social media after your TV appearances?
E. : I’m shy, but I’m also curious. So yes, I looked at the comments. I was a little afraid of taking my face, especially because I had eliminated Caroline, a very popular candidate. In the end, people were very kind to me. On the comments that there may have been, I saw 99% positive. And the 1% negative that remains, I don’t even find it justified, like the reflections on my clothing for example. I didn’t take it for myself.
Indeed, there were many encouraging comments upon your arrival. Especially concerning the record you broke on your third participation…
E. : I had chained the bells, and it’s funny because Nagui had called me Big Ben for this reason. I don’t know if he did it on purpose, and I didn’t realize right away, but that was when the monument bells rang again in London following a restoration.
“My husband took care of the children, the cleaning, the meals, everything in fact!”
What did you do with your 151,000 euros in earnings?
E. : With part of the gains, we reduced our loan so that we could live a little more easily. I said on the show that I wanted to buy myself a roof tent for the car, so I could wander around France a bit. Finally, it turned into a converted van! I talked about it with my husband, and he said to me: “these are your earnings, you worked for them so you do what you want with them.” I should receive it in a few weeks. I traveled very little when I was a kid, so it’s a dream come true. Even as a child, I was already playing with my Barbie motorhome dreaming of going everywhere! I can’t wait to discover France, which is still a very rich country in terms of landscapes and culture. It will also create a lot of memories for my children, so it is also a purchase for the whole family. And with the money that remains, we will also afford a wood stove for our house, and perhaps also do more restaurants. We enjoy a little more by allowing ourselves things that we did not allow ourselves before, and that is priceless.
Precisely, can we know a little more about your husband and your children?
E. : My husband Guillaume is a mathematics and computer science teacher in a high school in Cavaillon. He helped me a lot while I was revising for Do not forget the lyrics. My husband took care of our two children – Grégory, who is 7 and a half years old, and Elsa, who turned 4 this year – cleaning, meals (everything in fact!), while I isolated myself in the bedroom to learn my songs. It wouldn’t have been possible without him. He’s always been behind me, so it’s something that we finally experienced together. He was also delighted that I was on TV. I remember the moment of the first broadcast, which I couldn’t see live because I was working, where when I came home I heard the three of them shouting: “There’s mom on TV !” Moreover, my children tell me that they want to take part in Do not forget the lyrics when they grow up. They are a little out of step with children their age, who sing rap, for example. They sing Whistle on the hill ! [rires] My husband tells me sometimes, laughing, that I have “broken” our children.