In 2001, the public discovered for the first time the Star Academy, became a famous French telehook. A wildly successful program in which, for nearly three months, the 16 candidates received artistic training within the famous castle of Dammarie-les-Lys. Among them, undeniable talents, like the singer Jenifer, winner of this first edition, or even Mario Barravecchia, his competitor. Although he did not win 1 million euros at the time, he still met with some success with the public. A fame that quickly turned into money, to the delight of the singer of Belgian-Italian origins. Interviewed on the show At the house of Jordan Luxurybroadcast on C8 Friday February 9, 2024, the 47-year-old artist, now a real estate agent and magazine publisher, spoke in more detail about the amounts he was able to receive when he was younger.
Mario Barravecchia: “I was very, very stupid at the time (…), I invited a lot of people”
“The first check I received from Universal Music at the time was around 200,000 euros in advance, so that was in 2002”he explained on C8, before specifying: “Then there is the album, there are lots of things, and obviously we earn lots of money because there is the tour… Between 600,000 and 800,000 perhaps.” Naive at the time, Mario Barravecchia took life as it came, without worrying about the financial consequences. He now admits to having “almost everything flambé”to his great regret. “I was very, very stupid at the time because at 23, 24, 25 years old, I don’t know the number I blew, but I invited a lot of people”, remembers the one who helped his father die. “I was never alone, restaurants, bars, clubs, that’s it… So when I got married the first time, we calmed down, but we had already burned part of it”.
And the story doesn’t end there for the one who is on bad terms with Jenifer. Despite the sums already spent, Marion Barravecchia does not realize until too late that he is using this money “perhaps clumsily”. “We go to posh ski resorts to act American, per week at 15,000, 20,000 euros, we rent an overpriced apartment on the island of Saint-Louis, the neighbor was Claudia Cardinale7,000 euros per month, you don’t calculate, at 23, you have the impression that you are going to have 300,000 every six months”. If he has now changed his life today and stopped music, one thing is certain: Mario Barravecchia will forever remember the way he was able to experience his first years of fame.