In terms of popularity, Pierre Garnier breaks records. We saw this again on June 8 during the Star Academy tour concert at the Accor Arena in Paris-Bercy, where the majority of the audience brandished signs with his name. When, on February 1, the 22-year-old young man, originally from Villedieu-les-Poêles in Normandy, a telecrochet finalist, took his final evaluations, he proposed a new composition, Those we were, written with his musician friends from Caen, Joseph Kamel and Daisy Berthenet. Social networks are going crazy, the chorus is in everyone’s heads. His victory on the show, a few days later, is only a formality. Four months later, the single is classified in the diamond disc category with no less than… 50 million streams. Since then, the singer, aware of the opportunity of such excitement, has worked tirelessly. As if launched into an immense race against time to establish his talent. Before embarking on the staracademycians tour and its 450,000 spectators on all dates combined, he locked himself away for a “big week”, the time to think and put together the project of an album produced by Sony Music France, Every second , released June 7. Some compositions are recent, others date from six months before his entry into Star Ac’. One of them, Pas une larme, recorded featuring the pianist Sofiane Pamart, written “ after my first breakup », he explains to us, has already won the support of an audience who waited until midnight, the day of the release of the opus, to be able to listen to his work. While critics credit him with pop musical qualities, he can be proud of having filled the twelve dates of his solo tour – which begins in Forges-les-Eaux (Seine-Maritime) on January 10, 2025 – in two hours. And his Olympia on January 22, in two minutes flat. His name in red letters, boulevard des Capucines, in Paris, he didn’t dare dream of it… but why not think big now. His references in the profession? The answer bursts out: “ Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran or Shawn Mendes. » An ambition which does not prevent him from being level-headed. For this ex-DUT business student, there are no dark thoughts like a cursed poet. But a pragmatism that allows him to keep his feet on the ground: “ I didn’t waste my time focusing on the mechanics of marketing. After all, I realize that even artists have to sell themselves and are products. If this allows me to better know how to manage my social networks with an audience, so much the better. »
“Now, I believe that a meeting is more a question of feeling than of criteria of perfection.”
In life, this boy with a half-hearted smile pleases with his sincerity. To nourish the fourteen titles of Each secondhe dared the register of feelings, tackling the subjects of friendship, depression – “ because I see a lot of them around me » – or love life. We ask him if this does not offend his modesty, he replies: “ No way. Most of the songs I like are love songs and you don’t always realize what they’re about because they’re in English. But the human is what my favorite pop singers exploit. This album, I decided to make it in French because I realized that I was hiding behind English, out of shyness, whereas in French, I am more comfortable and undoubtedly more honest with my emotions. » Since his success, his relationships with the teachers at Star Academy have changed. “ We are no longer in a hierarchical academic relationship. They talk to me as equals, it’s nice. » Encouraged by Slimane, the rapper Sopico and Yodelice since his victory on the TF1 show, he does not regret having participated. “ Star Ac’ taught me to free myself, to assert myself. » It was through this experience that he was able to define his look, which he describes as “ a somewhat classy simplicity… I hope. » On a bonus, in particular, a hairdresser found him the hairstyle that he never leaves: parted in the middle, slicked hair shaved on the sides and ponytail. On the mustache side, however, nothing new under the sun. He laughs as he confirms that he has had one since his hair allowed him to do so, roughly since he was a teenager.
And it was not without astonishment that he discovered, when he left the telecrochet, that he had made a number of girls fantasize or that he was being credited with having adventures, particularly with his sister from the star Academy, Helena. “ People still talk to me about it, he sighs, resigned, and maybe people will always talk to me about it. But Héléna and I laughed about it. Actually, I’m single. » No lady of the heart therefore for this artist who has been playing football for ten years, spends his time off with a group of friends and has kept the same Caen acolytes – the authors Joseph Kamel, Daisy Berthenet and the director Marso – to build his album. At the speed he’s going, we imagine that Pierre Garnier doesn’t have much time to flirt anymore. But he thought about what he might like in a mate. “ When I was younger, I perhaps paid more attention to a girl’s physique, I’ve changed. Now, I believe that a meeting is more a question of feeling than of criteria of perfection. And in a girl, I love humor. » While waiting to have a private life that allows him to laugh in unison, the singer continues to give his all professionally. Has he never thought about taking a pseudonym to make a career in singing? He retorts, smirking: “ Yes, but now it’s too late! » Launched like never before, in six months flat, Pierre Garnier has made a first name, a last name and a fan club who would not want to see him change for anything in the world, not even “ a second »
This article could be found in Gala N°1618, available on June 13 on newsstands. To follow the news live, you can join Gala’s WhatsApp thread. The new issue of Gala was released this Thursday June 20, 2024. Happy reading.
Photo credits: Sandrine Thesillat / Panoramic / Bestimage