Christophe Maé

Biography

Christophe Martichon (French pronunciation: [kʁistɔf maʁtiʃɔ̃]; born 16 October 1975), better known by his stage name Christophe Maé (pronounced [kʁistɔf mae]), is a French pop singer.

Career

Maé learned to play the violin at age five, and later began playing the guitar and harmonica at age 16 after he was immobilised from chronic polyarthritis. He has stated that this was the time when he discovered Stevie Wonder's music which inspired him to take up playing the harmonica. He also discovered Bob Marley's music to whom, years later, he dedicates a song: "Mon père spirituel". It is at the same period that he started playing the guitar. In 2005 he rose to fame by playing the role of Monsieur, brother of King Louis XIV in the musical "Le Roi Soleil", for which he won the NRJ Music Award for revelation of the year 2006.

Releases

Maé's first album was entitled Sa Danse Donne×Sa danse donne2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1J'ai la aime2:482Sa danse donne2:583En ton nom3:014Quitte à être seul3:485Donald dans les docks (Daisy)3:586Tout ce temps qui passe3:357Partir3:218Pardonne-moi3:309Ma peine capitale2:5310Laurine1:3811On ne garde rien3:3112Elle n'a rien compris3:3713Je cherche la voix3:23, and released in 2002–2003. This album is not considered his first studio album. He released his first studio album, Mon paradis×Mon paradis19 March 2007 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1On s’attache3:112Mon paradis3:113Belle demoiselle3:314Parce qu’on sait jamais3:125Ça fait mal3:436L’Art et la Manière4:067C’est ma terre3:518Maman3:469Ma vie est une larme3:1710Va voir ailleurs3:1411Mon père spirituel3:2012Spleen2:59 (My Paradise) on 19 March 2007, with the singles "On s'attache×On s'attache19 March 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1On s'attache3:112On s'attache (acoustique)3:10", "Parce qu'on sait jamais×Parce qu'on sait jamais19 November 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Parce qu'on ne sait jamais3:12" and "Ça fait mal×Ça fait mal1 October 2007 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Ça fait mal3:43". His fourth single is "Belle Demoiselle×Belle demoiselle11 February 2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Belle demoiselle3:31".
Mon Paradis was France's second best-selling album of 2007 after Life in Cartoon Motion by Mika, selling more than 1 600 000 albums to date.
In 2010, Maé's second studio album, On trace la route×On trace la route22 March 2010 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Dingue, dingue, dingue3:042J'ai laissé3:413Pourquoi c'est beau...4:024J'ai vu la vie3:055Nature3:266On trace la route3:577La Rumeur3:578Je me lâche3:089Ne m'abandonne pas3:0410Donald dans les docks3:1411Manon5:04Disc 21On trace la route (en studio)30:502Film de la séance photo en sénégal3:453Dingue dingue dingue le clip3:104Dingue dingue dingue making of du clip3:05, was released. It has sold more than 600,000 units to date.
In 2013, Maé's third studio album "Je veux du bonheur×Je veux du bonheur10 June 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Je veux du bonheur3:202Ma douleur, ma peine3:153Tombé sous le charme4:034Charly3:595La Poupée3:066À l'abri4:127L'Automne3:478Ma jolie3:129Ne t'en fais pas3:5010L'Olivier3:5911It's Only Mystery4:5312Les Caïds3:24 ", was released. It ranked number one of the top French album during its first week of release with 103,680 copies to date. The album was sold more than 500,000 units to date in July 2014.
In 2016, Maé's fourth studio album "L'attrape-rêves ", was released. It ranked number one of the top French album for 5 weeks. Until the end of 2016, it has sold 300,000 units to date.

Musical style

Maé's music is largely acoustic. He has cited Bob Marley, Ben Harper, Tracy Chapman, and Jack Johnson as well as French singer-songwriters Francis Cabrel and Gérald De Palmas as musical influences. As a counter-tenor his voice has a range from A2 to F6.
He allegedly began to learn harmonica as a tribute to Stevie Wonder, who is commonly cited as his biggest influence musically.

Personal life

Christophe Maé has two sons, Jules (born March 2008) and Marcel (born August 2013), with his then-longtime girlfriend Nadège Sarron. Sarron operates a dance school which she founded in Aix-en-Provence, where she lives with her sons. Maé works half the week in Paris, and reunited with his family the rest of the time in the South. He finally proposed to Nadège in 2016 through his song "Ballerine", and the couple married in Porto-Vecchio on 29 June 2017.

Philanthropy

Maé has been a member of the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble since 2008.