Elsa Lunghini

Biography

Elsa Lunghini (born 20 May 1973), known mononymously as Elsa, is a French singer and actress. She was a teenage pop-star in the late 1980s. In 1986, she was the youngest singer to reach number one in the French charts, with the single "T'en va pas", and she went on to sell millions of records during the decade. Elsa, her album of 1988, had achieved double-platinum status by 1993.

Biography

Daughter of Georges Lunghini (actor, photographer and songwriter) and Christiane Jobert (painter and also sister of actress Marlène Jobert and Charles Jobert, a camera operator and director of photography), she is of Italian origin on her father's side and of Sephardic Jewish origin on her mother's side. She is a cousin of actresses Eva Green and Josephine Jobert.
Lunghini first performed in a movie at age seven, in 1981, in Claude Miller's Garde à vue (also starring Romy Schneider).
She was the youngest artist to be in the main program at the Olympia, at 17, in October 1990 as well as the youngest to have a number 1 hit in the Top 50 in France. At 13, in 1986, she remained number 1 for eight weeks with "T'en va pas" (soundtrack of the movie La Femme de ma vie). The song was composed by the Italian Romano Musumarra, who had worked and helped produce hits for 1980s singer Jeanne Mas. The song was a hit in France and sold elsewhere in Europe with an English recording.
With the help of her musician father, she recorded her LP Elsa. It sold more than 600,000 copies with hit singles such as "Quelque chose dans mon cœur×Quelque chose dans mon cœur1987 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAQuelque chose dans mon cœur3:42BQuelque chose dans mon cœur (instrumental)3:42" ("Something in my heart"), "Jour de neige×Jour de neige1988 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Jour de neige (megamix club)8:022Quelque chose dans mon cœur3:303Jour de neige (remix version longue)4:49" ("Snowy day"), "Jamais nous" (with backing vocals by French singer Laurent Voulzy) ("Never us"), "Un Roman d'amitié" (duet with Glenn Medeiros) ("Friend you give me a Reason"), "À la même heure dans deux ans×À la même heure dans deux ansApril 1989 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1À la même heure dans deux ans3:302Sud-Africaine3:503Jour de neige (version longue)8:02" ("At the same time in two years"). All were top 10 hits. At that time, Lunghini was the only artist to have her first four singles at number one or two. She became popular in the teen press, often compared with Vanessa Paradis.
In 1990, she made her second album, Rien que pour ça×Rien que pour ça1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksARien que pour ça2:45BFaudrait pas croire3:05 ("Only for that"). The songs were produced by her father and Elsa wrote the music for the single of the same name. "Rien que pour ça" was a top 20 hit. Two other excerpts were released: "Pleure doucement×Pleure doucement1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAPleure doucement3:59BPour qui tu cours4:25" ("Cry softly") and "Qu'est-ce que ça peut lui faire×Qu'est-ce que ça peut lui faire1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksAQu'est-ce que ça peut lui faire3:20BOn verra bien demain4:05" ("How does she matter").
In 1992, Lunghini recorded "Bouscule-moi×Bouscule-moi1992 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksABouscule-moi3:30BAmoureuse, Moi?4:10" ("Push me on"), a mid-rock single with more adult lyrics. "Bouscule-moi" was a hit single. Her third album was Douce violence×Douce violence16 September 1992 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Supplice chinois (Toop Toop)4:152C’est bien, c’est mal3:343Être ensemble3:504Jamais toujours4:075Mercurochrome4:246Bouscule-moi3:307Le cœur ailleurs, l’amour ailleurs3:508Parfums d’amour4:119Amoureuse, moi ?4:1510Tout l’temps, tout l’temps2:4511Changer sa vie3:41 ("Sweet violence").
In 1996, aged 23, she wrote and composed her fourth album, Chaque jour est un long chemin×Chaque jour est un long chemin1 January 1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Chaque jour est un long chemin4:362Je porte mon cœur sur ma main3:543Le temps tourne à l'orage3:214Quand je serai morte3:065Sous ma robe4:166Le chéri3:397Caravane3:468L'autre moitié3:279Le soir4:3110Je tire la langue3:4111Les affaires de Franck3:1812Jacques est maniaque3:19 (Every day is a long way). It sold 20,000. From 20 to 24 September 2004, she gave shows in Paris at the Européen. A live DVD and a live CD went on sale in 2006.
She has starred in two TV movies: 2002's La mort est rousse and 2004's Trois jours en juin and is involved in a television advertising campaign for Danone yoghurt.