Kendji Girac

Biography

Kendji "Girac" Jason Maillié (French pronunciation: [kɛndʒi ʒiʁak dʒɛzɔn maje]; born 3 July 1996), also known mononymously as Kendji, is a French singer. He is the winner of season 3 of the music competition The Voice: la plus belle voix as part of Team Mika. He has released six studio albums, Kendji×Kendji8 September 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Color gitano3:312Andalouse2:473Mon univers3:224Viens chez nous3:295Cool3:176Mi amor3:487Avec toi3:278Baïla amigo3:169Je m'abandonne3:1410Gentleman2:5911Au sommet3:3312Elle m'a aimé3:2613Bella3:59, Ensemble×Ensemble30 October 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Tu y Yo3:422Me Quemo3:153No me mirès màs4:114C'est trop2:425Les yeux de la mama3:226Jamais trop tard3:427Besame3:268Una Mujer3:409La morale3:0810Mes potes et moi2:4411Où va le monde ?5:2112Ma solitude3:0713Amor y Libertad3:41Disc 21Kendji Girac, de l’ombre à la lumière (documentaire)25:11, Amigo×Amigo31 August 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Pour oublier3:362Tiago2:583Amigo3:564Laisse tomber3:585Que Dieu me pardonne3:316Autour du feu3:157Maria Maria3:108Ma folie3:149Tu vas manquer3:0510Mi amor2:3511Si je pars4:0312Ma bien aimée3:0413Yo cantare4:03, Mi Vida×Mi vida9 October 2020 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Habibi3:332Dernier Métro3:433Évidemment3:584Conquistador3:425Dans mes bras3:166Yelele3:187La Magicienne3:358Bebeto3:259Andale3:1310Reggaeton3:0811Oh ! Prends mon âme4:09, L'école de la vie, and Vivre... as well as a string of hit singles.

Beginnings

The youngest of a Catalan Gitano family, Kendji grew up in Saint-Astier and was taught to play the guitar and sing by his grandfather. He left school at 16 to follow the family business as an arborist. He speaks Catalan with his parents. He gained some fame through publishing materials online. His Romanes version of "Bella" by Gims filmed by a friend went viral. His video garnered 5.8 million views. Another popular song he uploaded was "Si j'étais président", a cover of Gérard Lenorman.

The Voice

For season 3 of The Voice: la plus belle voix, he auditioned with the song "Bella" by Maître Gims in the second episode of season 3, broadcast on 18 January, with only judge Mika turning his chair, whereas the three others, Florent Pagny, Jenifer and Garou refrained.
In the Musical Battles Round broadcast on 8 March 2014, Mika put him against Youness both singing "Tous les mêmes" by Stromae. Kendji moved to "L'épreuve ultime" round, in which he performed "Hotel California by The Eagles in the 29 March 2014 emission.
In the live rounds he performed "Ma philosophie" by Amel Bent (5 April 2014), "Mad World" from Tears for Fears (19 April 2014) and "Allumer le feu" by Johnny Hallyday (19 April 2014). In the semi-final on 3 May 2014, he sang "Belle" by Garou and Daniel Lavoie qualified for the finals as Team Mika's finalist.

Career

His first official single the bilingual French/Spanish "Color Gitano", was released in June 2014 from his eponymous EP, followed by his official album release in September. In December 2014, he won two NRJ Music Awards for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year and "Color Gitano" as Francophone Song of the Year. His album Kendji×Kendji8 September 2014 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Color gitano3:312Andalouse2:473Mon univers3:224Viens chez nous3:295Cool3:176Mi amor3:487Avec toi3:278Baïla amigo3:169Je m'abandonne3:1410Gentleman2:5911Au sommet3:3312Elle m'a aimé3:2613Bella3:59 sold 600,000 copies by January 2015, and over 1 million copies by October 2015, certifying Diamond and becoming France's second-highest selling album of 2014 after Racine carrée by Stromae. He is currently the biggest-selling The Voice alumnus worldwide. His follow-up single "Andalouse" proved even more successful commercially. Other notable singles included "Conmigo×Conmigo16 March 2015 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Conmigo3:03" from the repackaged version of Kendji released on 4 May 2015.
A second album titled Ensemble×Ensemble30 October 2015 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Tu y Yo3:422Me Quemo3:153No me mirès màs4:114C'est trop2:425Les yeux de la mama3:226Jamais trop tard3:427Besame3:268Una Mujer3:409La morale3:0810Mes potes et moi2:4411Où va le monde ?5:2112Ma solitude3:0713Amor y Libertad3:41Disc 21Kendji Girac, de l’ombre à la lumière (documentaire)25:11 was released on 30 October 2015. Notable singles from his second album include "Me Quemo", "Les yeux de la mama" and "No Me Mires Más" (jointly with Soprano).
On 31 August 2018, his third album, titled Amigo×Amigo31 August 2018 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Pour oublier3:362Tiago2:583Amigo3:564Laisse tomber3:585Que Dieu me pardonne3:316Autour du feu3:157Maria Maria3:108Ma folie3:149Tu vas manquer3:0510Mi amor2:3511Si je pars4:0312Ma bien aimée3:0413Yo cantare4:03 was released. It started at number one on the French sales chart with 48,408 sales.
On 22 August 2020, he joined the cast of The Voice Kids France, becoming the first French former contestant to join the jury of the French franchise of the show, alongside Jenifer, Patrick Fiori, and Soprano.

Charity work

In 2017, Kendji joined the Enfoirés, a team of artists involved in supporting the charity Restos du Coeur, which hosts yearly concerts to raise money for one of France's main soup kitchen networks.

As lead artist

• Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Other charted songs

• Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.