Patricia Kaas was born on December 5, 1966 in Forbach (Lorraine). She was the youngest in the family, where there were seven more children, raised by a housewife of German origin and a minor father.
Patricia was very inspired by her parents, she started performing concerts when she was 8 years old. Her repertoire included songs by Sylvie Vartan, Claude Francois and Mireille Mathieu. As well as American hits, such as New York, New York.
Life of Patricia Kaas in Germany
She sang in popular venues or at family gatherings, accompanied by her orchestra. Patricia quickly became a professional in her field. At the age of 13, she participated in the German cabaret Rumpelkammer (Saarbrücken). She sang there every Saturday night for seven years.
In 1985, she was noticed by the architect from Lorraine, Bernard Schwartz. Fascinated by the young artist, he helped Patricia audition in Paris. Thanks to a friend, composer François Bernheim, actor Gerard Depardieu heard the voice of a girl at an audition. He decided to help her release her first single Jalouse. The song was written by Elisabeth Depardieu, Joel Cartigny and François Bernheim, who have remained among the favored composers of Patricia Kaas. This first record is a significant success in certain circles.
While working, Patricia Kaas met the composer Didier Barbelivien, who wrote Mademoiselle Chante Le Blues. This single was released in April 1987 in Polidor. The song made a splash. The public and the press warmly received the young singer, who had more than 10 years of work. The disc was sold with a circulation of 400 thousand copies.
In April 1988, the second single D'Allemagne was released, co-written with Didier Barbelivien and François Bernheim. Patricia then received an Academy Award (SACEM) for Best Female Performer and Best Song. As well as the RFI Trophy for the song Mon Mec à Moi. In the same year, Patricia Kaas lost her mother. She still has a small teddy bear that serves as her good luck charm.
1988: Mademoiselle Chante Le Blues
In November 1988, the first album of the singer Mademoiselle Chante Le Blues was released. A month later, the album went gold (100 copies sold).
Kaas quickly became successful and famous outside of France. Rarely has a French artist been so popular abroad. Her album sold well in Europe, as well as in Quebec and Japan.
An impressive voice and a delicate physique seduced a huge audience. She has been compared to Edith Piaf.
Like Piaf, Charles Aznavour or Jacques Brel, Patricia Kaas received the record-breaking Grand Prix of the Charles Cros Academy in March 1989. Since April, she has embarked on a tour to "promote" the album in Europe. And at the end of 1989, her album was a double "platinum" disc (600 thousand copies).
In early 1990, Patricia embarked on a long tour that lasted 16 months. She gave 200 concerts, including at the Olympia Concert Hall in February. The artist also received the Victoire de la Musique in the Best Album Sales Abroad nomination. Her album was now a diamond disc with over a million copies.
April 1990 marked the release of the second Scène de Vie album on the new label CBS (now Sony). Still co-written by Didier Barbelivien and François Bernheim, the album remains at the top of Top Album for three months. The singer performed at the Zenit Concert Hall with six concerts in front of a packed house.
1991: "Scene de vie"
Patricia Kaas loved to sing on stage and knew how to create a warm relationship with the audience, even in large halls.
She was elected "Voice of the Year" by RTL Radio listeners in December 1990. The French TV channel FR3 dedicated a show to her, where the actor Alain Delon was a guest. This holiday season, she also participated in a TV show in New York, taped at the famous music hall, the Apollo Theatre.
In January 1991, Scène De Vie was certified double platinum (600 copies). And in February, Patricia Kaas received the title of "Best Female Performer of the 1990s".
Now the singer belongs to the most important French artists in terms of popularity and the number of CDs sold.
In May 1991, the artist received the World Music Award "Best French Artist of the Year" in Monte Carlo. And in July, her album was released in the US. She is invited to the most famous television shows in the country ("Good Morning America"). She also gave interviews to Time Magazine or Vanity Fair.
In autumn, Patricia made a trip to Germany, where she was very popular (she speaks fluent German). Then there were solo concerts in the Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) and Switzerland.
Patricia Kaas in Russia
In late 1991, the singer returned to the United States to record The Johnny Carson Show. This is a famous talk show in which the world's biggest stars were invited to talk about their news.
Then she flew to Russia, where she performed three concerts in front of 18 thousand people. She was greeted like a queen. The audience loved her very much and looked forward to the concerts.
In March, Patricia Kaas recorded La Vie En Rose. This is a song by Edith Piaf with a string quartet for the ER album on the fight against AIDS.
Then in April, the singer again left for the United States. There she performed 8 acoustic concerts surrounded by four jazz musicians.
After five years of career, Patricia Kaas has already sold about 5 million records worldwide. Her international tour in the summer of 1992 covered 19 countries and attracted 750 spectators. During this tour, Patricia invited Luciano Pavarotti to participate in a gala concert.
In October 1992, she recorded her third album Je Te Dis Vous in London. Patricia Kaas chose English producer Robin Millar for this recording.
In March 1993, the first single Entrer Dans La Lumière was released. The following month saw the release of Je Te Dis Vous, which contained 15 tracks. The release was made in 44 countries. In the future, more than 2 million copies of this disc were sold.
Patricia Kaas: Hanoi
At the end of the year, Patricia went on a long tour of 19 countries. In the spring of 1994, she performed two concerts in Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. She was the first French singer to perform in that country since the 1950s. The French Foreign Minister recognized her as ambassador to that country.
In 1994, a new album, Tour de charme, was released.
At this time, Patricia was going to play the role of Marlene Dietrich in the film by American director Stanley Donen. But the project failed. In 1995, Claude Lelouch approached her to sing the title song of his film Les Misérables.
In 1995, Patricia again received the award in the nomination "Best French Artist of the Year". She also traveled to Monte Carlo to receive the World Music Awards.
After the Asian leg of her international tour in May, the young woman began recording her fourth album in New York. This time, Patricia Kaas participated in the implementation of the disc with producer Phil Ramone.
1997: Dans ma chair
Recording for the album was suspended in June following the death of her father. The Dans Ma Chair album was released on March 18, 1997.
1998 is dedicated to an international tour of 110 concerts. Three concerts are scheduled on the biggest stage in Paris, Bercy, in February 1998. On August 18, 1998, the double live album Rendez-Vous was released.
In the summer of 1998, she performed in Germany and Egypt. Then, after a vacation in September, Patricia went to Russia with a series of solo concerts. She was very popular there.
Less than a year later, when her album Rendez-vous was released in 10 European countries, Japan and Korea, France heard the first single from the singer's new album Mot De Passe. Two compositions by Jean-Jacques Goldman, 10 by Pascal Obispo.
As usual, Patricia began a long tour after the release of the album. This was her fourth major international tour.
Cinematography by Patricia Kaas
The public has long been waiting for Patricia to go into the field of cinema. This happened in May 2001. Since she worked with director Claude Lelouch on the film And Now, Ladies and Gentlemen.
In August 2001, she recorded the film's soundtrack in London. And in October she released Best of with the new track Rien Ne S'Arrête. She then performed in Berlin at a concert for refugee children from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The donations were handed over to the German Red Cross organization.
2003: Sexe fort
In December 2003, Patricia Kaas returned to music with the electronic album Sexe fort. Among the authors of the music were: Jean-Jacques Goldman, Pascal Obispo, François Bernhein, as well as Francis Cabrel and Etienne Roda-Gilles.
From October 14 to October 16, the singer performed in Paris at Le Grand Rex, on the Zenith stage. In March, she gave concerts in about 15 Russian cities. She completed her French tour on August 29, 2005 with a visit to the Olympia Concert Hall (Paris).
2008: Kabaret
In December 2008, she returned to the stage with new songs and the Kabaret show. The premiere took place in Russia. The songs have been available for download online since December 15th.
Patricia Kaas presented this show at the Casino de Paris from 20 to 31 January 2009. She then went on tour.
2012: Kaas chante Piaf
50th death anniversary approaching Edith Piaf (October 2013). And Patricia Kaas wanted to pay tribute to the famous singer. She chose the songs and called the composer of Polish origin Abel Korzenevsky to arrange the compositions.
This is how the disc Kaas Chante Piaf appeared with the songs Milord, Avec Ce Soleil Ou Padam, Padam. But, above all, this project is a show that Patricia Kaas presented in many countries. It began at the Albert Hall (London) on November 5, 2012. And it continued in Carnegie Hall (New York), Montreal, Geneva, Brussels, Seoul, Moscow, Kiev, etc.
