Florent Pagny

Born in Châlon-sur-Saône (November 6, 1961), French singer Florent Pagny rose to prominence as an actor appearing in popular French TV programs and film productions prior to launching his singing career in the late 1980s. His debut single was the 1987 release "N'importe quoi," a protest song about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse told as a narrative to a friend. It struck a chord with French audiences at the time and topped the charts for eight consecutive weeks, remaining in the charts for a further 38 weeks. After this initial success, Pagny's singing career became mired in controversy with elements of the French press taking exception to some of the lyrical content on his material. This led to calls by the French media to boycott his work and threats to derail the artist's career before it had even started. Eventually, Pagny emerged from the controversy and hit on a winning formula which led to an incredibly successful run of chart-topping album releases such as Savoir Aimer (1997), RéCréation (1999), Châtelet Les Halles (2000), Ailleurs Land (2003), and Baryton (2004). Since 1997, the singer's albums have garnered eleven platinum accreditations and more than 10 million physical sales. During that period, 14 of the albums reached the top three in the French charts, an achievement which ranks him among the top 20 best-selling French artists of all time. In 2021, Florent Pagny released his 20th album L’Avenir, which quickly went to Number 1 in France and spawned a nationwide tour celebrating the singer’s 60th birthday.