Chimène Badi

French singer Chimène Badi (born 30 October 1982 in Melun, Paris Region), whose family were originally from Algeria, grew up in the southwest of France, having moved there when she was a young child. Although she was a shy child, she took part in singing competitions from the age of six and was always much more confident on stage. She studied agriculture, but her sister Déborah encouraged her to pursue a career in singing and enter French Pop Stars in 2002. Although she didn't make it to the final, she was signed by AZ Records as a result of her performances on the show. She released her debut single "Entre Nous" in 2003, the title track from her album released in the same year. This was an immediate success, reaching number one in the French Singles Chart, number four in Belgium and number five in Switzerland. Two other singles were released from the album Entre Nous, "Je Vais Te Chercher" reaching number 16, and "Si J'avais Su T'aimer" number 21. She released her second album in 2004, Dis-Moi Que Tu M'aimes, which reached number one in the French Albums Chart. Five singles were released from this album; the best performing were Le Jour D'aprè in 2004, which reached number seven and Je Viens Du Sud in 2005, which reached number two. In 2006, she released two albums, Live à l'Olympia and Le Miroir, which reached numbers two and three respectively in the French Albums Chart. In 2010, Laisse-Les Dire followed, which reached number four. A sixth album Gospel & Soul in 2011 included a duet with Billy Paul of a cover of 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' and this reached number seven in the French Albums Chart. Her seventh album Au-Del à Des Maux (2015) reached number six. In 2018, she released the single "Là-Haut", and with this single entered the French competition Destination Eurovision in 2019 in an attempt to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest. She came third in the competition. That same year, she went to number 25 in France with her album Chimène. In 2023, she took on the legendary Édith Piaf to release a tribute to the French superstar called Chimène chante Piaf.