La Grande Sophie

Born in the city of Thionville in northeastern France on 18 July 1969, Sophie Huriaux, aka French singer-songwriter La Grande Sophie, grew up in Port-de-Bouc near Marseille and began developing an ear for music at a young age. She picked up a guitar aged nine and formed a band with her brother and neighbour called Entrée interdite at the age of 13. It was during her tenure with Entrée interdite that she was able to cut her teeth as a songwriter, composing songs for the group as well as singing lead vocals. Her next move saw her perform at France's first Fête de la Musiqie in June 1983; she spent the next decade evolving her voice in bars and at sidewalk restaurants in Marseilles, helped along by the impresario Julien Bassouls, who arranged gigs in Paris which is where she caught the attention of promoter Jean-Louis Foulquier, who added her to compilation record, Le Son de Paris (1996). By the late 1990s, she was ready to release her first album. The indie record La Grande Sophie s'agrandit (La Grande Sophie Grows Up) emerged on the Les Compagnons de la tête de mort imprint in 1997. Her major-label release arrived four years later, Le Porte-bonheur, (Lucky Charm), which sold over 50,000 copies, and boosted her profile. Following the release of her third album Et Si C'était Moi, she spent a fair amount of time on the road. In 2005, she issued the '70s folk-rock-led La Suite while 2009's Des vagues et des ruisseaux edged her closer to the French top 10, peaking at number 12 and winning the Grand Prix de l'Académie Charles Cros the following January. In 2012, she went to number nine with La place du fantôme and released the follow-up, Nos histoires, in 2015. A mélange of folk, pop and electronic styles, the exploratory Cet instant landed in 2019 with La vie moderne following in 2023. A patchwork of pop-rock and folk, La vie moderne picks up where she left off with Cet instant, but brings the guitar into sharper focus.