Yelle: Turning the tables on English language hegemony

A funny video that went viral this past year was that of a contestant on Bulgaria's version of "American Idol" singing a garbled version of Mariah Carey's "Without You", or as the contestant called the song, "Ken Lee". Not knowing English, the singer simply sounded out the lyrics as they sounded to her. Funny as it was, the video immediately reminded me of my last visit to Ecuador, when a bunch of cousins sang for me "Hotel California". Since they didn't know English, they had memorized the song phonetically just by listening to the music on the radio. And this is how much of the world sings to popular American and English songs.

Last night at the Roxy in Boston, the tables were turned. On stage was Yelle, a magnificent pop singer from France, singing in nothing but French, and the crowd loved it. There were certainly quite a few French-speakers among them who could follow and sing along to the lyrics, but a great many of the fans there simply loved the music, and danced ecstatically while singing along in a garbled, phonetic French. It was incroyable! Yelle has managed to do what few have before...export music in her own language to an American audience. Others who have managed to do this successfully have been Spanish-singing Latin Americans, like Shakira and Ricky Martin. But Yelle is now on the verge of becoming a success in the US without having to sing a word in English. It's particularly amazing considering the anti-French sentiments that ran high in this country just a few years ago.
Maybe this is a small chip at the hegemony of the English language on the world cultural scene. Maybe young Americans will learn some French in efforts to decipher Yelle's catchy lyrics. I for one have learned quite a bit of cheeky French from her songs.

Bravo Yelle! Plus s'il vous plaît!

A nice review of the concert by Christopher Muther for the Boston Globe HERE!