"Belle" is a 1997 song performed Patrick Fiori, Daniel Lavoie, and Garou, from the musical Notre-Dame de Paris. Released as a single in 1998, it was a hit in France and Belgium, topping the charts for many months.To date, the song is one of the best-selling singles of all time in these countries.
| "Belle" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Patrick Fiori, Daniel Lavoie, Garou | ||||
| from the album Notre-Dame de Paris | ||||
| B-side | "Déchiré" | |||
| Released | 1998 | |||
| Recorded | France, 1997 | |||
| Genre | musical | |||
| Length | 4:36 | |||
| Label | Sony Music | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Luc Plamondon (text) Richard Cocciante (music) | |||
| Producer(s) | Richard Cocciante Jannick Top Serge Perathoner | |||
| Notre-Dame de Paris singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background and writing
editAs for the songs from the musical, the text was written by Luc Plamondon, who had also written the musical Starmania in 1978, and the music composed by Richard Cocciante. The musical arrangements were made by Richard Cocciante, Jannick Top and Serge Perathoner who also worked on the musical direction.
"Belle" is a romantic song in which the three singers, who respectively portrayed Quasimodo (Garou), Frollo (Daniel Lavoie) and Phoebus (Patrick Fiori), reveal in turn their love for Esmeralda, before singing together the last verse.[1]
The theme of the song is based in Victor Hugo's 1831 novel Notre-Dame de Paris. In chapter VI of the Eighth book "Trois coeurs d'homme faits différemment" (Three men's hearts made differently), Phoebus, Frollo and Quasimodo watch Esmeralda who is sentenced to death. Phoebus is with his fiancée and though he pales when seeing Esmeralda proving he has feelings for her, he stays with his Fleur-de-Lys. Frollo is trying once again to propose Esmeralda a salvation, but in return he wants her to become his woman. And finally Quasimodo selflessly saves Esmeralda from death, only because of his enormous love for her.
Other recording
editSince its debut, it has been professionally played in Belgium, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States, and has been translated into seven languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Korean, Flemish and Polish). The song has thus been officially adapted in these six languages, but several covers have been made in various languages.
The English-language version of the song, recorded by Steve Balsamo, Garou and Daniel Lavoie, is available on Notre Dame de Paris - Version anglaise.[2]
| All official versions of "Belle" | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Original cast | Title | Translation | ||
| Quasimodo | Frollo | Phœbus | |||
| English | Garou | Daniel Lavoie | Steve Balsamo | "Belle (is the only word)" | |
| Flemish | Gene Thomas | Wim Van Den Driescche | Tim Driesen | "Belle" | / |
| French | Garou | Daniel Lavoie | Patrick Fiori | "Belle" | "Beautiful" |
| Italian | Giò Di Tonno | Vittorio Matteucci | Graziano Galatone | "Bella" | "Beautiful" |
| Korean | 윤형렬 (Yun Hyeong-ryeol) | 서범석 (Seo Beom-seok) | 김성민 (Kim Sung-min) | "아름답다" ("Arŭmdapda") | "Beautiful" |
| Polish | Michał Grobelny | Artur Guza | Przemysław Zubowicz | "Belle" | / |
| Russian | Вячеслав Петкун (Viatcheslav Petkoun) | Александр Маракулин (Alexander Marakoulin) | Антон Макарский (Anton Makarsky) | "Belle" | / |
| Spanish | Albert Martínez | Enrique Sequero | Lisardo Guarinos | "La palabra "belle"" | "The word "belle"" |
Chart performance and records
editThe song was charted on the French Singles Chart for 60 weeks, which is to date the second single with most total weeks in the Top 100 (the number one is "U-Turn (Lili)", by AaRON, with 61 weeks), and the first one in the top 50, with 49 weeks. It entered the chart at #96 on 9 May 1998, and climbed slowly, reaching number one in its 18th week, which is one of the slowest climbs to first place. It was also the first trio to reach #1 on this chart. It had huge weekly sales when the musical was performed, from 12 September 1998.[1] It stayed at the top for 18 consecutive weeks, which was at the time the record of the most weeks at #1 (this record was beaten in 2000 by Lou Bega's "Mambo no. 5 (a Little Bit of...)", with 20 weeks). After that, the song managed to drop slowly, totaling 31 weeks in the top ten.[3] Certified Diamond disc by the SNEP,[4] it was the best-selling single of 1998.[5]
In Belgium (Wallonia), the single debuted at #24 on the Ultratop 40 Singles Chart, on 6 June 1998. It topped the chart for only six weeks, from 19 September to 24 October, but remained in the top ten for 30 consecutive weeks. It fell off the chart (Top 40) after 44 weeks.[6] It is the best-selling single of the year[7] and the most successful song from 1995 in that country.[8]
In 1999, the song was awarded 'Song of the year' at the Victoires de la Musique.
Track listings
edit- CD single
- "Belle" — 4:36
- "Déchiré" by Patrick Fiori — 3:18
Charts
editCertifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (BEA)[9] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
| France (SNEP)[4] | Diamond | 750,000* |
|
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Dadju, Gims and Slimane version
edit| "Belle" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Dadju, Gims and Slimane | |
| from the album Le Fléau | |
| Released | 5 April 2021 |
| Recorded | 2021 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 4:26 |
| Label | Sony Music Entertainment / Play Two |
| Songwriter(s) | Luc Plamondon (text) Richard Cocciante (music) |
| Producer(s) | Renaud Rebillaud |
| Music video | |
| "Belle" by Dadju - Gims - Slimane on YouTube | |
On April 5, 2021, a cover version was released by trio Dadju, Gims and Slimane on Play Two and Sony Music Entertainment reaching number 36 on SNEP, the official French Singles Chart. A music video was also released[10] in which they play a scene from the musical Notre-Dame de Paris in a modern setting.
| Chart (2021) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP)[11] | 36 |
References
edit- ^ a b Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. pp. 434–35. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
- ^ Notre Dame de Paris - Version anglaise, track listing and chart Lescharts.com (Retrieved 1 November 2008)
- ^ a b "Belle", in French Singles Chart Lescharts.com Archived July 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 26 April 2008)
- ^ a b "French single certifications – Garou – Belle" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ a b 1998 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com Archived 2009-04-16 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 26 April 2008)
- ^ a b "Belle", in Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be Archived November 1, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 26 April 2008)
- ^ a b 1998 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be Archived October 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved 26 April 2008)
- ^ Best-selling singles in Belgium from 1995 Ultratop.be (Retrieved 26 April 2008)
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 1999". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ "Gims, Dadju et Slimane reprennent le tube Belle de Notre-Dame de Paris" (in French). Le Figaro. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ "Dadju - Gims - Slimane – Belle" (in French). Les classement single.