Ouragan (song)

"Ouragan"
Single by Stéphanie
from the album Besoin
Released	1986 (1986)
Format	7" single, 12" maxi
Recorded	France
Genre	Pop
Length	3:40
Label	Julisa, Carrere
Writer(s)	Romano Musumarra, Marie Léono
Producer	Yves Roze
Certification	Platinium SNEP, 1986
Stéphanie singles chronology
"Ouragan" (1986) "Flash" (1986)

"Ouragan" (French for "windstorm"), also released under the title "Irresistible", is the first single recorded by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, from her album, Besoin. Released in 1986, it was a great success in France, where it topped the charts for almost three months, and in Germany.

Background and writing

This song was written by Romano Musumarra, who had already written several hits for Jeanne Mas and Elsa. Yves Roze, the song's producer, is known under the pseudonym of Jean-François Michael, who recorded "Adieu jolie Candy" in 1969/^[1]

With Jeanne Mas having refused to record this song, the composer offered it to Stéphanie of Monaco, who finally accepted. The song was also recorded in English, under the name "Irresistible", in order to win over the Anglophones^[1] - but without much success.

No music video was produced initially, as the song was not expected to be such a success. The only video available was some footage shot in the recording studio. Eventually a video was made that features the princess in various locations pursuing a mysterious stranger in a hat. The video had a plot twist at the end, since the mysterious stranger is revealed to be a male version of Stéphanie. On the video, she sings alternate verses in French and English.

Chart performances

The single remained on the French Top 50 Singles Chart from 5 April to 18 October 1986, i.e. a total of 29 weeks, and was number one for ten weeks.^[2] It peaked at number eleven in Switzerland^[3] and was also a hit in Germany, where it reached number two.

In 1986, the single was certified Platinum Single by the French certificator SNEP, having achieved at least one million sales^[4], and 1,030,000 sales according to Infodisc.^[5] Sales of the single exceeded two million copies worldwide. In France, the song is the 83rd best-selling single of all time.^[6]

"Ouragan" was the first single to remain at the top of the French Singles Chart for at least ten weeks^[7], beating the record set in 1985 by Peter and Sloane with "Besoin de rien, envie de toi". It was also the second best-selling single in 1986, behind "Les Démons de minuit", by Images.

Cover versions

The song was covered by many artists, including Ishii, Akemi (石井明美) in Japanese version from her 1986 album Mona Lisa, Michael von der Heide in 1998, Gregorian in a new age version as bonus track on the album Masters of Chant Chapter III, Leslie on her 2007 album 80 Souvenirs,^[8] Jolie in French and English versions in 2010. Actors Jean-Paul Rouve and Isabelle Nanty performed the song as duet in the Olivier Baroux's 2011 film Les Tuche.^[9]

Track listings

7" single A-side : "Ouragan" — 3:40 B-side : "Irresistible" — 3:45 12" maxi A-side : "Ouragan" — 7:00 B-side : "Ouragan" — 4:35 "Irresistible" — 3:40 7" single (English version) A-side : "Irresistible" — 3:44 B-side : "Ouragan" — 3:59

12" maxi (English version) A-side : "Irresistible" (long) — 7:03 B-side : "Ouragan" — 4:26 "Irresistible" (short) — 4:44 12" maxi (both versions) A-side : "Ouragan" / "Irresistible" (extended version) — 7:00 B-side : "Irresistible" — 4:40 "Ouragan" — 4:35

The single is also available on several of Stéphanie's other albums: Besoin (1986, number six on French Albums Chart, Gold),^[4] Stéphanie (1993), Rendez-Vous (2001, track 12)^[10], and Ouragan (best of). The song is also on numerous 1980s compilations.

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1986) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart1 [11] 5 Dutch Top 40[12] 31 Eurochart Hot 100 5 French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 1 German Singles Chart1 [11] 2 Swiss Singles Chart[3] 11 UK Singles Chart1 [13] 84 1 Under the title "Irresistible"

End of year charts End of year chart (1986) Position French Singles Chart 2 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales France[4] Platinum 1986 1,000,000 1,030,000[5]

Chart successions

Preceded by "Capitaine abandonné" by Gold

French SNEP number one single 26 April 1986 - 28 June 1986 (10 weeks)

Succeeded by "En Rouge et Noir" by Jeanne Mas

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Habib, Elia (2002) (in French). Muz hit.tubes. Alinéa Bis. p. 74. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X. 
2. ^ ^{a b} ""Ouragan", French Singles Chart" (in French). Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?key=1411&cat=s. Retrieved 11 December 2007. 
3. ^ ^{a b} ""Ouragan", Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Hitparade. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=St%E9phanie&titel=Ouragan&cat=s. Retrieved 11 December 2007. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Habib, Elia (2002) (in French). Muz hit.tubes. Alinéa Bis. p. 614. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/Single_Certif.php. Retrieved 11 December 2007. 
6. ^ "Les meilleures ventes tout temps de 45 T. / Singles" (in French). Infodisc. http://www.infodisc.fr/S_ToutTemps.php?debut=50. Retrieved 28 February 2008. 
7. ^ King, Alex P. (2005) (in French) (pdf). Hit-parade, 20 ans de tubes. Pascal Ed.. p. 8. ISBN 978-2350190099. http://membres.lycos.fr/vingtansdetubes/HistoireHitparade.pdf. Retrieved 23 April 2008. 
8. ^ T., J. (18 December 2007). "Leslie: "J'ai vécu un véritable conte de fée"" (in French). Télé Loisirs. http://www.programme-tv.net/news/tv/656-interview-leslie-conte-de-fee/. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
9. ^ Pierson, Mickaël (2011). "Les Tuche" (in French). Il était une fois le cinéma. http://www.iletaitunefoislecinema.com/critique/4655/les-tuche. Retrieved 2 July 2011. 
10. ^ "Stéphanie, Rendez-vous, track listing" (in German). Hitparade. http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=St%E9phanie&titel=Rendez%2Dvous&cat=a. Retrieved 11 December 2007. 
11. ^ ^{a b} ""Irresistible", in various singles charts" (in French). Lescharts. http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=St%E9phanie&titel=Irresistible&cat=s. Retrieved 25 June 2009. 
12. ^ Hit Dossier 1958-1990 (ISBN 90-230-0706-9)
13. ^ ""Ouragan", UK Singles Chart". Chartstats. http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=13299. Retrieved 20 April 2007. 

External links

• "Ouragan", lyrics
• "Irresistible", lyrics
• "Ouragan", music video