La Poupée qui fait non

Single infobox |
Name = La Poupée qui fait non

|200px‎
Artist = Mylène Farmer and Seal
from Album = Live à Bercy
Released = April 29, 1997
Format = CD single
CD maxi
12" maxi
Digital download (since 2005)
Recorded = 1996, France
Genre = Pop
Length = 4:39
Label = Polydor
Writer = Text : Franck Gérald
Music : Michel Polnareff
Producer =
Certification =
Chronology = Mylène Farmer singles
Last single = "Rêver
(1996)
This single = "La Poupée qui fait non"
(1997)
Next single = "Ainsi soit je... (live)"
(1997)Extra tracklisting
Album = Live à Bercy
Type = live
prev_track = "Ainsi soit je..."
prev_no = 8
this_track = "La Poupée qui fait non"
track_no = 9
next_track = "XXL"
next_no = 10Extra tracklisting
Album = Music Videos II & III
Type = Video
prev_track = "Ainsi soit je... (live)"
prev_no = 12
this_track = "La Poupée qui fait non"
track_no = 12
next_track = "Rêver"
next_no = 13

"La Poupée qui fait non" is a 1966 song written by Franck Gérald and originally recorded by the French singer/songwriter Michel Polnareff. There have been several covers of the song (including one in English recorded by the Byrds) but the most known is probably the 1996 cover recording by the French artist Mylène Farmer and the French-born musician Khaled. The Farmer/Khaled cover was performed during Farmer's 1996 concert tour. After three live performances, the song was finally released as the first single from Farmer's second live album, "Live à Bercy" on April 29, 1997, and became a top five hit in Belgium.

Background

There is a studio version of this duet, but it was never commercialized. Interviewed by the French magazine "Instant-Mag", Thierry Rogen, the sound engineer who has participated in the recording, said : "I have participated in the single "La Poupée qui fait non" with Khaled. [Laurent Boutonnat|Laurant [Boutonnat] was absent. The recording was made in the studio Merga in Suresnes in the right mood. It has been very rapid. Mylène [Farmer] and Khaled were together for four hours in total". ["Instant-Mag", No. 15, 2003, p. 33] This studio version has been performed in playback in a single television show, "Tip top", broadcast on a French channel, where Farmer was invited to promote her single "Comme j'ai mal"."La Poupée qui fait non" [http://www.sans-logique.com/mylene-farmer/discographie/singles/single.php?single=la-poupee-qui-fait-non-live Sans-logique.com] (Retrieved December 30, 2007)]

Farmer said she chose the song because it was the first song she learned when she was a child, and she loved Michel Polnareff's work. ["Mylène Farmer Influences", Benoît Cachin, 2006, Mascara Ed., p. 58,59 (ISBN 978-2351440261)]

The live version, which was released in 1997, was performed only three nights (two in Geneva and the last at Bercy) as a duet on stage during the 1996 tour."La Poupée qui fait non", l'Histoire de la chanson: le premier duo live [http://www.mylenefarmeriscalled.net/poupeeliveglob.html Mylenefarmeriscalled.net] (Retrieved December 30, 2007)]

The two remixes available on the CD maxi and the promotional vinyl were produced by Mylène Farmer (this is the first and only time she has participated in remixes of one of her singles), in collaboration with Thierry Rogen. However, these remixes have not been well appreciated by the singer's fans, because almost all the words have disappeared.

When the song was released, Khaled declared that he found Farmer very sympathetic. However, later, he said he had felt used by her, since she put herself forward all the time when they performed the song and were interviewed.

Chart performances

In France, the single didn't fail its entry in the first places of the SNEP Singles Chart, Top 50. It debuted thus at #6, its peak position, on May 3, 1997. However, like the other Farmer's singles, it fell quickly and left the chart after only eight weeks of attendance."La Poupée qui fait non", French SNEP Singles Chart [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Myl%E8ne+Farmer+%26+Khaled&titel=La+poup%E9e+qui+fait+non&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved December 25, 2007)]

Surprisingly, the song was a big success in Belgium, having a better running in the Ultratop than in France. ["L'Intégrale Mylene Farmer", Erwan Chuberre, 2007, City Ed., p. 180 (ISBN 978-2-35288-108-7)] It featured on the chart for 18 weeks from May 24 to September 13, 1997, peaking at number 5 on June 21 and managing to remain for eight weeks in the Top ten."La Poupée qui fait non", Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Chart [http://www.ultratop.be/fr/showitem.asp?key=31376&cat=s Ultratop.be] (Retrieved January 3, 2007)] The song ranked at number 41 in the Annual Single Chart.1997 Belgian Singles Chart [http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=1997 Ultratop.be] (Retrieved January 21, 2008)]

Formats and track listings

; CD single
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (live version)
* "L'Autre" (live version)

; CD maxi
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (live version)
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (say it like you used to club remix)
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (I want a man mix)
* "L'Autre" (live version)

; CD maxi - Digipack
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (live version)
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (say it like you used to club remix)
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (I want a man mix)
* "L'Autre" (live version); 12" maxi - PromoA-side :
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (say it like you used to club remix)B-side :
* "La Poupée qui fait non (I want a man mix)

; Digital download
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (live version)

; CD single - Promo
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (live version)

; CD single - Promo - Luxurious edition
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (live version)

; VHS - Promo
* "La Poupée qui fait non" (video)

Versions

; Official versions

References