Interestingly and not at all surprising coming from me, all my favorite female singers share at least a common characteristic: they’re all very theatrical in their live performances. Of course, this pleases my own tastes, as I can get quickly bored by immobile performers. Monica Naranjo, Marie Carmen and now Mylène Farmer all have tremendous stage presence and their shows aren’t mere standing-behind-the-microphone affairs. In the case of Mylène, her own aura has always been a mystifying one, as she created an unique universe around herself.

Mylène Gautier was born on September 12, 1961, in Pierrefonds, Québec, Canada, a suburb of Montréal. Her parents were of French origins and all the family moved back to France some years later. Many people in Québec still think of her as a French-Canadian who has snubbed her roots in taking a typical French accent, not knowing that her parents were actually French people from France. Ladies and gentlemen reading this, don’t confuse the French from Québec with the French from France!

As a teen, Mylène began living in Paris and started modeling, while studying acting. In 1984, she was choosen in a casting call to be the voice for a new song, Maman a tort, which turned out to be a big hit that year. Mylène Farmer was thusly born, her new name paying respect to troubled actress Frances Farmer. 1986 saw the release of her first album, Cendres de lune, which produced the mega-hit, Libertine. The videoclip for the latter song was quite a visual delight, almost a short film in itself, the kind of project that she would become famous for (can I mention the frequent nudity and sometimes surprinsing violence in these productions? yes I can, as they were more often than not censored for television viewing). Also, she became a redhead, another quite unique visual choice in the world of popular singers. Already an aura of sensuality and dark eroticism was born.

Between 1986 and 1992, Mylène began an imposing reign on the European charts, becoming the first female singer to get Diamond Record status. In 1988, she would win at the World Music Awards and the Victoires de la Musique. Even with techno-pop or dance rythms, Mylène’s music has always proposed lyrics about sex, death, religion… not just mindless words. The quality of her videoclips began to make her well-known in the USA, as well, and many European countries. In 1991, an obsessed fan willing to meet her actually killed by gunshot Mylène’s receptionist at her music company office and then committed suicide. From the start, she had not been trusting of the media, but from that point on, she chose to continue expressing herself in her songs and films, giving only one interview per album release.

In 1989, even while being extremely shy, Mylène proposed her first concerts, elaborate shows with an American showmanship twist that was not in vogue for France performers, not counting Johnny Halliday. Elaborate choregraphies and costumes were on the menu, with sets emphasizing the theatrical feel. Remember that still today, French musical television shows still used badly out of date lip-sinc techniques that borders on the embarrassing.

In 1994, Mylène made her film debut in Giorgino, directed by Laurent Boutonnat, her collaborator for the videos. It was a complete box-office and critical disaster, considered as a bad three-hours clip. Reedited, the film was recently released for home viewing. Mylène moved to California in 1995 to find more inspiration, a move that resulted in the album Anamorphosée, recorded in L.A. and considered her best work. Another gigantic tour followed, from which the resulting live album is still considered the best-selling one in France for a show. A third tour in 1999 even reached Moscow and St.Petersburg.

A 2001 Best Of compilation was also a gigantic best-seller and included a duo with singer Seal. She received an honorary award at the Victoires de la Musique as the ultimate female artist of the last twenty years. 2005 saw the release of her sixth album, Avant que l’ombre… which resulted in another successful series of concert. Her stage was so big that it was impossible to take it on tour, so she sold out thirteen consecutive shows at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in January 2006. Of course, the resulting DVD is still the best-selling show sold in France in that format. A new album is expected later this year, with live performances planned for September 2009. Talk about early planning!

Even with all that success, critics have always been lukewarm towards Mylène. All recognize her unique artistry and the quality of her work, but seem to reproach her for her big commercial success (?) and her tendency to run her stage shows à l‘américaine. Of course, her unavailability towards the media is always perceived as a negative factor. Many consider her a caring and phenomenal creative spirit, others see her as arrogant and cold… I personally picture her as a Madonna-like phenomenon, surely not in the ability to manipulate her entourage, but for the will to reinvent herself and the gift of always being in the spotlight in her own way.

And of course, there’s the voice. Sometimes piercing, but more often than not an amazing mix of high whispers than any rival couldn‘t even reproduce. You either like it or hate it. I just adore it.