Zaz is the debut studio album by French singer Zaz, released on 10 May 2010 by Play On and Sony Music. It spawned two singles, "Je veux" and "Le long de la route", which achieved success in Belgium (Wallonia). The album itself was a commercial success, topping the charts in Belgium, France, and Poland.
Background and writing
Zaz co-wrote six songs on the album, and French singer Raphaël Haroche wrote three songs.
Zaz received mixed reviews from musical critics. Le Figaro said the singer's voice "upsets and wins over".[2] The editors admitted they were moved by "her small skinned side" and praised "the urban blues of "Trop sensible", or the upsetting "Port Coton" or songs with realistic accents such as "Ni oui ni non" or "Dans ma rue"".[3]Libération stated that her single "Je veux" is "between 'J'veux du soleil' by Au P'tit Bonheur and the competitive 'P'tit kawa' by Karimouche—other examples of good-natured variety supercharged for optimism." The paper also wrote that "her natural sound—she is capable of laughing in the middle of a song—makes up for a rather simple technique, in the spirit of a jazz world not too concerned with such idiosyncrasies".[4]Le Nouvel Observateur deemed "Je veux" a song with "anti-consumerism" lyrics that "immediately catches the ear". Le Parisien believed that her "songs with realistic lyrics marked the spirits... She reflects the mindset of youth, a bit tortured but full of hope".[5]L'Humanité praised a "very direct and friendly link" between the young singer and her public, saying: "Welcome to Zaz's world of good mood".[6]
More critical, Valérie Lehoux of Télérama argued that the singer has "unquestionably quite unusual vocal abilities", but considered her album as "too fragmented to be easily likeable, as we must navigate without a sextant from rather old-fashioned French songs to the free variety, to a more or less danceable neo-R&B." She added that the singer has demonstrated her singing abilities but her songs soon lose their attraction and collapse under "too cumbersome and too expected" references.[7]Les Inrockuptibles gave a negative review of the album and of the lead single.[8]
^"Zaz". Le Figaro (in French). 26 May 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
^Grandjanin, Annie (4 May 2010). "Zaz passe comme ça". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2010.
^Renaud, Gille (16 July 2010). "Zaz et L en rappel". Libération (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2010.
^"Tous zinzin de Zaz". Le Parisien (in French). 19 July 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^"En direct des francofolies à La Rochelle". L'Humanité (in French). 14 July 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^Lehoux, Valérie (15 May 2010). "Zaz". Télérama (in French). Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^"Zaz manouche – Numéro 1 du Top albums en France, Zaz nous casse bien les bonbons avec son single "Je veux" diffusé de TF1 à France Inter. Décryptage d'un phénomène en bois recyclé". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^"Austriancharts.at – Zaz – Zaz" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^"Ultratop.be – Zaz – Zaz" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^"Ultratop.be – Zaz – Zaz" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
^"Top 100 Albums in Canada". Jam!. 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 26 December 2004. Retrieved 16 January 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Top Kombiniranih – Tjedan 6. 2012" [Top Combined – Week 6, 2012] (in Croatian). Top of the Shops. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 25 December 2023.
^"Dutchcharts.nl – Zaz – Zaz" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
^"Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 122, no. 34. 28 August 2010. p. 47. ISSN 0006-2510.