Corneille

Already a major star throughout the French-speaking world, Corneille (rhymes with Marvin Gaye) could be the saviour of soul music.

By Michel Defoy
Photos by Leda & St. Jacques

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March 2004. The legendary Paris music venue La Cigale. The theatre erupts in frenzied cheering and whistling – most of it female, much of it hysterical – as the singer Corneille takes the stage. Elegantly dressed in a tailored striped suit, he has the confident swagger of a dandy. “Bonsoir Paris! Comment ça va?” he calls out in his lilting African-inflected French. The spellbound crowd hushes as he launches into his first song, but thousands soon join in, singing his upbeat soul-inflected ballads by heart. The magnetism he radiates, the command he takes of the stage is impressive – especially when you consider that most Canadians wouldn’t recognize this global superstar who calls Montreal home.

More than an hour into the concert, after the usual curtain-call rituals have been exhausted, Corneille plays his trump card: a honeyed English-language cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing,” arranged in a medley with the Gaye classic “Let’s Get It On.” It’s a one-two seduction punch that sends the already frantic crowd reeling. His set that night had included nods to both Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley – musicians who are among Corneille’s own idols, beloved as much for their melodies as for the powerful social message of their songs. Are we watching the next saviour of soul?

Quietly installed in a Montreal café, protected by the bubble of his own celebrity, Corneille waits for his coffee. Hat pulled low over his eyes, designer parka, camo cargo pants – Corneille Nyungura looks more like a young rapper on the move than the new Marvin Gaye. “All my gear is in boxes,” explains the homeboy who has finally found a home. “It’s this big old house on the Plateau-Mount-Royal, with a backyard and everything,” he beams, confiding there’s a serious girlfriend in the picture. An immigrant from Rwanda and a Canadian citizen for 1 1 / 2 years now, Corneille adds, “I’d already unpacked my suitcases here, but this is more official.”

But there’s no time for a proper housewarming, at least not until he returns from an extensive winter tour of French-speaking European cities. He will stop off in Switzerland and tour France. The highlight will be a week-long run at the Olympia, the most famous venue in Paris. In the City of Light, where Corneille’s debut album, Parce qu’on vient de loin (because we come from afar), sold hundreds of thousands of copies, his fame is assured. He’s a fixture on the TV talk-show circuit, has a standing invitation to Madame Chirac’s chic gatherings and regularly graces the front cover of French gossip magazines.

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