Elodie Frégé in debt: her words without taboo

By Romain Charp

– Posted on 22 Jan 2023 at 17:41

Did Élodie Frégé hit the jackpot by winning the third season of Star Academy in 2003? Well, it’s more complicated than that… If at the time, the fabulous sum of one million euros promised to the winner of the talent show made your eyes shine, it’s time to tackle the famous legend of Star Ac millionaires ! During the singer season, the million was, for the first time, shared between the two finalists. A more than generous gift on the initiative of Élodie Frégé herself. That evening, the young girl won against her comrade Michal Kwiatkowski. An “unfortunate” loser who still left with the tidy sum of 500 thousand euros! More or less…

Twenty years after her victory, the one who also became an actress returned to the adventure that turned her life upside down in with a podcast Counter-addictions hosted by Rose. « I split my price, the contract with Universal, so the advance on royalties was split in half, and I’m delighted. I am delighted to have been able to offer this gift to this precious being that is Michal Kwiatkowski”, she explained. Finally, the staggering sum corresponded to the anticipated receipts of his first album, now certified double gold disc. However, the former academician has still not paid off her debt to her label. His subsequent outings failed to make up the shortfall. The host then clarified: “We are talking about 500,000 euros in advance. Michal, he didn’t make a record right away, that money was his since he didn’t have to pay it back if he didn’t make a record. It was you who repaid above all, a lot”.

Elodie Frégé owes money

The singer thus solved the mystery on this aspect of this cult tele-hook. « JI’ve often tried to explain this in interviews where people cut corners, saying I won the lottery. No no, I didn’t win the lottery, I won an advance so it was already taxable at 48%. And then in fact, when you know you have to answer to such a big label, who expects you to be the new hot starlet and that suddenly you, by having lived this experience at Star Academy which is a magnificent test which allows you to learn a lot about yourself, finally you no longer want to do what they want to hear« she continued.