Who is M. Pokora, the French singer with millions of listeners who will be celebrating SuperFrancoFête here on Thursday? Here are four things to know about him ahead of his show at the Agora du Port de Québec.
King of the NRJ Music Awards
Matthieu Tota, his real name, wasted no time in establishing himself as a must-see in French music. From his first solo album, entitled M. Humilitypublished in 2004, its title She controls me earned him two trophies at the prestigious NRJ Music Awards, including that of French-language song of the year.
Twenty years later, with nine albums under his belt, M. Pokora is the most prolific artist in the history of the NRJ Music Awards, with 16 wins, including seven in the Francophone Male Artist of the Year category.
The Strasbourg native now has over a million monthly listeners on Spotify. His most popular tracks include: Fallen, The Planets et If we said. His latest album, Epicentertook the platforms by storm in 2022.
Heir to Garou’s chair
In 2017, M. Pokora proved to the entire French-speaking world that he excelled not only as a singer, but also as a mentor. Called to replace our beloved Garou as coach for the sixth season of the television competition The Voice: The Most Beautiful Voicethe pop singer saw his young protégé, Lisandro Cuxi, take top honors.
The master and the student caused a sensation during the grand finale of the show, with a dance and song duet on the mega-hit Cry Me a Riverde Justin Timberlake.
A natural on stage
Whether it’s in song, dance, or even theater, the 38-year-old star knows how to do nothing but shine when he finds himself on stage.
In 2011, he was crowned champion of the very first season of Dancing with the Starsalongside Katrina Patchett. Then, a few years later, he was seen playing the lead role in the musical Robin Hood, whose soundtrack sold more than 400,000 copies. This show, which also featured Quebecer Stéphanie Bédard, was a hit at the Palais des Congrès in Paris, before being presented elsewhere in France, Belgium and Switzerland.
An inconclusive test in English
Towards the end of the 2000s, after great success with his first two French-language albums, M. Pokora decided to change his formula to make the jump to English. Even if he had not done things by halves, by teaming up in particular with the renowned producer Timbaland, his project MP3 was far from a victory in his fine career. His singles went rather unnoticed and the low ticket sales for the tour that followed caused the cancellation of several concerts.
Fortunately, it is with his best French that M. Pokora will appear at the Agora du Port de Québec on August 29, as part of the SuperFrancoFête. Belgian singer Mentissa will be the opening act.
