Over the years, children’s singers are becoming increasingly rare and the trend is not ready to be reversed.
From the 17th century singing for children was natural, everyone wanted to sing children’s songs or nursery rhymes ; and all of these songs were popular. The families were made up of many children, there weren’t many activities for the children apart from reading, drawing and singing and it was this last activity that was the most successful as it was shared by all families, within the home but also in schools.
Some of these songs have become famous like “In the moonlight“attributed to Jean-Baptiste Lully around 1780,”Cadet Rousselle“composed around 1792 by Gaspard de Chenu and”Malbrough go to war“.
Then there was “Brother Jacques” which is a children’s song 18th century French, known around the world and translated into many languages. In 1853, the song “On the bridge of Avignon“became famous thanks to a popular comic opera.
Towards the beginning and the first half of the 20th century, to interpret a children’s song was common for stars of the time like Tino Rossi and his famous “Small Santa” or “One day my Prince will come“released from Disney studios in 1937 …, etc. The songs hummed by parents and children offered moments of intergenerational sharing.
It was not until the 1970s and 1980s and especially 87s that artists like Chantal Goya or Dorothée decided to compose music and songs only intended for young audiences. The success was great but the spirit was different, they were no longer children’s songs or lullabies generally part of the oral tradition.
The success of these new singers was partly caused by their media coverage and the colossal budgets invested in the staging of shows intended for large stages, convention centers, Zénith …
Being a children’s singer is almost a priesthood!
The qualities needed to be children’s singer are very numerous because the jeune public is often more demanding than the rest of the public. Young children find it difficult to stay attentive and under the spell of an artist. To captivate them, the performance must be as visual and participatory as it is musical. It will therefore require costumes, accessories, lighting and special effects and often a choreography. Some singers will also be musicians and perhaps even an actor. The achievement of a good children’s musical show will take a long time and it will be necessary to redouble your imagination to delight the young audience. Today in 2021, there must be less than ten professional children’s singers in France, among them, one of the best is Thierry MIDI. –
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