Pierre Lapointe

Pierre Lapointe (born 23 May 1981) is a Canadian singer-songwriter.

His work largely follows in the tradition of French chanson, though he is influenced by modern pop music.

Defining himself as a "popular singer", he has built an egocentric persona of a dandy onstage, but says he does this mostly to deflect attention from himself.

His records have found critical and commercial success in Canada.

His regular tours in France ensured him a growing popularity as well as critical recognition.

Pierre Lapointe was born in Alma, Quebec, and grew up in Gatineau.

He began studying visual arts in 1999, but changed his program and started to take theatre courses at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe.

He left after a few months to focus on songwriting, but later returned to complete his studies in visual arts.

While there, he entered a competition called Tout nouveau, tout show.

Lapointe won the "Award for Songwriter-Performer of the Year" and the "Audience Award".

He moved to Montreal and continued studying art at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

In September 2001, he came first in the songwriter category at the Festival international de la chanson de Granby.

In November 2002, he held two critically acclaimed shows in Montreal.

In December, he received a grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec which allowed him to prepare his first commercial album.

In the summer of 2003, he signed on with Audiogram.

He released his debut studio album, Pierre Lapointe, in May 2004 and it achieved platinum status in July 2006.

In June 2004, he was invited to perform at the Festival Pully Lavaux in Switzerland, where he won the Jury Award.

In July of the same year, at the FrancoFolies de Montréal, he played a full house for four days in a row, during which he won the Prix Félix‑Leclerc de la chanson.

In celebration of International Francophonie Day on 22 March 2005, he appeared as a guest speaker on Couleurs francophones, a radio show broadcast to French-speaking Europeans.

In May 2005, he won the Académie Charles Cros Special Jury Award at the Alors... Chante Festival in Montauban, France.

In October 2005, he won a total of six Félix Awards: three on his own for Pop Album of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Art Direction of the Year, as well as three in conjunction with his collaborators, Jean Massicotte (for Arrangement of the Year and Producer of the Year) and Louis Simon Hétu (for Sound Technician of the Year).

In November 2005, the Académie Charles Cros awarded him the Grand Prix du Disque for French Song for his album, Pierre Lapointe.

In March 2006, Lapointe released a second album, La Forêt des mal-aimés, which attained platinum status in July 2006.

In October 2006, he received three more Félix Awards for La Forêt des mal-mimés: one for Songwriter of the Year, one for Pop Album of the Year and another in collaboration with Philippe Brault and Jean Massicotte for Arrangement of the Year.

On 28 October 2007, he won a Félix Award in the category of "Performance of the Year – Singer-Songwriter" for La Forêt des mal-aimés during the 29th ADISQ Gala.

In April 2007, he joined Brigitte Fontaine in performing her song, La symphonie pastorale, at both the Printemps de Bourges music festival and the La Cigale concert hall in Paris.

He was also the recipient of the 2007 Rapsat-Lelièvre Award for La Forêt des mal-aimés, which the jury considered to be of "exceptional quality".

In August 2007, Lapointe was joined by the Orchestre Métropolitain, with director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, to close the 19th annual FrancoFolies de Montréal.

He performed for a crowd of over 100,100 – the largest in the festival's history.

He returned to the festival the next year, where he staged his new work, Mutantès, for four nights at the Place des Arts.

Featuring a futuristic stage production by Claude Poissant, the show tells the story of a mutant on his quest for happiness.

Following the show's success, he reworked Mutantès into a studio album, releasing it under the title Sentiments humains.

He again went on tour, concluding at the FrancoFolies de Montréal in June 2010, marking his ninth consecutive appearance at the festival.

In January 2011, he released Pierre Lapointe Seul au piano, which saw him revisit earlier songs in a stripped-down form, featuring an unaccompanied Lapointe on piano.

2013 saw two new releases: a studio album proper, Punkt, and Les callas, an EP of short compositions and rough takes.

In June of that year, Punkt was longlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.

In July 2014, he appeared at the Francofolies de La Rochelle in France.

During this time, he hosted his own weekday radio show, Les Petites Morts, which was broadcast nationally on France Inter.

In the program, Lapointe discussed some of his favourite artists and featured guests such as Christophe, Christine and the Queens and Alexandre Tharaud.

The exposure greatly increased his popularity in France.