Zaz (album)

Zaz
Studio album by Zaz
Released	10 May 2010
Recorded	2010
Genre	Pop, jazz, blues, soul, R&B
Length	38:59
Label	Play On, Sony
Zaz chronology
Zaz (2010) Recto Verso (2013)
Singles from Zaz
"Je veux" Released: 10 May 2010 "Le long de la route" Released: September 2010 "La fée" Released: February 2011 "Éblouie par la nuit" Released: November 2011

Zaz is the debut studio album by French singer Zaz, released on 10 May 2010 under the label Play On. It produced two hit singles: "Je veux" and "Le long de la route" which achieved success in Belgium (Wallonia). The album itself was a commercial success, reaching the top of the charts in the francophone countries.

Background and writing

The singer herself participated in the writing of six songs of the album, and French singer Raphaël Haroche wrote three songs.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]

Zaz received mixed reviews from musical critics. Le Figaro said the singer's voice "upsets and wins over".^[2] The editors admitted they were moved by "her small skinned side" and praised "the urban blues of "Trop sensible", or the upsetting "Port Coton" or songs with realistic accents such as "Ni oui ni non" or "Dans ma rue"".^[3] Libération stated that her single "Je veux" is "between 'J'veux du soleil' by Au P'tit Bonheur and the competitive 'P'tit kawa' by Karimouche—other examples of good-natured variety supercharged for optimism." The paper also wrote that "her natural sound - she is capable of laughing in the middle of a song - makes up for a rather simple technique, in the spirit of a jazz-world not too concerned with such idiosyncrasies".^[4] Le Nouvel Observateur deemed "Je veux" a song with "anti-consumerism" lyrics which "immediately catches the ear". Le Parisien believed that her "songs with realistic lyrics marked the spirits... She reflects the mindset of youth, a bit tortured but full of hope".^[5] L'Humanité praised a "very direct and friendly link" between the young singer and her public, saying: "Welcome to Zaz's world of good mood".^[6]

More critical, Valérie Lehoux of Télérama argued that the singer has "unquestionably quite unusual vocal abilities", but considered her album as "too fragmented to be easily likeable, as we must navigate without a sextant from rather old-fashioned French songs to the free variety, to a more or less danceable neo-R&B." She added that the singer has demonstrated her singing abilities but her songs soon lose their attraction and collapse under "too cumbersome and too expected" references.^[7] Les Inrockuptibles gave a negative review of the album and of the lead single.^[8]

Track listings

1. "Les passants" (Tryss, Isabelle Geffroy) – 3:33
2. "Je veux" (Kerredine Soltani, Tryss) – 3:39
3. "Le long de la route" (Geffroy, Mickaël Geraud) – 3:37
4. "La fée" (Raphaël Haroche) – 2:53
5. "Trop sensible" (Geffroy) – 3:59
6. "Prends garde à ta langue" (Geffroy, Dino Cirone) – 3:41
7. "Ni oui ni non" (Soltani, Vivian Roost, Geffroy) – 3:31
8. "Port coton" (Haroche) – 2:56
9. "J'aime à nouveau" (Geffroy, Geraud) – 3:50
10. "Dans ma rue" (Jacques Datin) – 4:40
11. "Éblouie par la nuit" (Haroche) – 2:40

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2010–12) Peak position Austrian Albums Chart[9] 12 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[10] 51 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[11] 1 Canadian Albums Chart[12] 200 Croatian Albums Chart[13] 2 Czech Albums Chart[14] 3 Dutch Albums Chart[15] 56 European Top 100 Albums[16] 11 French Albums Chart[17] 1 German Albums Chart[18] 3 Greek Albums Chart[19] 3 Italian Albums Chart[20] 19 Japanese Albums Chart[21] 58 Polish Albums Chart[22] 1 Russian Albums Chart[23] 3 Spanish Albums Chart[24] 93 Swiss Albums Chart[25] 10 US World Albums[26] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Position Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[27] 6 European Top 100 Albums[28] 46 French Albums Chart[29] 5 Swiss Albums Chart[30] 36 Chart (2011) Position Austrian Albums Chart[31] 32 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[32] 7 French Albums Chart[33] 5 German Albums Chart[34] 7 Russian Albums Chart[35] 7 Swiss Albums Chart[36] 22 Chart (2012) Position Belgian Mid Price Albums Chart (Wallonia)[37] 8 German Albums Chart[38] 63 Russian Albums Chart[39] 21 Swiss Albums Chart[40] 100 Chart (2013) Position Swiss Albums Chart[41] 88

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[42]	Platinum	20,000^x
Belgium (BEA)[43]	3× Platinum	90,000^*
France (SNEP)[44]	2× Diamond	1,000,000^*
Germany (BVMI)[45]	2× Platinum	400,000^^
Poland (ZPAV)[46]	2× Platinum	40,000^*
Russia (NFPF)[23]	Platinum	10,000^*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[47]	2× Platinum	60,000^x
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

1. Birchmeier, Jason. "Zaz – Zaz". AllMusic.
2. "Zaz". Le Figaro (in French). 26 May 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
3. Grandjanin, Annie (4 May 2010). "Zaz passe comme ça". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2010.
4. Renaud, Gille (16 July 2010). "Zaz et L en rappel". Libération (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2010.
5. "Tous zinzin de Zaz". Le Parisien (in French). 19 July 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
6. "En direct des francofolies à La Rochelle". L'Humanité (in French). 14 July 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
7. Lehoux, Valérie (15 May 2010). "Zaz". Télérama (in French) 3148. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
8. "Zaz manouche – Numéro 1 du Top albums en France, Zaz nous casse bien les bonbons avec son single "Je veux" diffusé de TF1 à France Inter. Décryptage d’un phénomène en bois recyclé". Les Inrockuptibles (in French). 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
9. "Zaz – Zaz" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
10. "Zaz – Zaz" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
11. "Zaz – Zaz" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
12. "Top 100 Albums in Canada". Jam! Canoe.ca. 13 January 2011. Archived from the original on 16 January 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
13. "Top Kombiniranih – Tjedan 6. 2012." (in Croatian). Hrvatska Diskografska Udruga. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
14. "TOP50 Prodejní: ZAZ – Zaz" (in Czech). IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
15. "Zaz – Zaz" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
16. "European Top 20 Charts – Week Commencing 23rd August 2010" (PDF). Billboard. Pandora Archive. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
17. "Zaz – Zaz" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
18. "Zaz, Zaz" (in German). charts.de. Media Control. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
19. "Zaz – Zaz". greekcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
20. "Zaz – Zaz". italiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
21. Ｚａｚのアルバム売り上げランキング [Zaz album sales ranking] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
22. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży". OLiS. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
23. Совсем иначе [Quite different] (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 25 November 2011. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
24. "Zaz – Zaz". spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
25. "Zaz – Zaz". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
26. "Zaz – Chart history: World Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
27. "Rapports Annuels 2010 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
28. "2010 Year End Charts – European Top 100 Albums". Billboard.biz. Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
29. "Classement Albums – année 2010" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
30. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2010". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
31. "Jahreshitparade Alben 2011" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
32. "Rapports Annuels 2011 – Albums" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
33. "Classement Albums – année 2011" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
34. "Album Jahrescharts 2011" (in German). MTV Germany. Viacom International Media Networks. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
35. "TOP50 АЛЬБОМOB 2011" (PDF) (in Russian). Lenta.ru. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
36. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2011". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
37. "Rapports Annuels 2012 – Mid price" (in French). Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
38. "VIVA Jahrescharts 2012 Album" (in German). VIVA. Viacom International Media Networks. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
39. Триумф нестыдной попсы (in Russian). Lenta.ru. 28 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
40. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2012". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
41. "Swiss Year-End Charts 2013". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
42. "Austrian album certifications – Zaz – Zaz" (in German). IFPI Austria. 2 May 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012. Enter Zaz in the field Interpret. Enter Zaz in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
43. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2012". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2012.
44. "Certifications Albums – Année 2013" (PDF). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). February 2014. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
45. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Zaz; 'Zaz')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
46. "Polish album certifications – Zaz – Zaz" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
47. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Zaz; 'Zaz')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 January 2014.