In October 2018, the programme, “The Voice”, was in Guadeloupe and Martinique, for the first time, to select candidates. Fanswa Ladrézeau – who was not a candidate – was recently chosen to represent Guadeloupe. Last October, we had submitted some questions to Bruno Berberes, the casting director of this famous singing competition launched in 2012 , he did not answer. Was our interview too embarrassing?
On Sunday, October 14, 2018 at the Rex cinema in Pointe-à-Pitre, we had the chance to see Fanswa Ladrézeau’s performance when he accompanied with his drum ka a young candidate. He was not a candidate for this famous singing competition called “The Voice” which takes place in Paris, every year, and which is broadcast in the national TV channel TF1.
We were not allowed to attend the final held on Tuesday, October 16, in the same place because, according to the programme manager of the local radio that organized this selection on the island, there was no more invitation. Since when does a journalist need an “invitation” to write a report ?! In other regions of France where “The Voice” selects the candidates it does not work that way…
KARICULTURE.NET became, in a way, the spokesperson of many artists by submitting to Bruno Berberes (the casting director of “The Voice” in France) a list of 5 questions, on 19 and 24 October.
Embarrassing questions ?
These questions are:
1 – What are the best qualities you was looking for in candidates from Guadeloupe and Martinique, during this casting of “The Voice” ?
2 – Was Creole welcome to this competition like French or English? What place did you give to our regional language?
3 – We have many professional singers in Guadeloupe and Martinique, many of them sing zouk which is an internationally known music, others sing dance hall, jazz, RnB etc. They have any visibility on national television channels, such as TF1. Do you not think that you have a hell of a nerve for coming to the West Indies to “do your shopping” while the French media boycott our artists?
4 – In your jury, there were well-known artists. In Guadeloupe, there was, for example, Admiral T who is considered a star in our regions, he fills the largest Parisian concert halls. Do you think it’s normal to ask these well-known artists to be members of your jury, while TF1 never made any reports on them in Paris during their concerts at Le Zénith, the Olympia, Bercy etc.? It’s as if French star, Johnny Hallyday, had been a jury member in the United States when he was a complete stranger to the US media, right?
5 – Do you intend to invite our artists who were “jury members” to perform during the filming of “The Voice” programs or during the traditional tours you organize each year in the French regions?
Bruno Berberes did not reply. Apparently, our questions are visibly very embarrassing…
Getting the best of an experience
Recently, we heard that Fanswa Ladrézeau – who is a professional musician and singer – was chosen to represent Guadeloupe, this Saturday, March 23 in “The Voice” when he was not a candidate.
Did Fanswa have to participate in this program? The answer is yes and no. Yes, because Fanswa has a very beautiful voice and this competition is precisely in search of exceptional voices. No, because Fanswa will be with a large number of debutant singers while he has already sung and played drum ka on big stages in the Caribbean, in France and abroad, he already has a career and he does not need the “The Voice” TV show to go into singing and music.
In 2002, Martinican singer, Perle Lama, (who was 18) was very criticized by her fans who did not understand her participation in “Popstars”, a similar competition for debutant singers broadcast on the French TV channel M6 when she already had started her career and had even won the “SACEM Award for the Best Zouk of the Year 2000”. Even if she was not selected for the final, some people thought it was a “retrograde step”…
We suppose that Fanswa Ladrézeau knows what he is doing and he will promote one of the traditional rhythms of Guadeloupe, gwo ka. We hope that his participation in “The Voice” will be a rewarding experience for him.
