Pierre Garand (born 26 June 1972), known by his stage name Garou (a diminutive of his last name "Garand"), is a Canadian singer and entertainer from Sherbrooke, Québec.
Garou was born in Canada. Garou began playing the guitar at the age of three at the encouragement of his father (he also plays piano and trumpet). He went on to serve in the military and started a band in 1992 called the Untouchables. In 1997, he was discovered by Luc Plamondon while singing American blues tunes in a Sherbrooke bar. He was drafted by Plamondon to play the role of Quasimodo in his musical Notre-Dame de Paris, which made him a star in France and propelled his career into action.[1] He would play the role of Quasimodo for 3 years.[2]
His first album Seul became the best-selling French album of 2001 and remains one of the best-selling French albums of all time, achieving 2 million sales in Europe and going three times platinum in Canada.[3]
He continued his string of hits with a live album and his sophomore effort Reviens in 2003. Sales for his third album Garou remained strong and he released his English crossover Piece of My Soul in 2008. The album debuted at No. 2 in Canada and No. 3 in France. Despite this, the album became his first album in France not to reach platinum status although it became his best-selling album in North America in seven years. His next album, Gentleman cambrioleur features cover songs in French and English and became his first album to miss the top five in France, where it modestly peaked at No. 35, staying on the charts for 17 weeks. He released Version Intégrale in 2010 which became another Top 40 hit in France and Canada.
His latest effort Rhythm and Blues became his highest-peaking album in four years. It is his second covers album and pays tribute to classic R&B music.
Garou on stage in 2009
He hosted the first two editions of Destination Eurovision, the selection show to choose the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest, for France 2.
Collaborations
Garou has become well known for his collaborations. He has worked with Luc Plamondon in Notre-dame de Paris. The single "Belle" was lifted from the musical and stayed atop the French charts for a record-breaking 18 weeks. The single remained the most successful song in French history until 2009.[6] In 2000, he had a successful duet with Celine Dion. "Sous le vent" became his third number one single in France. In 2004 he worked with Michel Sardou for his fourth and final No. 1 single, "La Rivière de notre enfance". The following year he appeared with 15-year-old singer Marilou on "Tu es comme ça."
He has also worked with several popular songwriters, including Jean-Jacques Goldman and Pascal Obispo. For his first album in English, Garou collaborated with some of the biggest names in music. The single "Stand Up" was written by Rob Thomas. He also sang the song "First Day of My Life", which was a big hit all over Europe in 2006 for former Spice Girl Melanie C, written by Guy Chambers and Enrique Iglesias.
Personal life
Born in the town of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Pierre "Garou" Garand was exposed to music from an early age. He began to learn guitar at the age of three and soon pursued other instruments; such as trumpet, piano and the organ.
Garou has a daughter, Emelie (born July 7, 2001[7]), with his ex-girlfriend, Ulrika, a former model. After they broke up he dated a former Yemeni singer and entertainer Arwa Jassem known as Lahlouba.[8] From 2007 to June 2010[9] he dated French singer Lorie.[10]
Garou is a member of the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble since 1999.[11]
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For other uses see Garand disambiguation This article is about the musician For his 2006 self titled album see Garou album This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Garou singer news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2014 Learn how and when to remove this template message Pierre Garand born 26 June 1972 known by his stage name Garou a diminutive of his last name Garand is a Canadian singer and entertainer from Sherbrooke Quebec GarouGarou in 2013 at 41Background informationBirth namePierre GarandBorn 1972 06 26 26 June 1972 age 50 OriginSherbrooke Quebec CanadaGenresPopOccupation s Singer actorInstrument s Piano guitar trumpetYears active1995 presentLabelsSony Music Canada Sony Music France MercuryWebsitegarouofficiel wbr com He is known for his work in the musical Notre Dame de Paris playing Quasimodo in both the original French and English casts and the No 1 hits Belle Seul Sous le vent and La Riviere de notre enfance Contents 1 Profile 2 Collaborations 3 Personal life 4 Discography 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksProfile EditGarou was born in Canada Garou began playing the guitar at the age of three at the encouragement of his father he also plays piano and trumpet He went on to serve in the military and started a band in 1992 called the Untouchables In 1997 he was discovered by Luc Plamondon while singing American blues tunes in a Sherbrooke bar He was drafted by Plamondon to play the role of Quasimodo in his musical Notre Dame de Paris which made him a star in France and propelled his career into action 1 He would play the role of Quasimodo for 3 years 2 His first album Seul became the best selling French album of 2001 and remains one of the best selling French albums of all time achieving 2 million sales in Europe and going three times platinum in Canada 3 He continued his string of hits with a live album and his sophomore effort Reviens in 2003 Sales for his third album Garou remained strong and he released his English crossover Piece of My Soul in 2008 The album debuted at No 2 in Canada and No 3 in France Despite this the album became his first album in France not to reach platinum status although it became his best selling album in North America in seven years His next album Gentleman cambrioleur features cover songs in French and English and became his first album to miss the top five in France where it modestly peaked at No 35 staying on the charts for 17 weeks He released Version Integrale in 2010 which became another Top 40 hit in France and Canada Garou performed the Jean Pierre Ferland song Un peu plus haut un peu plus loin A Little Higher A Little Farther at the 2010 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Vancouver British Columbia 4 He has also performed at the charity event Les Enfoires for the past 19 years In 2011 he was cast as the lead role Zark in the musical Zarkana at Cirque du Soleil in New York 5 His latest effort Rhythm and Blues became his highest peaking album in four years It is his second covers album and pays tribute to classic R amp B music Garou on stage in 2009 He hosted the first two editions of Destination Eurovision the selection show to choose the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest for France 2 Collaborations EditGarou has become well known for his collaborations He has worked with Luc Plamondon in Notre dame de Paris The single Belle was lifted from the musical and stayed atop the French charts for a record breaking 18 weeks The single remained the most successful song in French history until 2009 6 In 2000 he had a successful duet with Celine Dion Sous le vent became his third number one single in France In 2004 he worked with Michel Sardou for his fourth and final No 1 single La Riviere de notre enfance The following year he appeared with 15 year old singer Marilou on Tu es comme ca He has also worked with several popular songwriters including Jean Jacques Goldman and Pascal Obispo For his first album in English Garou collaborated with some of the biggest names in music The single Stand Up was written by Rob Thomas He also sang the song First Day of My Life which was a big hit all over Europe in 2006 for former Spice Girl Melanie C written by Guy Chambers and Enrique Iglesias Personal life EditBorn in the town of Sherbrooke Quebec Pierre Garou Garand was exposed to music from an early age He began to learn guitar at the age of three and soon pursued other instruments such as trumpet piano and the organ Garou has a daughter Emelie born July 7 2001 7 with his ex girlfriend Ulrika a former model After they broke up he dated a former Yemeni singer and entertainer Arwa Jassem known as Lahlouba 8 From 2007 to June 2010 9 he dated French singer Lorie 10 Garou is a member of the Les Enfoires charity ensemble since 1999 11 Discography EditMain article Garou discography Seul 2000 Reviens 2003 Garou 2006 Piece of My Soul 2008 Gentleman cambrioleur 2009 Version integrale 2010 Rhythm and Blues 2012 Au milieu de ma vie 2013 It s Magic France Xmas Blues Canada 2014 Soul City 2019 Garou joue Dassin 2022 See also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Garou List of Quebec musicians Music of Quebec Culture of QuebecReferences Edit Garou Biography Artist Retrieved 9 August 2010 Garou Soul City Garou Soul City in French Retrieved 14 April 2021 IFPI Platinum Europe Awards 2002 IFPI Archived from the original on 16 October 2013 Retrieved 9 August 2010 Canada unveils its landscape of dreams to welcome athletes and world at the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games VANOC 12 February 2010 Archived from the original on 13 February 2010 Retrieved 14 February 2010 Garou Soul City Les mielleurs singles in French lescharts Retrieved 9 August 2010 Les femmes de la vie de Garou 25 June 2019 Garou Rfimusique com Archived from the original on 14 May 2011 Retrieved 17 February 2012 Lorie parle de sa rupture avec Garou Staragora com 1 February 2012 Retrieved 17 February 2012 Des projets de mariage pour Garou in French Radioactif 9 October 2007 Archived from the original on 11 October 2007 Retrieved 16 December 2009 Garou Archived 30 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine in French Enfoires com Retrieved 23 February 2017 External links EditOfficial website Biography of Garou from Radio France Internationale Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Garou singer amp oldid 1128066211, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
