Ouragan (song)

"Ouragan" (French for "windstorm"), also released in English under the title "Irresistible", is the first single recorded by Princess Stéphanie of Monaco,[1] from her debut album Besoin. Released in 1986, it was a great success in France, where it topped the charts for almost three months, and in Germany.

"Ouragan"
Single by Stéphanie
from the album Besoin
ReleasedMarch 1986
Recorded1986
Studio Marcadet, Paris
GenreSynthpop, dance-pop, new wave
Length4:40
LabelCarrere, Julisa
Composer(s)
  • Romano Musumarra
Lyricist(s)Marie Léonor (original)
Jack Robinson ("Irresistible")
Producer(s)Yves Roze
Stéphanie singles chronology
"Ouragan"
(1986)		 "Flash"
(1986)

Background and writing

This song was written by Romano Musumarra, who had already written several hits for Jeanne Mas and Elsa. Yves Roze, the song's producer, is known under the pseudonym of Jean-François Michael, who recorded "Adieu jolie Candy" in 1969/[2]

When Jeanne Mas refused to record the song, the composer offered it to Stéphanie of Monaco, who finally accepted. The song was also recorded in English, under the name "Irresistible", in order to win over the Anglophones[2] and other non-French speaking peoples - but with little success.

No music video was produced initially, as the song was not expected to be such a success. The only video available was some footage shot in the recording studio. Eventually a video was made that features the princess in various locations pursuing a mysterious stranger in a hat. At the end of the video, in a significant plot twist, the stranger is revealed to be a male version of Stéphanie with slightly slicked down hair and little makeup. The video runs for 5:20 and uses a remix of the song that alternates between the original French lyrics and the English lyrics for "Irresistible."

Chart performances

The single was a huge success in France, peaking at number one for ten consecutive weeks. It debuted at number seventeen on the French Top 50 Singles Chart on 5 April 1986 and rocketed up the chart, reaching the top position on 26 April. The song charted for a total of 29 weeks until 18 October 1986.[3] It peaked at number eleven in Switzerland[4] and was also a hit in Germany, where it reached number two.

In 1986, the single was certified Platinum Single by the French certifier SNEP, having achieved at least one million sales,[5] and 1,030,000 sales according to Infodisc.[6] Sales of the single exceeded two million copies worldwide. In France, the song is the 83rd best-selling single of all time.[7]

"Ouragan" was the first single to remain at the top of the French Singles Chart for at least ten weeks,[8] beating the record set in 1985 by Peter and Sloane with "Besoin de rien, envie de toi". It was also the second best-selling single in 1986, behind "Les Démons de minuit", by Images.

Cover versions

The song was covered by many artists, including Ishii, Akemi (石井明美) in Japanese version from her 1986 album Mona Lisa, Michael von der Heide in 1998, Gregorian in a new age version as bonus track on the album Masters of Chant Chapter III, Leslie on her 2007 album 80 Souvenirs,[9] Jolie in French and English versions in 2010. Actors Jean-Paul Rouve and Isabelle Nanty performed the song as duet in the Olivier Baroux's 2011 film Les Tuche.[10] After a live performance of the song in 2012, Italian singer Sabrina Salerno released the song as a digital download in 2015, however the song was never promoted as a single.

Track listings

The single is also available on several of Stéphanie's other albums: Besoin (1986, number six on French Albums Chart, Gold),[5] Stéphanie (1993), Rendez-Vous (2001, track 12),[11] and Ouragan (best of). The song is also on numerous 1980s compilations.

Charts and sales

References
  1. On the sleeve as well as on the label the artist is just named Stéphanie.
  2. Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 74. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  3. ""Ouragan", French Singles Chart" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  4. ""Ouragan", Swiss Singles Chart" (in German). Hitparade. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  5. Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 614. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  6. "Les certifications depuis 1973, database" (in French). Infodisc. Archived from the original on 30 November 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  7. "Les meilleures ventes tout temps de 45 T. / Singles" (in French). Infodisc. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  8. King, Alex P. (2005). Hit-parade, 20 ans de tubes (pdf) (in French). Pascal Ed. p. 8. ISBN 978-2-35019-009-9. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
  9. T., J. (18 December 2007). "Leslie: "J'ai vécu un véritable conte de fée"". Télé Loisirs (in French). Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  10. Pierson, Mickaël (2011). "Les Tuche" (in French). Il était une fois le cinéma. Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  11. "Stéphanie, Rendez-vous, track listing" (in German). Hitparade. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  12. ""Irresistible", in various singles charts" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  13. Hit Dossier 1958-1990 (ISBN 90-230-0706-9)
  14. ""Ouragan", Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 April 2007.
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