IFPI Platinum Europe Awards - Q2 2007

French artists honoured for European sales

18 July, 2007

The latest round of IFPI Platinum Europe Awards has a distinctly Gallic flavour with five of the 14 artists honoured hailing from France. This represents a surge in sales for non-English recordings, with only four such albums achieving Platinum Europe Awards last year compared with eight in the first half of 2007

These albums achieved their awards for selling more than one million copies across Europe and in the case of the French album Les Choristes for crossing the two million sales threshold.

Les Choristes is the soundtrack to the movie of the same name. The film was set in 1949 and features the tale of a school that is run by a tough headmaster, but where the music teacher inspires pupils through the medium of song. It proved one of the most popular films at the box office across France in 2004 and the soundtrack achieved its first Platinum Europe Award for selling a million copies in Europe in December that year.

Chimene Badi was discovered through the French reality television show Popstars. Her second album Dis-moi Que Tu M'Aimes has sold well across Francophone Europe, propelling her to Platinum Europe Award status.

Emma Shapplin is one of the biggest names in French classical crossover music. She performs in ancient Italian and has released three albums, of which Carmine Meo is the first. It has been a steady seller over many years, with particularly strong sales in France and the Netherlands ensuring the album receives its first Platinum Europe Award.

Eric Levi is a French rock veteran whose career took off in the 1970s. Era 2 was released in 1999 and was the second of a trilogy that used an eclectic mix of synthesisers, rock and Gregorian chant. It has now surpassed a million sales across Europe and becomes his second Platinum Europe Award winning album, following on from Era which gained awards in 1997 and 1998, selling more than two million copies in the process.

Jenifer is a pop star from Nice who has had a string of hits since 2002 in the French, Belgian and Swiss charts since breaking through on the television series Star Academy. Her eponymous album has sold strongly across Europe's Francophone countries and now achieves Platinum Europe Award status.

Disney's High School Musical also collects an IFPI Platinum Europe Award. The album was the best selling title worldwide in 2006 following the amazing success for the made-for-television musical, which was a modern reworking of Romeo and Juliet.

Lebanese-born Mika won his first Platinum Europe Award for Life in Cartoon Motion, which contained the top-selling single Grace Kelly and was received with widespread critical acclaim, as some commentators compared him to Freddie Mercury, the former lead singer of Queen.

Other artists honoured in the second quarter of 2007 included Colombian Juanes for Mi Sangre and American stars Beyonce and Linkin Park for B'Day and Minutes to Midnight. British artists Phil Collins, Portishead and Razorlight also picked up awards for Love Songs, Portishead and Up All Night. The soundtrack to the film Gladiator also topped the million sales mark and picks up a Platinum Europe Award.