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L'Aziza
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Wikipedia article
"'L'Aziza'" is the name of a 1985 song recorded by French singer Daniel Balavoine and released as a single from his album 'Sauver l'amour' in October 1985. The song was very successful, particularly after the singer's death, topping the chart in France for two months.
Song information
The song was entirely composed by Balavoine, and was produced by the famous composer Lo Missir.
'L'Aziza' means 'My dear' in Arabic, although all the lyrics are sung in French. In this song, Balavoine pays tribute to his Jewish Moroccan wife Corinne, and denounces racism. In France, "L'Aziza" became a standard song throughout the years.
The song was remixed the same year of the album release and came out as a 7". It features on Balavoine's best of 'Balavoine sans frontires', released about twenty years after the singer's death.
The music video was directed by Oliver Chavarot.
Cover versions
"L'Aziza" was also recorded in 2000 by Khaled for the compilation album 'Balavoine: Hommages...' on which various artists covered Balavoine's songs.'Balavoine: Hommages...', track listing [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?titel=Balavoine%3A+Hommages%2E%2E%2E&cat=a Lescharts.com] (Retrieved July 10, 2008) The song was also covered in France by Star Academy 5 for its album 'Chante Daniel Balavoine', on which it features as fifth track.'Chante Daniel Balavoine', track listing and charts [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Star+Academy+5&titel=Chante+Daniel+Balavoine&cat=a Lescharts.com] (Retrieved July 10, 2008)
The B-side, "Tous les cris, les S.O.S.", was covered by many artists, including Jeanne Mas in 1987, Marie-Denise Pelletier, Lena Kann in 1998 (#14 in France) and Les Enfoirs in 2008.
Chart performances
"L'Aziza" entered the French Singles Chart at #40 on November 23, 1985, and gained a few places every week, but when the singer's death was announced in the media, the single jumped straight to #1 and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks, with huge weekly sales. Thereafter, it dropped rather quickly and remained for 14 weeks in the top ten and for 26 weeks in the top 50."L'Aziza", French Singles Chart [http://lescharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Daniel+Balavoine&titel=L%27aziza&cat=s Lescharts.com] (Retrieved July 10, 2008)
It was certified Platinum by SNEP in 1985 for selling 1 million copies in France.
Track listings
; 7" single
# "L'Aziza" 4:21
# "Tous les cris, les S.O.S." 5:04
Certifications and sales
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
Category:1985 singles
Category:Daniel Balavoine songs
Category:SNEP Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Daniel Balavoine
Category:Barclay (record label) singles
Category:1985 songs
Category:Songs against racism and xenophobia
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