Hélène (song)

"Hélène" is a song by Canadian singer Roch Voisine. Written and composed by Voisine and Stéphane Lessard, with guitars played by Carl Katz and keyboards by Luc Gilbert, it was the first single from Voisine's debut studio album, Hélène, and was released in November 1989. The song is mainly in French but contains the English line "Hélène things you do / Make me crazy about you". The cover for the CD maxi used the same photograph as that of the album, Voisine's face with a black background. "Hélène" was successful in France, where it topped the singles chart for nine weeks, thus allowing Voisine to launch his international career.

For the 1987 song "Hélène", see Julien Clerc.
"Hélène"
Single by Roch Voisine
from the album Hélène
B-side"Ton Blues"
ReleasedNovember 1989
Length3:42
LabelAriola
Songwriter(s)
  • Stéphane Lessard
  • Roch Voisine
Producer(s)Georges Mary
Roch Voisine singles chronology
"Hélène"
(1989)		 "Pourtant"
(1990)

Music video

The music video features the singer and an air hostess who are in love, but who are forced to separate because of professional reasons. She may be French because when, in the video, she writes her name on a mirror with her lipstick, she does end it with an 'e' ('Helene'), as on the single cover. The model who plays the role of Hélène is Ariane Cordeau.[1]

Versions

"Hélène" is available on the Roch collection (2007), also known as Best of.Voisine also recorded the song wholly in English as "Helen" and included this version on the English portion of his bilingual album Double in 1990 (which was in turn released separately as a full-length English album titled Roch Voisine the same year). "Hélène" was also recorded in an acoustic version on his 2003 album Je te serai fidèle, which appeared as the second track on CD maxi for "Tant pis", released in February 2004. In 2013, he recorded a duet version with Cœur de pirate, which features on his album Duophonique.

Critical reception

Music & Media considered "Hélène" as "a strong ballad, reminiscent of Elton John's early material", which is "vital for your play list".[2]

Chart performance

In France, the French version of "Hélène" started at number 27 on the chart edition of 11 November 1989, topped the chart for non consecutive nine weeks, in alternance with François Feldman's hit "Les Valses de Vienne", and remained in the top 50 for 27 weeks, 20 of them in the top ten.[3] and was certified Platinum disc by the French certifier, the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique, for 800,000 units.[4] Voisine thus became the first Canadian to reach number one on the French SNEP Singles Chart, followed by Bryan Adams, Céline Dion and Garou a few years later.[5][6]

The French version also peaked at number three in Norway.[7] The English version performed moderately well on RPM magazine's all-Anglophone singles charts, peaking at number 57 on the top 100 and number nine on the Adult Contemporary chart in very early 1990. It also achieved a moderate success in the Netherlands, peaking at number 53 two years after its original release.

Track listings
  • CD maxi
  1. "Hélène" (new English version) — 3:42
  2. "Hélène" (French version) — 3:42
  3. "Hélène" (instrumental) — 3:42
  • 7" single
  1. "Hélène" — 3:42
  2. "Ton Blues" — 3:35
  • CD single
  1. "Hélène" — 3:42
  2. "Ton Blues" — 3:35

Charts

Certifications
Certifications for "Hélène"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
France (SNEP)[18] Platinum 800,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. Lemonier, Marc (2008). Nos années Top, clips et 45 tours : 1984-1991 (in French). p. 91. ISBN 225807648X.
  2. "Previews - Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 2. 13 January 1990. p. 22 and 24 I. OCLC 29800226 – via World Radio History.
  3. "Roch Voisine – Hélène" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  4. "InfoDisc : Les Certifications Officielles d'un Artiste (Depuis 1973)". infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved 5 September 2021. Select "Roch Voisine" from the drop-down menu and click "OK".
  5. Habib, Elia (2002). Muz hit.tubes (in French). Alinéa Bis. p. 172. ISBN 2-9518832-0-X.
  6. Alex P. King, Hit-parade, 20 ans de tubes, 2005, Pascal Ed., p. 9 (ISBN 978-2350190099) Vingt ans de tubes (Retrieved 23 April 2008)
  7. "Roch Voisine – Hélène". VG-lista. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. "Roch Voisine – Hélène" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  9. "Top 3 singles in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 4. 27 January 1990. p. VII. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
  10. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6671." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  11. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 6657." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  12. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 4. 27 January 1990. p. IV-V. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 21 October 2021 – via World Radio History.
  13. "Roch Voisine – Hélène" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  14. Michel Gignac. "Compilation des succès par ordre alphabétique d'interprètes" (pdf). banq.qc.ca (in French). Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec. p. 808. Retrieved 6 September 2021..
  15. "Roch Voisine et Cœur de Pirate – Hélène" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  16. "Roch Voisine et Cœur de Pirate – Hélène" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  17. "Eurochart Hot 100 of 1990" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 7, no. 51. 22 December 1990. p. 60. OCLC 29800226. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via World Radio History.
  18. "French single certifications – Roch Voisine – Hélène" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved November 19, 2021. Select ROCH VOISINE and click OK. 
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