Julien Doré is a French singer/songwriter whose fame began on the fifth season of the television show Nouvelle Star and continued afterward with the release of his solo debut album, Ersatz (2008), which was among the best-selling French albums of the year. Born July 7, 1982, in Alès, Gard, France, Doré studied at the college of Louis Feuillade as well as the École des Beaux-Arts of Nîmes, where he performed with the band Dig Up Elvis. He auditioned for Nouvelle Star with the initial thought of simply promoting his band if he were to be selected for the show's casting. Not only was he cast on the show's fifth season (2006-2007), but he competed all the way until the season's end, beating runner-up Tigane on the night of June 13, 2007, to earn the winning rights. Some of his most memorable performances over the course of the season included songs originally sung by Alizée ("Moi...Lolita"), Claude François ("Le Mal Aimé," "Comme d'Habitude"), the Kinks ("You Really Got Me"), Britney Spears ("...Baby One More Time"), and Christophe ("Les Mots Bleus"). As the winner of Nouvelle Star, Doré was awarded a major-label recording contract with the Jive subsidiary of Sony BMG. His first officially released single, "Moi...Lolita," the 2000 smash hit by Alizée that he had performed memorably on the show, proved highly popular, peaking at number two on the French singles chart during its first week of release in 2007. A year later Doré made his full-length solo album debut with Ersatz, which also peaked at number two on the French charts. Produced by Renaud Létang (whose credits include Manu Chao, Feist, and Raphaël) and Antoine Gaillet (whose credits include M83, Berg Sans Nipple, and Mademoiselle K), Ersatz spawned the hit singles "Les Limites" and "Figures Imposées." In 2010 he contributed the soundtrack to the French dark comedy film Holiday, before releasing his second studio album, Bichon, in 2011. He also recorded a number of popular duets, with the francophone artistes Cœur de Pirate, Mélanie Pain and Sylvie Vartan. His third record, 2013's Love, performed well going two-times platinum. However, it was with his fourth release that he found most success. & was released in 2016, and achieved the number one spot in France and Belgium, as well as achieving platinum status. ~ Jason Birchmeier