Amel Bent in concert in Toulouse: “I put my whole life in my songs”
Radiant after the success of her album “Vivante”, gold record, Amel Bent has many surprises in store for her fans on Wednesday, November 30 on the stage of the Casino Barrière, in Toulouse.
Do you want to hurry back on stage?
Amel Bent. I dream about it ! Tours are precious and too rare moments. In this job you do a thousand things, but the opportunities to meet your audience are not so considered. Yet when I dreamed of being a singer, it was on stage that I imagined myself. A tour is the nectar of the trade, which gives meaning to everything else.
Since the release of this 7th album, a year ago, We feel a renewal. Both in the modernity of your songs, and in your look… How did this change come about?
I am accompanied by a new team, with Vitaa, Dadju, Slimane, Renaud Rebillaud. I felt the need to evolve. There weren’t too many debates around my music, my visuals. I was a bit wild and lonely. This record was a real challenge. In the studio, we researched, we debated, we tried lots of things. It was exciting but I was a little confused. I wondered if this record was going to be like me.
Were you surprised by the reception of this album, carried by big hits like “1,2,3” with Hatik, and “To the end” with Imen Es?
Yes in the sense that I didn’t expect to feel the same excitement as when I started. It’s kind of like a new debut album. I gave myself the freedom to do what excites me vocally and musically today.
You knew how to renew yourself…
It would be lying to want to address what I was almost 20 years ago. I am a mother of two girls aged 5 and 6 and a 7 month old boy. I had trials, happiness, travels. It’s normal that my music grows with me. I’m already thinking of 8e album, I feel like I’m going to have fun.
There is a lot of melancholy in your songs…
They are all autobiographical, except for Lossa, the single with Benny Adams. I put my life in my songs. I like to sing about my sorrows, my cracks, the passage of time, love, this great emotional mystery. A source of inspiration that will never dry up. Life gives me a lot of happiness and questions, it’s not a calm river.
What is the atmosphere of this Living Tour?
I am accompanied by two singers and four musicians, including the pianist Khaled Maouenne who has been following me for several years. I sing songs from my repertoire, including the indestructible “Ma philosophie” and the latest album. I imagined a rather sober luminous decor. In terms of outfits, I don’t want to be too sexy. I’m always looking for the perfect outfit to be able to express all my emotions, in softness, or more rock.
A lot has happened for you in 2021 and 2022…
I had a baby, I fought to be as calm as possible. No regrets, but it was a hell of a challenge. I was on promo, I was planning a tour 8 months pregnant, there were my husband’s worries…
What mom are you?
I talk a lot with my daughters, I don’t want them to be too magical a vision of my job. They see that I work a lot. They can ask all the questions, I leave no questions unanswered.
You have found a wasp waist if we judge by your photo on Instagram, in a very tight pink dress…
I gained 27 kilos for my son. I couldn’t get into anything anymore, my stylist was in a panic. I lost 20 kilos very quickly by stopping to eat anything. I’m not athletic but I move, I dance, and I walk, a brand new pleasure. Breathing, thinking, looking at nature revitalizes me enormously.
You have started filming the next season of The Voice, with Vianney, Zazie and the Toulousains Big Flo and Oli. How’s it going ?
Initially I wondered if I found the same complicity as with Florent Pagny and Marc Lavoine. I was afraid that I would miss them. But Flo and Oli are great. They bring a fresh and realistic look to this new generation of artists who know how to use networks, software and machines. They have this emotional and musical modernity.
Flo and Oli have a double chair?
Yes, we made them a special chair with a single buzzer, which sometimes leads to funny situations, because they don’t always agree. We form a great team, with Zazie and Vianney, real pros who speak truthfully to the candidates. When you start you need a constructive opinion. Sometimes criticisms are hard to hear but they move us forward.