Laure Monique Pester, professionally known as Lorie, (born May 2, 1982) is a French singer.[1] She has sold over 8 million albums and singles worldwide as of December 2007. Her first studio album Près de toi was certified triple platinum in France and she followed it with five other certified albums.
Lorie is also an actress, who lent her voice for many French versions of international movies including Stuart Little 2. She stars in the TF1 TV film De feu et de glace, and guest-starred as a Parisian model on the American soap opera The Young and the Restless. She has also launched a clothing line, "Lorie", only found in the Z stores in France. Her contract with Z ended in early 2009.
When Lorie heard that producer Axel Brangeon was looking for a young girl that knew how to sing and dance, she immediately auditioned and won the contract. Lorie recorded "Près de moi", written by Johnny Williams and Louis Element, which was rejected by every record label. Williams uploaded the song onto a French website, peoplesound" and the song received 15,000+ downloads in two months. Thereafter Epic Group Project of Sony Music France signed Lorie, who was only eighteen at the time. "Près de moi" was officially released in 2001, accompanied by a highly popular music video. It was certified Platinum in France for over 500,000 copies sold. Its parent album "Près de toi", released on October 30, 2001, became a triple Platinum recording in France with 1,000,000+ copies sold. The next singles "Je serai (ta meilleure amie)" and "Toute seule" were also certified Gold.
2002–2003: More successes
“Tendrement”, Lorie's second album, saw the light in 2002 with three commercially successful singles: “J'ai besoin d'amour”, “À 20 ans” and “Sur un air Latino”.
The album became as successful as “Près de toi” selling over a million copies in Europe. In April 2002, Lorie sung “Oser ses rêves” for the French soundtrack of the Disney animation film Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and lend her voice for the French version of the movie Stuart Little 2; she is the bird Margalo.
After touring for the promotion of her album, Lorie released a book called "Ma tournée" which sold over 200,000 copies, becoming one of the most successful books ever written by a singer in France. Later, her debut album "Près de toi" would come back to the lights after its release in Japan with new tracks (English versions of her songs "Près de moi" and "Toute Seule") including "Dans mes rêves" which was used in the Évian in which Lorie was starring. She also confirmed her relationship with Filipino-American pop-star Billy Crawford.
In late 2003, Lorie's first live album and music DVD come out, both entitled "Lorie Live Tour" which received a great response.
2004–2006: Attitudes and image change
Lorie in 2012
Come early 2004, "Attitudes" was already out and the singles "Week-end", "La positive attitude" and "Ensorcelée" were big hits. The album became Platinum in France because it sold over 600,000 copies. Lorie toured again to promote the album. The song "C’est plus fort que moi", written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, was later released to support the "Week-End Tour". In June, Lorie launched her very own clothing line, simply entitled "Lorie", exclusively sold in the Z stores in France. Her contract with Z was cancelled in early 2009.
In April 2005, Lorie's first compilation album "Best Of" was released, including all her singles plus "Toi et moi", "Les ventres ronds" (which was performed in the Week-End Tour) and the original version of "Quand tu danses". The album was well-received but some critics said that Lorie was way too young to release a "best-of", noting that Lorie was the youngest artist in French history to release a greatest hits album.
In October 2005, Lorie released Rester la même (which means ‘Stay the same’), an album mixing various music influences including Zouk, RnB, pop and dance-pop. Lorie wanted to change her image from squeaky-clean to boogie singer. The title track, featuring rap act Second Degré, was first released to see the reaction which was generally positive, but the song did not perform as well as expected. The following singles "SOS" (reggaeton version), "Parti pour zouker" and "Fashion victim'" (official but promotional single for her Live Tour 2006). This album also received a Platinum certification in France, because it sold over 470,000 copies.
That same year, Lorie voiced the character Violette in the French version of the Academy Award-winning animated film "The Incredibles".
2007–2008: The metamorphosis
On November 26, 2007, Lorie's fifth studio album 2lor en moi? was released; it was the singer's most mature album and it is clear that the album's sound is influenced by Tecktonik, the then-new dance. The first single from the album "Je vais vite" showcases Lorie's musical and personal evolution. Its follow-up "Play", featuring back vocals by her fiancé Garou, was a worldwide minor club hit. On October 3, 2008 Lorie started her "Le Tour 2Lor", which ended in December 2008 to promote the album. The last single from the album, "Un garçon", officially released in December 2008, talks about homosexuality; the song and the video were harshly received from the French audience and in consequence, it "flopped", as it received little coverage. However, the album was certified Gold for selling at least 185,200 copies as of November 2008.
2lor en moi? was also released on August 18, 2008, in Canada under Garou's record label, Wolfgang Entertainment. Lorie also recorded "Heaven's Table", a critically acclaimed duet with Garou for his latest album. In June 2008, she wanted to try something new: acting. She starred as a lonely and lost ice-skater in the TF1 TV movie De feu et de glace. TF1, satisfied with Lorie's performance, asked her to guest-star as a Parisian model in the successful soap opera The Young and the Restless in October. According to Yo-Club, as of March 2009, Lorie has officially sold about 8,000,000 records worldwide.
2011: Return to music
Lorie performing at her Tour 2Lor October 24, 2008 in Charleroi (Belgium)
Lorie's album Regardez-moi came out on November 21, 2011, with the first single "Dita" made available to purchase in France via iTunes and Amazon on August 26, 2011. In 2012, she produced a seventh album, Danse, on her own label, LMD2 Production
Tours
2002–2003: Live Tour
2004: Week End Tour 2004
2006: Live Tour 2006
2008: Le Tour 2LOR
2019-2020: Des Choses à se dire
Featured on
2002 : "Tous dans le même bateau" with Les Enfoirés
2003 : "La Foire aux Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
2003 : Pluri Elles, a Serge Lama album, on the song Les poètes
2004 : Le cœur des femmes with Combat Combo
2004 : "Les Enfoirés dans l'espace" with Les Enfoirés
2005 : "Le Train des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
2005 : Et puis la terre, with A.S.I.E
2006 : "Le Village des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
2007 : "La Caravane des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
2007 : Lonely, with 2A.M
2008 : "Les Secrets des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
2009 : "Les Enfoirés font leur cinéma" with Les Enfoirés
2010 : "Les Enfoirés... la Crise de Nerfs" with Les Enfoirés
2011 : "Dans l'oeil des Enfoirés" with Les Enfoirés
2003 : Inauguration of the Lorie statue in the Musée Grévin, the French wax museum.
Personal life
She was engaged to French-Canadian singer Garou but he decided to break up before the wedding in 2010, when she started a relationship with the French actor Philippe Bas that ended in 2012.[2]
Philanthropy
Lorie is a member of the Les Enfoirés charity ensemble since 2002.[3]
