Florent Pagny

Despite an unpredictable and often controversial career that included detours into opera, the chanson tradition, and feature films as well as myriad personal obstacles, Florent Pagny has been one of the biggest-selling recording artists in contemporary French pop for over two decades. Born November 6, 1961 in Chalon-sur-Saône, Pagny was the product of a working-class background. At 16 he quit school and relocated to Paris to pursue a career in music and theater, working a series of odd jobs before beginning vocal studies at the Conservatoire de Levallois-Perret. Pagny issued his first full-length LP, Merci, in 1990. ~ Jason Ankeny