Garou (singer)
| Garou | |
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Garou in 2013
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Pierre Garand |
| Born | 26 June 1972 |
| Origin | Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Piano, Guitar, Trumpet |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Labels | Sony Music Canada, Sony Music France |
| Associated acts | Daniel Lavoie, Patrick Fiori, Celine Dion, Marilou, Michel Sardou, Elizabeth Blouin-Brathwaite, Notre-Dame de Paris |
| Website | www.garouonline.com |
Pierre Garand (born 26 June 1972), known by his stage name Garou (a diminutive of his last name "Garand"), is a French Canadian singer from Sherbrooke, Quebec.
He is known for his work in the musical Notre-Dame de Paris (playing Quasimodo in both the original French and English casts) and the No. 1 hits "Belle", "Seul", "Sous le vent", and "La Rivière de notre enfance". He currently holds the SNEP record for most weeks at No. 1.
Garou began playing the guitar at the age of three at the encouragement of his father (he also plays piano and trumpet). He went on to serve in the military and started a band in 1992 called the Untouchables. In 1997, he was discovered by Luc Plamondon while singing American blues tunes in a Sherbrooke bar. He was drafted by Plamondon to play the role of Quasimodo in his musical Notre-Dame de Paris, which made him a star in France.
His first album Seul became the best-selling French album of 2001 and remains one of the best-selling French albums of all time, achieving 2 million sales in Europe and going three times platinum in Canada.
He continued his string of hits with a live album and his sophomore effort Reviens in 2003. Sales for his third album Garou remained strong and he released his English crossover Piece of My Soul in 2008. The album debuted at #2 in Canada and #3 in France. Despite this, the album became his first album in France not to reach platinum status although it became his best-selling album in North America in seven years. His next album, Gentleman cambrioleur features cover songs in French and English and became his first album to miss the top five in France, where it modestly peaked at #35, staying on the charts for 17 weeks. He released Version Intégrale in 2010 which became another Top 40 hit in France and Canada.
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