"Les Mots" | ||||||||||
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Single by Mylène Farmer and Seal | ||||||||||
from the album Les Mots | ||||||||||
Released | 13 November 2001 | |||||||||
Format |
CD single, CD maxi, 7" maxi, digital download (since 2005) |
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Recorded | 2001, France | |||||||||
Genre | Pop, classical | |||||||||
Length | 4:50 | |||||||||
Label | Polydor | |||||||||
Writer(s) | Lyrics: Mylène Farmer Music: Laurent Boutonnat |
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Producer(s) | Laurent Boutonnat | |||||||||
Mylène Farmer singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Les Mots" (English: "The Words") is a 2001 song recorded as a duet by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer and English soul singer Seal. It was the first single from her best of, Les Mots, and was released on 13 November 2001. It was Farmer's third duet, after those with Jean-Louis Murat in 1991 and Khaled in 1997, and her first international duet. In addition, "Les Mots" is a bilingual song, containing verses in French (sung by Farmer) and in English (by Seal). In terms of sales, "Les Mots" is Farmer's fourth biggest success in France, behind "Désenchantée", "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" and "Sans contrefaçon".
In October 2001, the release of the second single from the live album Mylenium Tour, "Regrets", was cancelled because sales of the previous live single "Dessine-moi un mouton" were disappointing (however, the video of "Regrets" aired for one week on M6). But since the summer, various rumours were launched on the Internet about the next Farmer single. Some said that she would record a song as a duet with an international star, perhaps Bono (singer of U2) or Elton John, since they are close friends of the singer. Seal was eventually chosen to sing with Farmer, and on 10 October, the promotional CD single was sent to radio stations. At the time, the public discovered the name of the song: "Les Mots". In an interview, Seal explained that Farmer had proposed to record a single as a duet with him. He felt flattered, but as he knew nothing about Farmer, he watched her DVD and listened to her albums to see if their two voices blended well. Cover photographs and the recording were made in Los Angeles, while Farmer was visiting the city. However, Seal said in another interview he did not want to record other duets of the same kind because, according to him, his fans did not appreciate "Les Mots" and have called this collaboration a "trick". Three new visuals made by Isabel Snyder, showing a half-naked Farmer in Seal's arms, were used as cover for the single. The only official remix available on the media, the 'strings's for soul mix', was directed by Laurent Boutonnat. Following the success of the song, a CD maxi was launched in Europe about one year after the release of the single, which contained as third track the single version of Farmer's previous single, "L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est...".