Véronique Cloutier will be surrounded by Normand Brathwaite, Félix-Antoine Tremblay, Claudia Bouvette and Élyse Marquis this winter at Zénith, ICI Télé’s new music competition.
Posted 10:16am Updated 12:23pm
Marc-Andre Lemieux The press
These four artists will act as captains. The news was announced Monday morning during a virtual press conference organized by Radio-Canada.
Described as a “large-scale variety show,” Zénith will air in January. Each week, four professional singers from four different generations compete in front of 100 spectators judging their performances. These spectators will also be divided by generations into the audience that will look like an arena. We find the Z (born since 1994) on one side, the Y (1981-1993) on the other, the X (1968-1980) and finally the Boomers (before 1968).
The captains lead these groups, which consist of 25 men and women. You will be their spokesman. Claudia Bouvette is assigned Z, Félix-Antoine Tremblay Y, Élyse Marquis X and Normand Brathwaite Boomer. After each performance, they take their pulse, give their feedback, and share their notes regarding the song choices, the musical arrangements, the concept of the number, etc. These elements need to be well thought out by the guest artist because the goal is to delight all ages and get the best result.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ICI TÉLÉ
Above: Élyse Marquis and Félix-Antoine Tremblay. Below: Claudia Bouvette and Normand Brathwaite.
“We wanted captains who could express themselves well and quickly,” explained Véronique Cloutier in Zoom. We wanted people who know the music, who know the varieties. »
The hostess, who says she is “crazy” about the adventure, was not short of superlatives to qualify her captains. With a career spanning five decades, Normand Brathwaite “resonates” with each generation, she explained. With experience in musicals (Demain matin, Montréal m’attend) as well as live variety shows (La fureur), Élyse Marquis is “able to identify a good number and express an opinion with delicacy but accuracy”. Félix-Antoine Tremblay, with whom Véronique Cloutier rubs shoulders on Les Fantastiques on Rouge FM, is a music fan who likes to “drive” from time to time, and Claudia Bouvette, as a singer-songwriter-performer, knows how to “recognize.” what works and what works less well”. She’s also “right and fair,” as she demonstrated to Big Brother celebrities on Noovo earlier this year.
“Zénith is not a war between generations. On the contrary, it’s a way of singing together, having fun,” said Claudia Bouvette, who promises to impress with her looks. His colleagues witnessed it during a photo shoot last week to promote the show. According to Véronique Cloutier, the 27-year-old singer arrived with “a hairy bra”.
“Good Timing”
Original concept signed by Daniel Vigneault and Dominic Anctil, Zénith excelled at MIPCOM in Cannes earlier this month. In the largest international market for television content in the world, the Quebec format would have attracted a great deal of interest from foreign buyers even before it was broadcast.
“After the pandemic, it’s a good time to develop a show where you sing what’s good,” said Dominic Anctil, content producer and head of development at KOTV. It’s a new show, it’s a risk, but the two mechanics we’ve done are eloquent. »
Indeed, Véronique Cloutier has emerged electrified from the tests the team has conducted so far. A real pilot will be filmed in December. “It’s a big, big project,” reiterated the host.
The process of selecting viewers who will become the show’s judges is currently in full swing. Véronique Cloutier wants to find the same 100 people throughout the season, which will include 13 meetings broadcast live on Thursdays at 8pm. It’s certainly a big contract to respect, but the presenter hopes to achieve her goal and attract the desired number of candidates.
“We can adapt,” she said. I don’t want anyone to stop submitting their application because they’re going away for spring break. »