album rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Electropop / French pop / dance pop / chanson. Gourmandises ('Delicacies') is the debut studio album by Alizée (born Alizée Jacotey, Ajaccio, Corsica, 1984), released in France in November 2000 and worldwide on 13 March 2001 by Polydor Records. It was created entirely by the singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer (lyrics) and composer-producer Laurent Boutonnat (music and production) — the established duo who had discovered Alizée through her appearance on the television talent show Graines de star and signed her to their Requiem Publishing label. The album blends electronic pop, dance-pop, synth-driven melodies, trip-hop, ambient and French chanson influences into a sound that was described as recalling the late-1990s French Touch movement without directly imitating it. Its themes — youth, sensuality, innocence, love and curiosity — are rendered through Farmer's characteristically poetic, double-edged lyrics. The opening single 'Moi... Lolita' (released July 2000, eight months before the album itself) became an international sensation, reaching number 2 in France and charting across Europe, in the UK, Germany, Japan and beyond. A sixteen-year-old Alizée instantly became the most recognisable face of French pop worldwide.
Label: Polydor Records / Requiem Publishing (France / Universal), released 28 November 2000 (France) and 13 March 2001 (international).
Producers: Laurent Boutonnat and Mylène Farmer.
Recording studio: Studio Guillaume Tell, Paris, France. Mastered at Top Master, Paris.
Critical reception: Gourmandises received positive reviews from contemporary critics, who praised Alizée's vocal performance and the album's sophisticated electronic production. French critic Filipe of Krinein Musique described it as 'commercial but talented', giving it 7/10 and praising the 'seductive, refined, sympathetic' performance. The production was compared to that of William Orbit on Madonna's Ray of Light (1998). In 2013, critics referred to it as a 'pop masterpiece of contemporary music' and a 'classic of the 2000s decade'. It was awarded the Prix Vincent Scotto by SACEM — one of the institution's highest accolades — in 2002. Alizée was nominated for the Victoires de la Musique for Revelation Album of the Year.
Commercial success: Gourmandises is one of the best-selling French pop albums of the early 2000s. In three months it sold 700,000 copies in France alone, eventually earning double platinum certification in France (SNEP). In Europe it was certified platinum by the IFPI for sales exceeding one million units. Worldwide, estimates place total sales at approximately four million copies. Alizée won the NRJ Music Award for Francophone Revelation in early 2001 and the M6 Award in late 2000. In 2002 she received the World Music Award for Best French Exporter.
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