Viktor Lazlo, whose real name is Sonia Dronnier, is a French singer born to a Martinican father and a mother from the island of Granada. His stage name would actually refer to one of the characters in Casablanca, a cult film dating from the 1940s and played by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.
She started her artistic career not as a singer but as a model. Especially for Chantal Thomass and Thierry Mugler. Everything speeds up when she is spotted by Belgian producer Lou Deprijck. The same Lou Deprijck who a few years before had launched the career of a certain… Plastic Bertrand.
His first single “Backdoor man” was released in 1984, a title composed by Alain Chamfort, just that. Title which will appear on the soundtrack of the film "A mort l´arbitre".
It was a year later in 1985 that she achieved - already - the consecration when she performed "Canoé rose", a title that would remain her biggest success in France. The same year released his first album "She" with a consequent success.
Another notorious success in 1986 with the single "Pleurer des rivières", a luxury cover of Arthur Hamilton's legendary title "Cry me a river" dating from 1953.
She will experience her biggest international success a year later in 1987 with the title "Breathless", a track taken from her new album which simply bears her name and which will remain the biggest success of her entire album discography. Album mainly in English language.
The end of the decade will prove to be more complicated to manage than expected. Despite the success of the album "Hot & Soul" in 1989, she could no longer produce any major hits. She will experience a last notable success in 1990 with the title “Ansiedad”.
Other albums and other singles will be released later, but none will allow her to find his way back to success.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
Backdoor man 1984
Last call for an angel 1985
Mata Hari 1985
Canoe rose 1985
Slow motion 1985
Pleurer des rivières 1986
Breathless 1987
You are my man 1987
Amour puissance six 1988
City never sleeps 1989
In the midnight sky 1989
Premier rôle 1989
Long distance (L'automne à VIenne) 1990
Das erste mal tat's noch weh 1990
Ansiedad 1990
Teach me to dance 1991
Love insane 1991
Vattene amore 1993
Engel wie du 1994
Ces rêves 1996
Babe 1996
Le message est pour toi 1999
Je suis seule ce soir 2002
Mon légionnaire 2002
If not now 2004
Love to love you baby 2004
Total disguise 2004
L'automne est là 2007
Tu peux pas savoir 2007
Couleurs 2010
The man I love 2012
Love for sale 2012
Promised land 2016
La dernière cigarette 2017
The loss of you 2017
Until heaven finds a way 2017
Debout 2017
Ouvre 2021
Clips :
1984 ... a first title which already says a lot. This young singer has a talent more than obvious and the area Intimist suits her like a glove. And what looms on the horizon will vividly prove it ...
1985 ... she confirms all the good we can think of her. There really isn't much missing to see her take off and access the big league. Patience, patience ...
1985 ... here she is now in French. Linguistic versatility which will not stop there and which promises us some very good quality duets and trios ...
1985 ... then THIS title comes ! A sumptuous title which allows her to simply sign one of the biggest Ultimate Slows of the decade on the French side. This time, she has indeed gone well with the Greats. MAS-TER-FUL !
1985 ... a title that has nothing to do with the previous one, that's clear. Everything is different, both the language, the style and the tempo. But she shows a very astonishing versatility and quite rare among French singers of the time. Surprising and...very interesting !
1986 ... you had to dare, she did it. Daring to cover this enormous American standard and interpreted for the first time by Julie London in 1955 was not without all risks. Especially on a French version. And what is certain is that the result is up to the task. A title which makes her definitely fit into the musical legend of the 80s on the French side. Everything won !
1987 ... she constantly alternates between the Intimist title and the much sharper tempo. One of the few to practice this alternation with such ease. Certainly, she will know its biggest successes on the Intimist titles but she far from being ridiculous in the other field, it is clear !
1987 ... a truly exceptional talent in the Intimist with this new title which literally floats in the air. The artist will remain mainly known only for 2 titles. When you see the full extent of her discography and especially the quality of a good number of titles, she really deserved a recognition much higher than she was !
1988 ... only one title in this new year but which at least has the merit of offering a new facet of the artist's talent. She will have tested all styles and all tempos. And each time, the quality will have been there !
1989 ... the problem is that in wanting too much to play a French career and an international career simultaneously, she cannot win either one or the other. A strategic error which will always tend to marginalize her ...
1989 ... the end of the decade resolutely focused on the English language. The title is nice, once again but still does not allow the singer to break into the International more than that ...
1989 ... and we start again in French. We get lost in it. No other artist of his generation has mixed styles to this point ...
1990 ... after a decade of the 1980s that saw her explode and then gradually disappear, the question is how she will manage the following decade. For now, the least we can say is that it's going pretty well with a new Intimist title absolutely magnificent and which makes her, once again, one of the most talented in this particular field. ...
1990 ... a decade of 90 which will combine with 2, or even at 3. We start with a first duo which works perfectly and which gives her a new facet of a decidedly very experimentalist talent ...
1990 ... well, the title Latin version, she hadn't given us that one yet. She will have done everything to us. All styles, all languages, all tempos, alone or with others. It makes you dizzy ...
1991 ... and here she is in reggae mode, was missing more than that ! And again in English. Will she arise one day and adopt a definitive style ? Not sure that even she is the answer ...
1991 ... she clings, tries to adapt permanently, that we can not blame her. But the public ended up getting tired of these permanent about-face on the sound side ...
1993 ... after the made in Germany duo, here comes the made in Italy duo. Again on an Intimist track of which she has the secret. An almost unique know-how and which, however, will not bring her the deserved consecration. Go figure ...
1994 ... and here comes the dream trio. When 3 stars in their respective countries make a jam together, here is the result. A sumptuous ballad which will be his last big hit. 10 years after its debut, the circle has come full circle ...
1996 ... she continues, does not give up and hangs on at all costs. And the least we can say is that she is right given the level of quality that she is still capable of producing !
1996 ... but it is true that it is extremely hard for a star of the 80s to stay in the leading pack in this 90s decade. A decade where competition is formidable and where, above all, musical trends follow one another at a dizzying speed ...
1999 ... 15 years after its debut, still there. Again on a duo of hell and which works perfectly. Unfortunately, everything is over for her for a long time and despite all her efforts, it is clear that her career is now behind her. But what a career !
2002...at least the career of the great successes because the adventure continues anyway. And she will alternate the most extreme styles in a very surprising way, and above all very astonishing...
2002...in this year 2002, she revisits old standards of French song and the result is far from unworthy, that's clear. Well, it's clear that this is not the kind of music that is likely to attract the younger generations...
2004...her in any case decided to continue her career in her own way and certainly not under the dictates of the Charts and success at all costs. Afterwards, rightly or wrongly, that's something else...
2004...covering one of Donna Summer's cult titles dating from 1975 is an extremely daring bet, knowing that this title has already been covered over and over again. And my faith, we will say that this revisited version has what it takes to please, that's clear...
2004...we find her in a shock but above all charming duo with Serhat on a 100 % glamorous title. A duo that works very well, but that will go somewhat unnoticed...
2007...we find her again 3 years later in a musical mode already much more traditional than what she proposed to us at the beginning of the decade. It takes something for all tastes but she has a chic touch to make us dizzy with its permanent musical reorientations...
2007...an album which will know its hour of glory in Belgium and which would have frankly deserved to radiate even more widely. The adventure continues even more and it is far from over at first sight...
2009...an interesting Buscemi/Lazlo association that allows her to be projected into a very different universe from what she usually offers. Nice try anyway...
2012... back in jazzy mode at the start of the new decade of 2010. She loves to alternate covers of old standards and more contemporary music. Afterwards, everyone will find his account, or not...
2012...she revisits Bille Holliday's cult titles on this album. Some very fast, others very fine and smooth. We will prefer the light ones as they say...
2016...you still have to remember that she started her career in...1984 ! Who would have thought that she would still be there in 2016 and far from being ridiculous in addition ? A longevity that she owes only to her talent necessarily...
2017...new album and especially new inspirations. The singer will deliver in this year 2017 several titles of more than certain quality and which place her in her time in an ideal way !
2017...modern style, modern sound, everything to please. But why didn't she make more like that ? We are wondering...
2017...especially since she alternates titles in French and titles in English with obvious ease. In addition, it also makes it possible to please French speakers and the rest of the world !
2017... frankly a good job this 2017 vintage opus. When we see what she is still capable of offering, we can only encourage her to continue the adventure...
2021...new decade and new hopes. We suspect that this title will surely not be the last and that we may find her very soon...
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