French popular music is a music of France belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. It stands in contrast to French classical music, which historically was the music of elites or the upper strata of society, and traditional French folk music which was shared non-commercially. It is sometimes abbreviated to French pop music, although French pop music is more often used for a narrower branch of popular music. France has long been considered a centre for European art and music. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Mainstream is, generally, the common current of thought of the majority. ... Of all the European countries, France has one of the longest and best-documented traditions of classical music. ... As Europe experienced a wave of roots revivals, France found its regional cultures reviving traditional music. ... French pop music is the pop music sung in the French language. ...

The late 1800s saw the dawn of the music hall when Yvette Guilbert was a major star. The era lasted through to the 1930s and saw the likes of Félix Mayol, Lucienne Boyer, Marie-Louise Damien, Marie Dubas, Fréhel, Georges Guibourg, Tino Rossi, Jean Sablon, Charles Trenet and Maurice Chevalier. Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ... Yvette Guilbert, born January 20, 1867 in Paris, France – died February 4, 1944 in Aix-en-Provence, was a music-hall singer and actress. ... Félix Mayol (November 18, 1872 - November 1, 1941) was a French singer and entertainer. ... Lucienne Boyer, born August 18, 1903 in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France - died on December 6, 1983 in Paris, was a singer. ... Marie-Louise Damien (December 5, 1889 – January, 1978) was a French singer and actress best known under the stage name Damia. ... Marie Dubas, born September 3, 1894 – died February 21, 1972, was a music-hall singer and comedienne. ... Fréhel, born Marguerite Boulch on July 14, 1891 – died February 3, 1951, was a French singer and actress. ... Georges Guibourg (June 3, 1891 - January 8, 1970) was a French singer, author, writer, playwright, and actor, George Guibourg, alias Georgius, alias Theodore Crapulet, was one of the most popular and versatile performers in Paris for more than 50 years. ... Tino Rossi (April 29, 1907 – September 26, 1983) was a singer and film actor. ... Jean Sablon (Nogent-sur-Marne March 25, 1906 – February 24, 1994 at Cannes-La-Bocca was a popular French singer. ... (May 18, 1913, Narbonne, France – February 19, 2001, Créteil, France) was a French singer and songwriter. ... French singer Maurice Chevalier with stars of Helizapoppin at Expo 67, in Montreal, Quebec. ...

French popular music in the 20th century included singers like superstar Édith Piaf as well as Monique Serf (Barbara) and Georges Brassens plus the more art-house musicians like Brigitte Fontaine. Many present-day stars released their first albums in the mid-1970's, early 1980's including Francis Cabrel, Alain Souchon, Laurent Voulzy, Jean-Jacques Goldman and William Sheller. More recently, the success of the Star Academy television show has spawned a new generation of young pop music stars including Jenifer Bartoli and Nolwenn Leroy; and the superstar status of diva Mylene Farmer inspired pop rock performers like Alizée and Lorie, and R&B-influenced singers like Nadiya and Ophelie Winter. (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... Édith Piaf (December 19, 1915 – October 11, 1963)[1] was one of Frances most loved singers and a national icon. ... Barbara was a popular French female singer born as Monique Andrée Serf (June 9, 1930 - November 25, 1997) best known under her stage name . ... Georges Brassens (plaque in Paris) Georges Brassens (French IPA: ) (October 22, 1921 - October 29, 1981) was a French singer-songwriter. ... Brigitte Fontaine, born in 1939 in Morlaix, Finistère, in the Brittany region of France, is a singer of avant-garde music. ... Francis Cabrel (born 23 November 1953 in Agen) is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Alain Souchon (born Alain Kienast on May 27, 1944, Casablanca, Morocco) is a French singer, songwriter and actor. ... Laurent Voulzy (born Lucien Voulzy on December 18, 1948 in Paris, France) is a French singer and composer. ... Jean-Jacques Goldman (born October 11, 1951) is a French singer and songwriter. ... Location of different versions of Star Academy Star Academy is a highly successful television show format produced by Endemol, that has been broadcasted in over 50 countries. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jenifers third single, Donne-Moi Le Temps, peaked at #18 in May of 2003 Jenifer Yaël Dadouche-Bartoli (born on 15 November 1982 in Nice), better known as simply Jenifer, is a pop singer who has, since 2002, had a number of hit singles in the French and... Nolwenn Leroy (born September 28, 1982 in Saint-Renan, Brittany, France) is a French singer, revealed by Star Academy, a popular French TV show, in 2002. ... A diva is a female opera singer, but now the term also refers to a popular female performer of non-operatic works. ... Mylène Farmer (September 12, 1961), born Mylène Jeanne Gautier [1], is a Canadian-born French singer and songwriter. ... Pop rock is a genre of music that combines elements of both pop and rock. ... Alizée Jacotey (IPA: ) (born August 21, 1984) is a French singer. ... Lorie performs live. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Ophelie Kleerekoper-Winter (born February 20, 1974 in Boulogne, France) is a French singer and actress. ...

American and British rock and roll was also popular in the 1950s and 60s, and indigenous rock achieved some domestic success. Punk rock, heavy metal found some listeners. Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... The 1950s was the decade spanning the years 1950 to 1959. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that emerged as a defined musical style in the 1970s, having its roots in hard rock bands which, between 1969 and 1974,[1] mixed blues and rock to create a hybrid with a thick, heavy, guitar-and-drums-centered sound, characterised by...

In particular, electronic music, as exemplified by Jean-Michel Jarre, achieved a wide French audience. The French electro-pop bands Air and Daft Punk and techno artist Laurent Garnier found a wide audience in the late 1990s and early 2000s, both locally and internationally. Electronica groups such as Télépopmusik continue to enjoy success. Electronic music is a term for music created using electronic devices. ... Jean-Michel André Jarre (born August 24, 1948 in Lyon, France) is a French composer and producer. ... Air is a French duo, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. ... Daft Punk is the collective name of Paris musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born February 8, 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born January 3, 1975). ... Techno is a form of electronic dance music that became prominent in Detroit, Michigan during the mid-1980s with influences from electro, New Wave, Funk and futuristic fiction themes that were prevalent and relative to modern culture during the end of the Cold War in industrial America at that time. ... Laurent Garnier (born February 1, 1966) is a French techno music producer and DJ. As a DJ at the Hacienda club in Manchester he was a significant player in the Madchester scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from the late 1980s and shortly after the year 2000. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Electronica is a term that covers a wide range of electronic or electronic-influenced music. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...