Sébastien Tellier
Sébastien Tellier is a French singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with his song "Divine". He has also produced songs for Dita Von Teese and composed music for the French films Narco and Steak, among others. Tellier is currently signed to Record Makers, a French independent record label. He sings in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.
Biography
Tellier is the son of rhythm guitarist Alain Tellier, who is known to have played with the band Magma. Tellier attended the École Saint-Martin-de-France in Pontoise, Val-d'Oise.Tellier's first album, L'incroyable Vérité, was released in 2001. Tellier went on tour with Air in support of the album and was joined on stage by theremin player Pamelia Kurstin. L'incroyable Vérité is a pop album featuring styles from lo-fi electronica to bizarre cabaret tunes.
The same year, he appears, alongside Vincent Belorgey, also known as Kavinsky, in Nonfilm, directed by Quentin Dupieux.
His second studio album, Politics, released on 31 January 2004. Politics included the popular song "La Ritournelle", a string-led tune with Nigerian drummer Tony Allen.
The same year, he composed the soundtrack for the film Narco, directed by Tristan Aurouet and Gilles Lellouche. The soundtrack released two years later, on 9 November 2007.
Since the release of Politics, Tellier has also recorded an acoustic album of his more popular songs, Sessions. The album was repackaged for the British market as Universe, to include both highlights from the French CD, as well as compositions from Tellier's score for the film Narco. This compilation included a cover of "La Dolce Vita", a song originally by French singer Christophe.
In 2007, he composed a few songs with Quentin Dupieux, also known as Mr. Oizo, for the soundtrack of the film Steak, directed by Mr. Oizo himself. Also co-composed by Sebastian, the soundtrack was released by Ed Banger and Because Music the same year. Tellier also appears in the film as Prisme, the man with the electric wheelchair.
His third studio album Sexuality was produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk. Like his previous album Politics, Tellier used a single term as title and theme of the album. Tellier's label Record Makers collaborated with retailer American Apparel for an exclusive three-month pre-release of the album, whilst American Apparel sold limited edition versions of the Sexuality CD, LP and "Divine" 7" and 12" single through their North American stores and website.
On 7 March 2008, it was announced by Bruno Berberes, head of EBU delegation in France, that Tellier would represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008. It was held in Belgrade on 24 May 2008. Tellier sang "Divine". This was the first time in the history of the contest that the nominated French entry was to be performed largely in English, which caused controversy, leading to Tellier pledging to increase the amount of French in the song prior to the competition itself. In total, the entry received 47 points.
His fourth album My God Is Blue was released on 23 April 2012. As the name suggests, the concept of this album is religion. Tellier is presented in this album as a guru, founder of a fictional sect called "Alliance Bleue". The album is entirely produced by Mr. Flash and Pavle Kovacevic.
His fifth album Confection was released in October 2013. This was partially inspired by the death of Tellier's grandmother. Some of the music on the album was intended to appear on a film soundtrack, but ended up not being used. In an interview with artistxite, Tellier noted: "You can say my grandmother's death as well as this nonexisting soundtrack had an impact on “Confection“. To me this has been a super strange situation. I was full of love for my grandmother and full of dedication to this soundtrack; Confection is the result of both of these emotional conditions." In Spring 2014, Tellier performed a medley of tracks from Confection at the Chanel Haute Couture show at the Grand Palais. Tellier recounts that Karl Lagerfeld invited him to perform, having listened to the album himself.
His sixth album L'Aventura was released on 14 July 2014. The album was inspired by Tellier's childhood and Brazil, where the video to one of its songs, "L'adulte", is set. This album, consisting of 10 tracks, is sung entirely in French.
In 2016, he composed soundtracks for the two French films Saint-Amour, directed by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, and Marie et les naufragés, directed by Sébastien Betbeder. The same year, he composed the music for the credits of the comedy show broadcast on Canal+, Groland Le Zapoï. The next year, he composed the soundtrack for the series A Girl Is a Gun.
In 2018, Tellier composed all the songs from the eponymous album by Dita Von Teese.
In 2020, Tellier returned with a new single "A Ballet", released on 29 January, to promote his seventh album Domesticated, consisting of 8 tracks, which released on 29 May 2020. On 8 April, "Domestic Tasks", the second single released and "Stuck in a Summer Love" the third single on 19 May. The concept on this album is domestic life and this concept was born following his marriage and the birth of his two children. The album is produced by Corentin "nit" Kerdraon, Mind Gamers, Jam City, Varnish La Piscine and Philippe Zdar. Apart from this album, on 14 February 2020, he appeared as a featured artist on "Boycycle" by Salvatore Ganacci.
The same year, he released an album titled Simple Mind, in which he covered several tracks from his previous albums, Sexuality, My God Is Blue, L'Aventura and Domesticated.
In 2024, Tellier performed La Ritournelle with Ensemble Matheus at the Paralympic Games opening ceremony in Paris.
In April 2025, he was appointed as an Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.