Vianney presents Les évadés at the Grand Rex in Paris

French singer Vianney filled all 2,000 seats at the Grand Rex in Paris on a Monday night to celebrate his upcoming fifth album, Les évadés, with a crowd of family, friends, journalists from France and Belgium, and fans.

The release event marked a rare public appearance for the artist. Vianney has spent the last four to five years away from the stage for one of his projects, stepping back from the spotlight to reset. During his hiatus, he constructed a cabin featured on his social networks. The workspace served as the birthplace for the majority of the new songs, adhering to a strict acoustic ethos built entirely on organic instruments like guitar, piano, and drums without the use of a computer. Clément Ducol later directed string sections for the tracks in a studio.

The Documentary Screening and Stage Return

Attendees at the Grand Rex viewed a multi-chapter documentary detailing the album’s creation. Through a voice-over, Vianney addressed his creative doubts, his loss of energy, and the deliberate isolation required to find them again. After the twenty-minute screening, the singer emerged from an oversized reel-to-reel tape machine to engage in a lengthy question-and-answer session with a journalist and the multigenerational audience. He then picked up his guitar to perform a selection of new tracks.

Among the songs previewed for the crowd were “D’or et d’étain,” a track dedicated to his long-term relationship, and “J’ai menti,” a title already present on platforms addressing personal distress with lyrics translating to, “So I lied / When I said everything was fine / All my words were worth nothing / I was crying but I smiled.”

Release Schedule and Guest Attendance

The 11-track album is scheduled for release on Friday, November 6. The Grand Rex audience featured several notable figures, including Héléna, Renaud, Mosimann, BigFlo et Oli, Paul de Saint-Sernin, Jean-Louis Aubert, Karima Charmi from Star Academy, Gauvain Sers, and Nagui.

While Vianney has participated in collaborative efforts such as the Enfoirés in January and released occasional standalone singles during his break, Les évadés is his fifth album.

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