Gabriel (Najoua Belyzel song)

This article is about the song by Najoua Belyzel. For the song by Joe Goddard, see Gabriel (Joe Goddard song).
"Gabriel"
Single by Najoua Belyzel
from the album Entre deux mondes... en équilibre
B-side Instrumental
Released 7 November 2005
Format CD single, CD maxi,
digital download
Recorded 2005
Genre Pop, Electronica
Length 3:35
Label Scorpio, Sony Music
Writer(s) Najoua Mazouri
Christophe Casanave
Producer(s) Jean-François Berger
Christophe Casanave
Najoua Belyzel singles chronology
"Gabriel"
(2005)
"Je ferme les yeux"
(2006)

"Gabriel" is a 2005 song recorded by French artist Najoua Belyzel. It was her debut single from her album Entre deux mondes... en équilibre, on which it is the sixth track, and was released in November 2005. It achieved great success in Belgium (Wallonia) where it topped the chart, and in France. To date, it is Belyzel's most successful single in terms of peak positions and sales and can be deemed as her signature song.

Song information

The music, written by Najoua Mazouri and composed by Christophe Casanave, is a mixture of pop and electronica. The style of voice is between Cranberries' singer Dolores O'Riordan (a little hoarse at times) and Mylène Farmer (rise in acute notes and singing on the breath). The lyrics are poetic ("Que ton âme se jette à l'eau dans mon corps océan", "Zéphyr"...) and there are several play on words ("Gabriel, s'attend (Satan) à plus qu'un sentiment...", "Qu'il en soit ainsi ("Ainsi soit-il (Amen)", ...).

The phrase "Es-tu fait pour lui, es-tu fait pour moi ?" was interpreted as a choice between love (spiritual) of God ("Him") or that (physical) of a deadly human (a non shared love), but it has often been incorrectly interpreted as a hesitation in a choice of sexual orientation (gay / bi or hetero).[1]

In France, the song had a long chart trajectory. It started at number 35 on 26 November 2005, then sometimes climbed, sometimes dropped. It entered the top ten in its eleventh week and stayed in it for 17 consecutive weeks, including a peak at number three for two weeks. The song dropped slowly and totaled 36 weeks in the top 50 and 40 weeks on the chart (top 100).[2] As of July 2014, it was the 94th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 317,000 units sold.[3]

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Gabriel" (radio edit) — 3:35
  2. "Gabriel" (instrumental) — 3:34
Digital download
  1. "Gabriel" (radio edit) — 3:35
  2. "Gabriel" (instrumental) — 3:34
CD maxi - Germany
  1. "Gabriel" (radio edit) — 3:35
  2. "Gabriel" (instrumental) — 3:35
  3. "Gabriel" (blue PM atmosphere mix) — 3:18
  4. "Gabriel" (blue PM extended mix) — 5:04
  5. "Gabriel" (house mix) — 4:45
  6. "Gabriel" (music video) — 3:34

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (2005-2006) Peak
position
Belgian (Flanders) Ultratip Chart[4] 17
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[5] 1
French SNEP Singles Chart[2] 3
German Singles Chart[2] 62
Quebec Singles Chart 1
Swiss Singles Chart[6] 20

Year-end charts

End of year chart (2006) Position
Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[7] 3
French Digital Chart[8] 11
French Singles Chart[9] 8

Certifications

Country Certification Date Sales certified Physical sales Digital downloads
France[10] Platinum June 15, 2006 300,000 309,300[11] (278,889 in 2006[12]) 31,916 in 2006[13]

Chart successions

Preceded by
"La Boulette" by Diam's
Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single
April 1, 2006 – April 8, 2006 (2 weeks)
Succeeded by
"La Boulette" by Diam's
Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single
April 29, 2006 (1 week)

References

  1. "Najoua Belyzel en interview", Chartsinfrance, March 14, 2006 Chartsinfrance.net (Retrieved November 15, 2008)
  2. 1 2 3 "Gabriel", French and German singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved November 14, 2008)
  3. "Top 100 des singles les plus vendus du millénaire en France, épisode 1 (100-91)". Chartsinfrance. 12 July 2014. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
  4. "Gabriel", Belgian (Flanders) Ultratip Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved January 18, 2011)
  5. "Gabriel", Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved November 14, 2008)
  6. "Gabriel", Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved October 4, 2008)
  7. 2006 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart Ultratop.be (Retrieved November 14, 2008)
  8. 2006 French Digital Chart Ifop.com (Retrieved November 15, 2008)
  9. 2006 French Singles Chart Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved November 14, 2008)
  10. French certifications Disqueenfrance.com (Retrieved November 15, 2008)
  11. Najoua Belyzel's certifications and sales in France See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "BELYZEL N." Infodisc.fr (Retrieved November 15, 2008)
  12. Best-selling singles of 2006 in France + sales Fanofmusic.fr (Retrieved November 15, 2008)
  13. Best-downloaded singles of 2006 in France + sales Fanofmusic.fr (Retrieved November 15, 2008)
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