For its big return to TVA, La Voix offers itself a new group of coaches who have accumulated decades of success, in Quebec and internationally. Motivated and passionate, Marjo, Corneille, Marc Dupré and Mario Pelchat are now ready to hear the candidates for this ninth season. Each reveals their objectives and priorities for this new cuvée.
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An energetic coach
A performer since her debut, Marjo first looks for candidates who have the attitude and charisma to do this job. “I can say that we listen better when we don’t see them, like during blind auditions. But once I turn around, I study how they move, how they behave. I often look for a connection with me.” She is aware that it takes a lot of motivation to come to the auditions of La Voix and this implies a responsibility on the part of the coaches. “We are here to help them through each of the stages, support them as best we can, and put them at ease. We want to give them a boost, while giving them confidence.” For her, the most important thing in this job is to last. “For that, you must not accept everything that comes your way, even if it may be tempting. You can experiment initially, but then you have to select the projects. You have to go there slowly, and not at all costs. Although Marjo initially wondered what she was going to do at La Voix, her experience of blind auditions convinced her. “I had so much fun during the recordings. It is impressive to be chosen for this role, there is a responsibility, a gift of self. But my ultimate pleasure is sharing.”
The quintessential passion
It is the love of music that motivated Marc Dupré to take up his chair at La Voix. “I realize how much music is an anti-anxiety for me. I need it in my life, it is necessary for my balance. In this show, I feel useful. It makes me feel good as a human being, I feel like I’m serving something and making a difference.” Moreover, he assures that nothing has changed between the coach he was in the first season and the one he will be this winter. “The only difference is that people don’t see me the same way anymore. The public got to know me. But I’m still a child when I sit on the chair. When I press the button, I am happy and touched, in awe of the talent, and above all I am looking forward to working with them.” If there is one important thing he wishes to convey to his candidates, it is above all the notion of work. “I want them to understand, because it’s been my experience, that talent and hard work have to go together. You can’t have only one of them. It is also a profession in which you have to take risks, because it will lead you to surpass yourself. And you also have to respect the people you meet, be it musicians, journalists, the public… It’s a job that you have to take seriously.”
An obvious role
Sitting in the coach’s chair is like a no-brainer for Mario Pelchat. “I’ve always done that. I have always fueled the talent of others. I finally find myself in a role where I can bring them something and have a great experience myself.” He admits not necessarily being a pedagogue, not having an academic training in music, but he has the most important thing in this environment, instinct. “When I work with artists, I am always welcoming, caring towards them, and patient to make them assimilate what I tell them. At La Voix, we don’t have a lot of time, they will have to progress quickly. The public will also discover another facet of the singer. “I’m a bit of a brawling kind of coach. People kinda know that I’ve been crying in the rain for many years. But I’m very emotional, I’m very close to tears, I’ve always been like that. I allow myself to be touched and moved easily.” For him, the secret in this job is to remain authentic. “It has to be a visceral need, a vital desire to express oneself through song. The public must want to enter your universe, that they want to discover you and that they want to be friends with you. When you get all of that right, that’s a big part of being successful. It can’t necessarily be learned, but I think it can be worked on.”
The international experience
After more than twenty years of career, both in Europe and in Quebec, Corneille increasingly wants to give back to others, especially to the youngest. “I got there in my professional life, producing and directing for others, being in the transmission… At La Voix, my goal is to remove as much stress and anxiety as possible from my candidates. I want them to understand that they are not risking their life on this show, it is above all a superb opportunity to show themselves as they are, with the good sides as well as the bad. For him, music is also one of the rare professions in which it is allowed to be totally sincere and honest, and that it is even one of the keys to success. “I also want them to understand that there is no point in wanting to control things, we are not sophisticated enough as humans to interpret what is happening to us. For example, if there is one who does not win the duel, what does that really mean? We do not know. You have to stop trying to interpret things, and therefore to set goals. Be in the moment, that’s what counts.” Corneille has already been a mentor for Marc Dupré, and for Garou at The Voice, in France. “I knew I liked coaching young people, giving advice. I am very comfortable in this role. It’s rare to have moments when you feel totally good, it happens to me on stage, and always when I’m in the studio. In this show, as much as it can be stressful because it is heavy with responsibilities, but I also feel completely in my place.
The new season of La Voix begins on Sunday January 15, at 7 p.m., on TVA.
