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Launched by\u00a0Jean-Paul Baudecroux<\/strong>,\u00a0the proud son of the Frenchman who brought to you,\u00a0mesdames<\/em><\/strong> (ladies), the\u00a0very first <\/a>rouge \u00e0 l\u00e8vres ind\u00e9l\u00e9bile<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (indelible lipstick) in the history of mankind, “Rouge Baiser<\/em><\/strong>” (or “Red Kiss”), this\u00a0station de radio<\/em><\/strong> with a name that deliberately spells “ENERGIE<\/strong>” (The three letters\u00a0N-R-J<\/span><\/strong> convey the English word “energy” as well) comes today\u00a0en deuxi\u00e8me position<\/em><\/strong> (in second place) within the Top 10 of French radios<\/a>, closely after its fierce\u00a0concurrente<\/em><\/strong> RTL<\/strong>,<\/a><\/span> which it has managed, not so long ago,\u00a0to dethrone for a couple of years!<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n After very modest beginnings -to say the very least- this ambitious radio, which saw the light in the early 1980’s,<\/strong> was soon able to become a major power player in the realm of French radio waves, and beyond. Within a short span of time, NRJ’s initial young and emblematic “\u00e9nergie<\/em><\/strong>” gradually turned into a hungry corporate “synergie<\/em><\/strong>” worthy of a media empire, acquiring in a wild shopping spree one local station after another, in great part thanks to personal connections through another one of its early fondateurs<\/em><\/strong> (founders), who was the\u00a0attach\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>, or rather the “prot\u00e9g\u00e9<\/em><\/strong>“,\u00a0of French singer\u00a0Dalida<\/strong> (who in turn had the ear of her dear friend, ex President\u00a0Fran\u00e7ois Mitterrand<\/strong>.)<\/p>\n “NRJ: the Empire of the Waves<\/strong><\/a>” makes definitely a good read, retracing in minute detail the booming growth of what was once a small illegal French radio, to finally metastasize into a media empire of its own.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Since the beginning of the last decade, the NRJ empire has operated several\u00a0filiales<\/strong><\/em>(subsidiaries.) These are:<\/p>\n \n * Ch\u00e9rie FM<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/em>, whose advertising motto is “Vos plus belles \u00e9motions<\/em><\/strong>” (“Your most beautiful emotions.”) (Cliquez ici pour l’\u00e9couter<\/em>—Click here to listen to it<\/a>.)<\/strong><\/p>\n * Rires et chansons<\/span><\/span><\/em>, <\/strong>meaning “laughs and songs.” <\/strong>With its sketch comedies,\u00a0it guarantees you\u00a0“<\/em>des rires au moins toutes les trois minutes<\/strong><\/em>” <\/em>(“laughs at least every three minutes”)! As to the songs it broadcasts, they mostly belong to the Pop-Rock genre. If you’re used to watch American movies doubl\u00e9s <\/strong><\/em>(dubbed) in French, you will most likely recognize la voix off<\/strong><\/em>(the voice-over, that is) of C\u00e9line Monsarrat<\/a><\/strong>, who is the official voice of Julia Roberts <\/strong>in French (and, you should also know it, the funny voice behind the cartoon character Schtroumpfette<\/strong><\/em>—<\/em>French for Smurfette!<\/strong>) Also on air at “Rires et Chansons<\/em><\/strong>“isPatrick Poivey<\/strong><\/a>, who is known in France to dub Bruce\u00a0Willis <\/strong>in all of his movies, as well as other Hollywood actors, such as Tom Cruise<\/strong>, Don Johnson <\/strong>in “Deux Flics \u00e0 Miami<\/strong><\/em><\/a>” <\/em>(“Miami Vice”), and even characters of\u00a0des jeux vid\u00e9os<\/strong><\/em>(video games), such as the hits\u00a0Tron 2.0 <\/strong>and Unreal Tournament.<\/strong> (Cliquez ici pour l’\u00e9couter<\/em>—Click here to listen to it<\/a>.<\/strong>)<\/p>\n * Radio Nostalgie<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/strong>, (Cliquez ici pour l’\u00e9couter<\/a><\/em><\/strong>) which brands itself as “la l\u00e9gende<\/strong><\/em>” (yes Sir, no less.) Some of its radio hosts include familiar French TV voices, such as Luq Hamet<\/strong>, who dubbed Michael J. Fox <\/strong>in the\u00a0Robert Zemeckis<\/strong> Sci-Fi trilogy “Retour vers le futur<\/a><\/strong>“<\/em> (“Back to the Future”), or his other famous comedy movie, “Qui veut la peau de Roger Rabbit”<\/strong><\/em> (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit.”)<\/p>\n * * *<\/strong><\/p>\n And finally,\u00a0comme le monde est vraiment petit<\/em><\/strong> (as it’s a small small world),\u00a0in 2005, “NRJ Entertainment<\/strong>“, a\u00a0soci\u00e9t\u00e9 filiale<\/em><\/strong> (subsidiary company) of\u00a0NRJ,\u00a0produced the very successful musical “Le Roi Soleil<\/em><\/strong><\/a>“, which, as you may recall, was the theme of a very recent post here on the French Blog<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=jNevmKJS6HY<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n All in the Family!NRJ’s “energy” also spells corporate “synergy”: <\/em><\/strong>“Le Roi Soleil<\/a>“, <\/em>a French musical co-produced by NRJ (through NRJ Entertainment) and rewarded by NRJ itself (in the NRJ Awards)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Launched by\u00a0Jean-Paul Baudecroux,\u00a0the proud son of the Frenchman who brought to you,\u00a0mesdames (ladies), the\u00a0very first rouge \u00e0 l\u00e8vres ind\u00e9l\u00e9bile (indelible lipstick) in the history of mankind, “Rouge Baiser” (or “Red Kiss”), this\u00a0station de radio with a name that deliberately spells “ENERGIE” (The three letters\u00a0N-R-J convey the English word “energy” as well) comes today\u00a0en deuxi\u00e8me position…<\/p>\n