Eric Lapointe

ric Lapointe is one of Qu�bec's most popular Francophone rock lead singers. His signature sound is characterized by very strong emotional lyrics, a rich deep gravelly voice and the virtuostic guitar work by St�phane Dufour. This sound made him greatly stand out in contrast to the folksy, traditional sensibilities of his counterparts in 1994. In fact, local radio stations initially refused to play his songs. His music videos helped build momentum in his career and he is now very well respected, having performed with most notable singers in Qu�bec.

�ric was born on September 28, 1969 in Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC weighing in at seven pounds, seven ounces. He is the oldest of three children (his brothers are Marc and Hugo - Hugo is also a singer and he launched a successful debut album in 2004. Hugo started out as a technician for his brother's band). Note that �ric is not related to the second season's Star Acad�mie winner, St�phanie.

His father Serge worked as a Zellers manager, and the family had to move a great deal. For example, at the age of 16, �ric moved a total of 13 times! As a result, he was shy and reserved, had difficulty making friends and was very close to his mother, Doris. She has been a strong supporter of his career from very early on.

At 9 years old, a young Lapointe asked his father for a plastic guitar from a Sears catalog. His father bought him a real guitar instead and �ric soon learned how to strum chords thanks to the help of his uncle (a musician). He wrote his first songs at the age of ten and started touring Qu�bec and France at the age of 15.

At the age of 18, �ric joined the Parti Qu�b�cois and was discovered by Yves-Fran�ois Blanchet (the president of l'ADISQ - the Qu�bec Record Industry Association). Yves-Francois managed his early career - �ric cut his teeth on the local bar scene and CEGEP colleges. To supplement his income, �ric worked side jobs as a pool installation technician, garbage collector, waiter and credit card salesman. Even at this early age, he started building a reputation for getting into fist fights.

At the age of 20, �ric collaborated with Roger Tabra, writing his first hit single "N'importe Quoi". Despite having very little money, �ric organized a showcase at a popular bar called Club Soda for Record Industry. Patrice Duchesne (from Disques Gamma) was impressed by �ric's talent and offered him a record contract. Gamma helped produce his debut album "Obsession" which was released in 1994. Aldo Nova produced the album, which caused some internal friction within the band.

The music video for "Terre Promise" helped trigger mass sales for the album. On August 12, 1994 - �ric attracted a huge crowd of 45000 people at the corner of Jeanne-Mance and Sainte-Catherine in Montr�al. The album "Obsession" was later certified platinum with over 250 000 copies sold.

He then produced several others albums including Invitez les Vautours (1996, 180 000 copies sold, � l’ombre de l’ange (1999, 225 000 copies sold) and Adr�naline, a live album which sold as of 2006 nearly 200 000 copies. On November 2004, Lapointe launched Coupable and sold over 100 000 copies in its first few weeks. His first 5 albums were certified Platinum and an impressive 900 000 total discs were sold in 12 years.

He won 2 F�lix awards for Breakthrough Artist of the year and for Best Rock Album at the