Corneille Nyungura was born in Fribourg, Germany, where his parents were students. At the age of six, his family returned to Rwanda.
Corneille Nyungura was born in Fribourg, Germany, where his parents were students. At the age of six, his family returned to Rwanda.
"When I came to Rwanda for the first time, there was a sense of going to the place where I belonged,” he says. "But because my parents were very much Westernized, I still felt like I didn’t fit in.”
As a boy, Corneille began to develop an interest in music, initially discovering Michael Jackson (although "because we were so far from MTV, most kids didn’t even know what he looked like”), and then the great soul artists who would shape his style: Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Prince.
He credits his father for nurturing his interest. "I was singing something in my room,” he says, "and my dad heard me, and said, ‘That sounds good, it kind of sounds like Tracy Chapman.’ And I remember thinking, ‘Oh, it’s OK for me to make music.’
At the age of 16, he made his first recording, and was selected as a finalist in a music contest sponsored by Rwanda Television.
During the 1994 genocide his parents and other family members were killed. He managed to escape, first to Kinshasa, and then to Germany, where he was taken in by some family friends.
Corneille stayed in Germany for three years before moving to Montréal. He attended Concordia College, but decided that it was time for him to get serious about his music. He formed a band called O.N.E. (Original New Element), and, in 2002, released his first studio album, Parce Qu’on Vient de Loin.
Initially, Parce Qu’on Vient de Loin made little impression in Canada, but it was soon discovered in France. At his first shows, in a small Parisian club, the room was already packed with fans singing all of his lyrics; they had chased down copies of the album, imported from Quebec.
Following its success overseas, the album was re-released in Canada, and took off behind the single "Rêves de Star,” eventually achieving Platinum sales status. Corneille received his first Felix Award, selected by the public, for Best Male Artist. In France, sales of Parce Qu’on Vient de Loin soared past a million.
In 2005, Corneille recorded a song with Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour in support of UNICEF and the fight against AIDS. (Corneille is a Red Cross Canada spokesperson, and has been made a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.) That same year, his second studio album, Les Marchands de Rêves, was released. A sixty-date tour of France had a total attendance of over 200,000 fans, and was followed by an acoustic tour in 2006.
Corneille currently resides in the United States where he plays and records his music.
LYRICS TO THE SONG ‘SEUL AU MONDE’
On dit souvent que j’ai l’air d’avoir
Tout pour moi, mais c’est sans savoir
Les fantômes qui me hantent ( et )
Les requiem que je me chante
Je joue au dur chaque jour qui passe
Mais les pierres de chaque mur, un jour se cassent
J’suis peut-être la roche qu’on voit
Mais je suis plus fragile que j’veux qu’on voit
Maman m’a dit avant de partir
Montre jamais tes faiblesses et dans le pire,
Reste fort, ravale tes larmes
Car ta fierté restera ta plus belle arme
Donc je sais rire quand il le faut,
Mais ‘faut pas croire, je craque dès qu’on tourne le dos
Je marche droit pour ne pas plier
D’ailleurs je chante souvent pour ne pas crier
Quand je pense à ma vie
Je fais face à mes nuits
Chaque jour qui se lève me dit que
Chorus:
Je suis seul au monde
Il n’y a rien à faire
J’suis seul au monde
J’peux plus le taire
J’suis seul au monde
Je m’sent seul au monde
J’haïs Noël et toutes ces bêtes fêtes de familles
Et tout ce qui rappelle ma plus belle vie
Je suis jaloux de vous les chanceux qui,
Prenez votre chair et votre sang pour acquis
J’ai horreur de votre pitié, je prends très mal votre
générosité
ça fait déjà un bout que je me suffis,
C’est pas vrai mais pour être fort, c’est ça que je me dis
Quoi qu’il arrive faut que je reste dans mon rôle
(ouais)
Quoi qu’il arrive faut pas que je perdre le contrôle (ouais)
Je pense à moi avant le reste du monde
Car avec les années je me suis rendu compte
Que si c’est pas moi, ce sera personne
Pas lui pas toi, ni personne, ici bas c’est chacun pour soi
Pour les pauvres et fiers solitaires comme moi
Quand je pense à ma vie
Seul face à mes nuits,
Chaque jour qui se lève me dit que
Chorus (x2)
Des fois je trouve amour dans les yeux de l’une
Des fois je trouve le jour dans les bras de l’autre
Et à toutes celles qui m’aiment encore,
Qui m’aiment à tort, qui m’aiment trop fort
Je vous dois ma survie, merci encore
Cela n’empêche que
Chorus (x2)