What is Manie Musicale?

Every March, all French classes from East and North participate in a French music competition called “Manie Musicale,” which translates to “Musical Mania.” Similar to college basketball’s March Madness, each student is given a bracket of 16 songs. After listening to all the songs, the students fill out a March Madness-style bracket where two songs face off and another two face off, and then the two winners of those face off, and you keep doing that until only one song is left. About every other day, French students rewatch two music videos for that day and then vote on which one they like better. After that, East and North French teacher Jennifer Goss sends those numbers to the international Manie Musicale vote counter, where they are counted to see how hundreds of thousands of students in 35 countries voted.

Rankings

Casser la table

Starting off in last place with possibly the worst French song I’ve ever heard, “Casser La Table,” which was written by the Quebec band Salebarbes, proved to be disappointing. It was the only song without a proper music video, so I thought that perhaps I was being biased, but when listening to the song without the music video, it still sounds terrible; the song was essentially an ode to laissez les bon temps rouler. There was no deep discovery or conflict. 

Tous les chemins mènent à toi

This song is written by French artist Floran and takes second-to-last place. The song told the story of a message to a distant lover of a pledge to return to them. The lyrics and visuals of nature were very beautiful, but I thought the tune lacked a climax. The whole song felt like it was about to reach the climax, but it never did.

Simandou

In 14th place, French and Guinean singer Alpha Diallo, who goes by the pseudonym Black M, sings an ode to his culture and heritage of Guinea. This song’s meaning was beautiful, but I think it used too much autotune, which made it sound really obnoxious.

Comment tu vas?

I usually hate country music, but this song was decent, and while this song didn’t suck, I still didn’t think it sounded that good, which is why it took 13th place. French singer and songwriter Éloïse Lapaille, who goes professionally by Eloïz, wrote “Comment tu vas” about a longing for a lover. The song itself was pretty repetitive and boring.

Mizik

I gave this song 12th place by French artist Évariste Pierre Geoffroy, professionally known as WeRe-VaNa, as he embraces his Guadeloupean heritage through his song “Mizik,” which mixes both French and Creole to explain his love he has for music. I thought the song was so vibrant, colorful and energetic. The traditional dancing in the video was so beautiful as well.

Sois pas timide

11th place was given to this song, with perhaps the most overrated song in this list, “Sois pas timide” by the famous Congolese-French artist Gims, got second place in Manie Musicale. The song tells the story of his adoration for his lover. The song was filled to the brim with autotune and flashy lights. The music itself, in my opinion, was lost because of the overuse of technology when they edited this video. 

One Love

“One Love” by artists YaniSs Odua and FNX took 10th place, as it is a beautiful song that addresses problems that children experience in the world, including poverty, climate change and the horrors of war. I thought the song was really emotional and had a beautiful melody that made it even more amazing.

Seul au monde

Getting into the single digits, “Seul au monde” by Canadian artist Corneille took ninth with his remarkable song that describes the feeling of being alone in the world and feeling sadness and sorrow. I thought the song was a bit too sad throughout the whole thing and didn’t have a climactic moment, but the tune sounded really beautiful. I also thought the visuals were stunning.

Mon Regard

Eighth-place finisher, “Mon Regard” by French artist Margot Abate, was a masterpiece. This song was eliminated in the first round, and I think that it’s probably the most underrated song on this list. While it definitely wasn’t my favorite, I thought the melody was so beautiful, and the lyrics were equally beautiful and poetic as they discussed self-acceptance and loving yourself as she questioned societal beauty standards.

On se moque

Seventh place goes to “On se moque,” which is a song about being with the one you love, even though society tells you not to. The song discusses how you should not care what others think about you and your love. This song was very beautiful and deep in its meaning. I didn’t like the visuals, but I think the song itself was very good.

La Blanche

Belgian-Cameroon Artist Lubiana brought a masterpiece that takes sixth place and described her struggle with having a mixed identity of being both racially Black and White. She discusses how she feels that she is not “White enough” for Belgium and not “Black enough” for Cameroon. The song is about the acceptance of a diverse identity.

Anita

“Anita” by the French singer Kimberose takes fifth place and tells the story of an immigrant who came from afar to France who was seeking a better life, but endured many hardships, including not speaking the language or having enough money, but always finding solace in dance.

Quitte

In fourth place, we have the song “Quitte” by French-Moroccan artist Ouidad Elma, mononymously known as Ouidad, who brought us the popular French song “Casa.” The deeper meaning was so sad and beautiful as it described a breakup and growing apart from someone you used to love.

Minimum ça

My third-place pick, “Minimum ça” by French artist Dr. Yaro, had some really good sounds, and there was this one part that sounded so nostalgic. I did think the song was a bit hard to follow, and it used a bit too much autotune, but the song and the visuals were stunning. This song ended up taking first place in the international Manie Musicale competition.

Okay

I usually don’t like rap music, but this second-place song, by French artists Claude Honoré M’Barali, who uses the pseudonym MC Solaar, and Marie Flore, was amazing. It told the story of two people who fell in love. I loved the fact that the song was chronological in its lyric structure as it told the story; it was like a poem, and the last word of almost every verse rhymed with “okay,” which was the driving word throughout the song.

Fighter

In first place, we have my favorite French song of the year. “Fighter” is an extremely visually stunning music video whose music is equally incredible. Israeli-born, Chilean, Argentinian and Luxembourgish-raised singer who now lives in New York, Tali Golergant, mononymously known as Tali, mixed both English and French to create a masterpiece of emotion that captures the essence of change, growing up and fighting through the hardships that life will throw at you.

Final thoughts

Overall, the 2025 Manie Musicale lineup was great. You can stream the full playlist on the official Manie Musicale YouTube and Spotify accounts and find out more about Manie Musicale on their official website. Happy streaming!