March Music Madness 2022
February 17, 2022
Manie Musicale is an annual online event to encourage french students to engage in modern french culture. A group of French language teachers in the New England area created a bracket system to let their students and fellow educators vote for their favorite songs of the year. While only including 16 songs per year, this event opens students to explore the musical portfolios of the included artists.
In a March Madness styled tournament, each of the songs are paired allowing the wider world to vote on their favorite of the two. After the initial rounds, the winners are then matched against one another and voted on again. This continues for three preliminary rounds and then a final. In the end, one of the songs stands victorious amongst the rest.
Last year, the French nationalist Ichon won with his song “La Vie.” This year, there are songs of many styles competing. Lunis is an electric pop band presenting their song “J’aimerais danser.” There are duets, such as Amir and Indila’s “Carrousel.” Julien Doré has come with his usual artistic videos, creating what is essentially a short film for his song “KiKi.” There are 16 of these songs, coming from artists across the Francophile world. From France itself, to Senegal and Belgium, there are even artists from Canada’s Montreal competing.
While Manie Musicale was created by French educators, for French educators, anyone is encouraged to participate. Their website is easily navigated and most of the directions are in english. All someone needs to do is enjoy the music and vote their favorite songs to the top.
