Dorothée

Frédérique Hoschedé, born on July 14, 1953, better known under the stage name Dorothée, is a French singer and television host. A continuity announcer on Antenne 2 from 1977 to 1983, she is best known for hosting children's programs, notably Club Dorothée (1987-1997), which popularized Japanese animation in France with titles such as Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, City Hunter, and Hokuto no Ken, drawing complaints from the CSA and political officials over their violent content.

Dorothée also pursued a singing career, releasing roughly one album a year between 1980 and 1996 of songs for children, as well as a collection of traditional nursery rhymes, Le jardin des chansons. Each of her albums, from Hou ! la menteuse (1982) to Dorothée 2010, includes a song whose title contains the word “valise” (suitcase), totaling sixteen such titles.

Between 1990 and 1996, she gave 56 concerts at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, a record for a female artist, with the venue recording the third-highest concert total behind Michel Sardou and Johnny Hallyday. Her 1992 tour drew larger audiences in France than those of Johnny Hallyday and Michael Jackson, earning her a Fauteuil d'Or for more than 500,000 tickets sold. In 1993 and 1994, she presented three special programs, Dorothée Rock'n'roll Show, singing duets with rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists such as Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, and Jerry Lee Lewis, with whom she performed “Great Balls of Fire.” Her album Nashville Tennessee (1994) was recorded in the studio made famous by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley.