À la poursuite du bonheur

À la poursuite du bonheur (meaning In pursuit of happiness) is the fifth studio album by French singer M. Pokora, released on March 19, 2012.[2] The album sees Matt working with previous producers such as The Bionix, GEE Futurisc, but with a range of new producers, such as Matthieu Mendes Corneille, Asdove and more, creating a more relaxed, pop music, instead of the dance-oriented and urban tracks from his previous albums. The lead single "Juste un instant" was released on January 30, 2012.[3][4] The song "On est là" was the second single,[1] while "Merci D'être" was the third single.[5] The album sold 69.000 copies, within three weeks of release.[6] It was certified Platinum[7] and has sold 140.000 copies, so far.[8] The album will be re-released and it will feature 2 new songs, one of them is a duet with French recording artist Tal.[9]

À la poursuite du bonheur
Studio album by M. Pokora
Released	March 19, 2012
Recorded	2011-2012
Genre	Pop, R&B
Label	EMI France
Producer	The Bionix; Corneille Nyungura; Matthieu Mendes; Joe Rafaa, Sofia de Medeiros; Julien Comblat; GEE Futuristic; Francisco [FR]; Asdorve; Antoine Angelelli
M. Pokora chronology
Mise à jour (2010) À la poursuite du bonheur (2012) À La Poursuite Du Bonheur Tour - Live à Bercy (2013)
Singles from À la poursuite du bonheur
"Juste un instant" Released: January 30, 2012 "On est là[1]" Released: April 19, 2012 "Merci d'être" Released: July 2, 2012 "Si tu pars" Released: November 16, 2012

Following the release of the album, he engaged on a tour called after the album À la poursuite du bonheur Tour (abbreviated as ALPBT) including a big concert at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on 15 and 16 December 2012 that was recorded and released as a CD and DVD titled À la poursuite du bonheur Tour - Live à Bercy making it to number 1 on the French Albums Chart in its own right.

Background

Eschewing the electro R&B of his first international release, 2010's Mise à Jour, for a more emotive soul-pop sound, A la Poursuite du Bonheur is the fifth solo album from French pop artist M. Pokora. Produced by regular cohorts Gee Futuristic and the Bionix, its 14 tracks feature songs penned by rapper Soprano ("Juste un Instant") and German-Rwandan vocalist Corneille ("Le Temps Qu'il Faut") alongside the single "On Est Là."[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Charts in France	[11]
Krinein Music	(4/10)[12]
Music Story	[13]

The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Jonathan Hamard from "Charts in France" gave to the album 3 out of 5 stars, writing: "Mr. Pokora surprises with his new album "À la poursuite du bonheur". The artist is moving in the right direction. A few titles stand out, both musically and textually, but his words do not always live up to its claims. Overall, "À la poursuite du bonheur" is guaranteed to have a good time."[11] Paula Haddah from "Music Story" also gave to the album 3 out of 5 stars, writing: "This album even if it is more consistent than his previous, but it still contains many tracks that truism was called ("Cours", "Mourir ce Soir", "Le temps qu’il faut". The rest consists of securities dancefloor calibrated for the stage, where the artist is expected ("Danse sur ma Musique", "Encore + fort", "Mes rêveurs"). Overall, his voice is less trafficked, which spares us the nasal sound of machinery. This disc will conquer new and old fans of MP that have not reached their majority. Others have already left to pursue happiness elsewhere."[13] Guillaume from "Krinein Music" gave to the album 4 out of 10, writing a mixed review, stating that "you can not listen to the album doing other things at the same time. Otherwise it completely obscures the music."[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Juste un Instant"	Soprano, Matt Pokora, Rachid Mir, Christian Dessart, Matthieu Mendès, Romain Caillard	The Bionix	3:25
2.	"Cours"	Matt Pokora, Bina, Matthieu Mendès, Tiery-F	The Bionix	3:22
3.	"Mourir ce soir"	Matt Pokora, Joe Rafaa, Django Jack	Matthieu Mendès, Joe Rafaa	4:03
4.	"Le temps qu'il faut"	Corneille, Marco Volcy	Corneille Nyungura, Sofia de Medeiros	3:37
5.	"Encore + fort"	Matt Pokora, Michel Marteen, The Bionix	Mr Cue	3:04
6.	"Chacun"	Julien Comblat, Pierre Comblat, Samir Ben Messaoud	Julien Comblat	3:31
7.	"Reste comme tu es"	Matt Pokora, Bina, Matthieu Mendès	Matthieu Mendes	3:37
8.	"Si tu pars"	Matt Pokora, Bina, Matthieu Mendès	Matthieu Mendes	3:43
9.	"Sauve-toi"	Matt Pokora, Davide Esposito, Bina	Matthieu Mendes	3:23
10.	"Danse sur ma musique"	Brisk Fingaz, GEE Futuristic, Christian Fleps, Francisco [FR], Django Jack	Brisk Fingaz, GEE Futuristic, Christian Fleps, Francisco [FR]	3:09
11.	"Mes rêveurs"	Matt Pokora, Romain Caillard, Django Jack	The Bionix	3:20
12.	"Mon évidence"	Matt Pokora, Bina, Matthieu Mendès	Matthieu Mendes	4:01
13.	"On est là"	Corneille, Matt Pokora, Matthieu Mendès, Fred Château	Asdorve	3:06
14.	"Merci d'être"	Matt Pokora, Bina, Fred Château	Asdorve, Antoine Angelelli	3:33
15.	"Ma poupée"	Matt Pokora, Olivier Reine, Michel Marteen	Julien Comblat	3:18

Re-release

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Plus haut"	Matthieu Mendès
17.	"Envole-moi" (with Tal)	Jean-Jacques Goldman
18.	"Je voudrais vous dire"
19.	"Je serai là"
20.	"Hallelujah"	Leonard Cohen

Charts performance

Charts

Chart (2010) Peak position Belgium (Wallonia) Albums Chart[14] 2 French Albums Chart[15] 2 Swiss Albums Chart[16] 12

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales France (SNEP)[17] 3× Platinum 300,000^* Belgium (BEA)[18] Platinum 30,000^* ^* Sales figures based on certification alone.

See also

• À La Poursuite Du Bonheur Tour - Live à Bercy

Notes

1. "Vidéo M.Pokora : Un titre signé Corneille en second single". News de Stars. March 21, 2012. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
2. "iTunes - Musique - À la poursuite du bonheur par M. Pokora". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
3. "Juste un Instant: M. Pokora: Amazon.fr: Téléchargements MP3". Amazon. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
4. "M. Pokora : son nouveau single s'intitulera "Juste un instant"". Charts in France. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2012.
5. "Ecoutez le nouveau single de M. Pokora, "Merci d'être"". News de Stars. May 31, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
6. "M Pokora - A La Portsuite du Bonheur - Ventes". Facebook. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
7. "M. Pokora : l'album "A la poursuite du bonheur" certifié disque de platine". Charts in France. May 4, 2012. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
8. "M. Pokora annonce un duo avec Tal". Charts in France. July 31, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
9. "M. Pokora : deux titres inédits pour la réédition de l'album "A la poursuite du bonheur" ? (màj)". Charts in France. July 16, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
10. O'Brien, Jon. "A La Poursuite du Bonheur - M. Pokora | Allmusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
11. Hamard, Jonathan (March 19, 2012). "M. Pokora sur la bonne voie, "A la poursuite du bonheur"". Charts in France. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
12. Guillaume (March 21, 2012). "Critique de l'album A la poursuite du bonheur - M. Pokora - Krinein". Krinein Musique. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
13. Haddah, Paula (March 19, 2012). "Nouvel Album A la Porsuite du Bonheur, M. Pokora critique - Music Story". Music Story. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
14. "ultratop.be/fr/ - M. Pokora - À La Poursuite du Bonheur". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
15. "LesCharts.com M. Pokora - À La Poursuite Du Bonheur". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
16. "Hitparad.ch M. Pokora - À La Poursuite Du Bonheur". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
17. "French album certifications – M Pokora – A la poursuite du bonheur" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
18. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2012". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 September 2016.