René la Taupe
| "Mauli" | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Scheiße, Ich Liebe Dich (2009) |
| Last appearance | Tous a Poil (2013) |
| Voiced by | Christian Büttner (German)
Unknown (French) Unknown (Spanish) Grolla Studio (Dutch) Unknown (Hungarian) Unknown (English) Unknown (Italian) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Mad Moley (English), Crazy Mole (UK), Renato la Talpa (Italian), Rene la Taupe/Fauli (French), Cuki Vaki (Hungarian), Sjon de Mol (Dutch), Маули (Russian) |
René la Taupe (English: René the mole, known as Mauli/Fauli originally or Mad Moley) is a virtual German-French singing character created in 2009 by Fox Mobile Group studios.[1] The character, a groundhog, was made famous through music for mobile phones and a music video available on the Internet. The character was created to mediate ringtones on behalf of Jamba!, a distributor of content for mobile phones that had already licensed Crazy Frog and Gummibär as ringtones a few years before René was created.
History: ringtones and singles
The first ringtone, "Scheiße, ich liebe dich" (English: "Shit, I love you"), whose lyrics were sometimes considered vulgar,[2] was the most downloaded song of 2009 of Jamba Germany.[3] The single reached number 30 in Germany and remained for nine weeks on the charts,[4] peaking at number 38 in Austria.[5]
After its success, many translations of the song were made to advertise the character worldwide, including a French version, "Merde" (English: "Shit"), which became the most popular version. Versions in Spanish (Eres un Tostón), Hungarian (Büdi), Italian (Sei Un Pacco Ma Ti Amo), and English (Holy Crap, I Love You) were also released.
In May 2010, a second song, titled "Mignon, Mignon," was released. Unlike "Scheiße, ich liebe dich", the song was released under Jamba's French counterpart. The lyrics,[6] written by Christian Büttner, Hank Hobson and Marcello Pagin, suggest the chubby look of the animal that makes it adorable. The success of the single generated an increase in ringtone sales, becoming one of the most downloaded ringtones of the middle of 2010 with help from Fun Radio.
Jamba, a brand of Fox Mobile Group, released a derivative version titled "Mauvais, Mauvais" (English: "Bad, Bad") after the failure of the France team in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but it was the original song that ensured success. The music video for the song became an Internet meme.
In late August 2010, René la Taupe announced a new single, "C'est la rentrée". A Christmas song is also scheduled.[7]
On 1 December 2011, a music video starring René la Taupe performed a French Rock version of "Jingle Bells" featuring The Chipmunks.[8]
Reception
In late July 2010, the single reached number two on the SNEP French downloaded chart, behind Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)",[9] the official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[10] It dethroned that song four weeks later.[11][12] The single also entered the French physical chart at number one in late August 2010, selling 17,300 units in the first week, which was the highest weekly sales for a single since August 2008.[13] It remained at number one for a total of thirteen weeks, as of 30 November 2010.[14] The music video received over 5 million views on YouTube in two months.[15]
Despite its popularity, the character was involved in some online controversy: on Twitter, the groundhog received messages of hate, and on Wikipedia, the French and German articles were proposed to deletion, arguing that René is "a short-lived phenomenon which Wikipedia does not have to promote."[2] However, both articles were kept.
Hungarian internet users also criticized the character, or Jamba as a whole, with comments also mentioning the character Schnuffelbunny alongside René.
As of August 2010, the groundhog has over 28,000 friends on Facebook.[6]
In late August 2010, René la Taupe launched a new music video on the Internet titled "C'est la rentrée". The song used the same tune as "Merde", the first single of the singing character, a cover of French singer Fadades.
In late October 2010, a second single, titled "Tu Parles Trop", was released. It entered as a peak of number three on the French Singles Chart, behind the former single "Mignon, Mignon".
On 15 November 2010, the first album, titled Les Aventures de René la Taupe, was released in France, with 15 tracks and a DVD containing the music videos and karaoke versions of the first four singles. The album debuted at number 25, then dropped, but peaked at number 20 about two months later.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Title | Chart | Certification (FR) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | FR (DD) | |||
| 2010 | Les Aventures de René la Taupe | 20 | — | — |
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart | Certification (FR) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR1 | GER | AUS | |||
| 2009 | "Scheiße, ich liebe dich" | — | 30 | 38 | — |
| 2010 | "Mignon Mignon" | 1 | — | — | Gold |
| "Tu parles trop" | 3 | — | — | — | |
| "Petit papa Noël" | — | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | "Ou la la" | 622 | — | — | |
| "Rock la vie" | 41 | — | — | ||
1 Physical chart until 2010, physical + digital chart after 2010
2 No. 4 on the Physical chart
See also
References
- ^ Garrigues, Maxime (25 August 2010). "Et si René la Taupe partait à la conquête du monde?" (in French). Nicolas Bordas. Archived from the original on 15 September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ a b Geniole, Mathieu (19 August 2010). "René La Taupe: le phénomène de l'été qu'on aime détester!" (in French). Le Post. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ "Mauli-Scheiße, Ich liebe dich-der neue Klingelton" (in German). Prcenter. 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ "Mauli: Scheisse, ich Liebe Dich, German Singles Chart" (in German). musicline. Archived from the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ "Mauli: Scheisse, ich Liebe Dich, Austrian Singles Chart" (in German). Austriancharts. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ a b Vogel, Magali (12 August 2010). "Musique - La crème de la crème des tubes de l'été" (in French). France Soir. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ Guarrigues, Maxime (31 August 2010). "Marketing: pourquoi on subit René La Taupe depuis mai". Rue89 (in French). Rue 89. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ "René la taupe - Alvin et les Chipmunks 3 - Rock la vie (Vidéo officielle - Version longue)". YouTube. December 2011.
- ^ "Le classement des téléchargement Single — Semaine du 25/07/2010" (in French). SNEP. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ Anderson, Sara D (2010-04-27). "Shakira Records Official Song for 2010 FIFA World Cup". Aolradioblog. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- ^ Decant, Charles (19 August 2010). "Disques: René La Taupe détrône Shakira..." (in French). Ozap. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ Morandini, Jean-Marc (21 August 2010). "René la Taupe numéro 1 du Top 50" (in French). Jean-Marc Morandini. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ Decant, Charles (10 September 2010). "Disques: Yannick Noah plus fort que Michel Sardou, René La Taupe contre-attaque" (in French). Ozap. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ "René la Taupe - "Mignon, Mignon", French Singles Chart" (in French). Lescharts. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
- ^ Walther, Juliane (2010). "René La Taupe occupe le top 10 depuis plus de 6 semaines — Fox Mobile Group: Le Hit de René La Taupe numéro 1 des ventes digitales en France" (in French). Bourse LCI. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2010.