Last Tuesday at Santos Party House in Chinatown, the French vocal trio, L.E.J. performed on stage for a screaming crowd that was wowed at their covers of common American songs. Anything from Adele to Eminem was covered, and the crowd sure loved it as L.E.J., which is short for the singers’ names of Lucie, Elisa, and Juliette, all performed modern songs with cellos, keyboards, and voices.
The three childhood best friends all grew up together in Saint-Denis in France, all born within four months of each other. They attended the Maison de Radio France conservatory and went on to perform classical music since 2012, finally teaming up to perform their own take on cover music with their “Elijay” style.
They opened for Pharell, Patrice, Flavia Coelho, Faada Freddy, and more, and have no hesitation when it comes to performing covers—even when the song is a completely different genre than what they were trained for. While they are known for their covers, they will be releasing their first album on December 4 called “En attendant l’album.”
On Tuesday night, the trio took to New York and told the crowd that unless they don’t speak French, they won’t get the little jokes they—especially Elisa—made in between songs. Their mash-ups were especially entertaining as they flowed seamlessly one into the other. And above all, there was a perfect blend of French and English singing between the songs, allowing the audience to at least catch the tune even if it was in another language.
However, I personally enjoyed the interactive parts of the show. They would divide the crowd into three and every time one of the singers on stage singed, the audience would join them, creating a vocal version of drums, pianos, guitars, and more. The entire show really helped prove that covers are originals in themselves, and like always, the French music scene is pretty popping.
Check out L.E.J.’s last mash-up video below and be sure to stay tuned for their next event.