- published: 22 Feb 2015
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Garou (born 26 June 1972), from the French expression "loup-garou", which means "werewolf" and is a transformation of "Garand", his last name; is a Canadian singer from Sherbrooke, Quebec. He is known for his work in the musical Notre-Dame de Paris and the #1 hits "Belle", "Seul", "Sous le vent", and "La Rivière de notre enfance". He currently holds the SNEP record for most weeks at #1.
Born Pierre Garand, he began playing the guitar at the age of 3 at the encouragement of his father (he also plays piano and trumpet). He went on to serve in the military and started a band in 1992 called the Untouchables. In 1997, he was discovered by Luc Plamondon while singing American blues tunes in a Sherbrooke bar. He was drafted by Plamondon to play the role of Quasimodo in his musical Notre-Dame de Paris, which made him a star in France. After the musical, he launched a successful international pop music career in Quebec, France, and many other European countries.
His first album Seul became the best-selling French album of 2001 and remains one of the best-selling French albums of all time, achieving 2 million sales in Europe and going three times platinum in Canada. The title track remains his best-selling solo single, peaking at #1 for 11 weeks and selling nearly a million copies.