Dorothée

Frédérique Hoschedé (born 14 July 1953), better known by the stage name Dorothée, is a French singer and television presenter. She was a continuity announcer on French public broadcaster Antenne 2 from 1977 to 1983, but she is best known for having presented children's television shows like Les mercredis de la jeunesse (1973), Dorothée et ses amis (1977–1978), Récré A2 (1978–1987), and especially Club Dorothée (1987–1997), which totalled up to about thirty hours of broadcast per week and popularized Japanese animation in France (with titles like Dragon Ball, Saint Seiya, City Hunter, or Hokuto no Ken sparking controversy and complaints from the CSA as well as some political figures, for their violent content).

Dorothée is a singer with a large discography (one album per year on average between 1980 and 1996), singing pop music for children, and she has recorded well-known French traditional nursery rhymes in a record collection called Le jardin des chansons. Several of her songs were used for the openings of animated series featured in Club Dorothée (including "Candy" and "Sophie et Virginie"). One of her trademarks is that each of her albums, from Hou ! la menteuse in 1982 to Dorothée 2010, featured a song with the word "valise" (suitcase) in its title, with a similar melody but a different arrangement and partially updated lyrics, totalling sixteen "valise" songs.

Between 1990 and 1996, Dorothée performed 56 shows at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (now called AccorHotels Arena), still the record for a female artist and the third-highest total number of concerts in this venue behind Michel Sardou and Johnny Hallyday. In addition, her 1992 tour attracted more people in France than Johnny Hallyday and Michael Jackson, earning her a "Fauteuil d'Or" award for more than 500,000 tickets sold.

Later in her musical career, Dorothée developed a particular interest in early rock music. In 1993 and 1994, she presented three special prime time shows called Dorothée Rock'n'roll Show, in which she sang duets with major rock and roll and rhythm and blues artists, including Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, Cliff Richard, Henri Salvador, Percy Sledge, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, with whom she sang "Great Balls of Fire", which also featured on her album Une histoire d'amour (1992). Her 1994 album, Nashville Tennessee, was recorded in the titular city of Nashville, in the recording studio made famous by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley.

Dorothée had a brief stint in cinema, appearing in three movies between 1979 and 1980, including a prominent role in L'amour en fuite by François Truffaut. She also made a cameo appearance in the 2019 live action Nicky Larson movie.