Yanis Sahraoui better known by his stage nameSliimy, pronounced the French way, to rhyme with "Jimmy", is a French pop musician of Moroccan-Algerian descent who in 2009 released the albumPaint Your Face, which reached number 2 in the French charts. In spring 2015, he returned under his real name Yanis with his new single Hypnotized.
Early life
Yanis Sahraoui was born on 16 September 1988 in Saint-Étienne. He grew up in the neighborhood of Vivaraize, along with his three sisters and his brother. He studied at high school and then went to the university of Notre-Dame Valbernoîte. "I participated in choir at school. Otherwise, I would sing by myself! In 2005, I won a contest and then suddenly I recorded my first song. What’s funny is that I put the video on my blog, but people wouldn’t believe it was me." In 2005, he won a singing contest at Pax in Saint-Etienne, and won a record in a studio where he met Etienne Feed, now his partner and guitarist.
Internet, the Debut of his Career and Paint Your Face (2008-2010)
Discovered on MySpace by blogger Perez Hilton due to his cover of the song Womanizer by Britney Spears at the end of December 2008, Sliimy had some success in the Internet community. His cover of the singer created a huge buzz, until reaching the ears of the star. Britney Spears, who adored Sliimy, immediately offered him the first part of her tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears during her concerts in Paris-Bercy in France in July 2009. In February 2009, he was part of the coming-nexts du Grand Journal in Canal+. His first single was titled Wake Up and is available on legal download platforms. His first album, Paint Your Face, was recorded in Saint-Étienne in January 2009. It was mixed at Trout Recording Studio in New York in March by Bryce Goggin, who has worked with Antony and the Johnsons and Pavement. The album was released on 6 April 2009 by Warner Music. In addition to having been the first part of Britney Spears's tour, Sliimy also went on tour with singer Katy Perry for the Hello Katy Tour in Switzerland and England in 2009. A few months later, the artist made a surprising appearance in the music video for the hit songI Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas in the album The END. Four singles were taken from Paint Your Face between 2009 and 2010: Wake Up, Trust Me, the song Paint Your Face, and the double-single Our Generation I See U Again. In January 2010, the singer was nominated for the European Border Breakers Awards 2010, representing France with Paint Your Face. He lost to Milow. In spring 2015, he returned under his real name Yanis with his new single Hypnotized in the clip which Charlotte Le Bon is staged under hypnosis.
Personal life
When he was 20, three days before the release of his debut album, Sliimy came out to the media: "I have no problem saying that I’m gay. I know it and I am not afraid to hide it." When questions about this subject recur, Sliimy responds that he likes to play with different sexualities and ambiguity. In an interview, according to VS. magazine, Sliimy insisted that music "transcended sexuality." "I don’t understand why people need to know what happens in my bedroom?!"
Second studio album and future projects (2011 -present)
After his debut in the year 2011, Sliimy announced that he will start to prepare and write the lyrics for his second studio album and that he easily chose to take time to refine his new album. In fact, the singer also claims to have written French records, unlike his first album and his primary ideas. On 9 September 2011, he gave an interview for the international fashion magazine Vs., in which he talks about his future projects and mainly expresses his desire to record a new album that will be "very different" than Paint Your Face, and show a clear evolution in his career. At the same time, a new demo leaked on the internet, the song Spellbound Kisses. A few months later in December 2011, other demos continued to be released, titled Polaroid and The Sky. In March 2012, he revealed a re-adaptation of the song Skinny Genes by Eliza Doolittle in French. In September 2012, demos similar to the first two were released, titled Fight For Your Eyes and Light. In 2012 and 2013, the singer was regularly in the in-house studios of Warner Music in France. In January 2013, he said he still hasn’t decided on a release date, although the record could be out in 2014, and the themes and inspirations that will be addressed in this album will be the dream world and surrealism.
