Matthieu Arnaud Sidney Chedid was born in
Boulogne-Billancourt,
Hauts-de-Seine,
France. His father
Louis Chedid is a singer from a family of
Lebanese and
Syrian extraction, of
Maronite and
Greek Orthodox Christian background. Louis Chedid's mother
Andrée (
née Saab) was an
Egyptian-born French writer and poet, who has written lyrics for Matthieu Chedid's songs. Matthieu Chedid's sisters are the music video and concert director
Émilie Chedid (born in 1970) and French singer
Anna Chedid (born in 1987), also known by her stage name Nach. His brother
Joseph "Selim" Chedid (born in 1986) is also a French singer and a guitar and drums player. Chedid took an interest in music early on. In 1978, at the age of six, Chedid lent his voice to the chorus of his father's hit song ''T'as beau pas être beau
alongside older sister, Émilie. During his teenage years and early twenties, Chedid was part of short-lasting groups such as Tam Tam
, Les Bébés fous
and Les Poissons Rouges'' with
Mathieu Boogaerts, as well as Julien Voulzy and
Pierre Souchon (respectively the sons of singers
Laurent Voulzy and
Alain Souchon) who went on to form the duo
Les Cherche Midi. He has collaborated with a number of artists, both on stage and in the recording studio. Early into his solo career, Chedid was the opening act for
Texas concerts. He has recorded with
NTM,
Sinclair,
Billy Ze Kick,
Brigitte Fontaine,
Sean Lennon,
Vanessa Paradis, and
Johnny Hallyday. Until 2008, Chedid was in a relationship with French actress
Audrey Tautou.
-M- Chedid performs and records under the stage name
-M-. Chedid created
-M- as means of overcoming his shyness on stage and also as a way of distancing his work from that of his father and grandmother. The pseudonym comes from Chedid's first initial but also refers to the similar-sounding French word
aime, meaning love. The character
-M- is a superhero, noted for having a playful nature, and recognized for his flamboyant costumes (primarily monochrome suits with slim trousers and long jackets with upward pointed collars) and hair styled into the shape of an M. In 1997, -M- released his first solo album
Le Baptême. During this time; he played mainly solo or with the cellist
Vincent Ségal. The album received overall positive critical reception, but public recognition only came a few months later, with the release of the single "Machistador".
Je dis aime In 1999, -M- published his second album,
Je dis aime a title that puns 'aime' (like/love) with 'M'. A few months later, the album was 11th on the French Charts, with more than 500,000 albums sold, thanks to a number of successful songs ("Je dis aime", "Onde Sensuelle", "Monde Virtuel", "Le complexe du corn-flakes", "Mama Sam"). Live, -M- played with Cyril Atef,
Vincent Segal and
DJ Shalom for the samples on some songs. He still works with his sister Emilie Chedid for the realisation of the clips. His live performance largely contributed to his success, playing on his character of -M- to transform every concert into a show. He won his first
Victoire de la Musique awards for Male Artist of the Year and Concert of the Year.
"Belleville Rendez-vous" and Qui de nous deux -M- gained international exposure through his recording of the song "
Belleville Rendez-vous" for the soundtrack of the 2003
Sylvain Chomet animated film
The Triplets of Belleville in both French and English. The song, with lyrics by Chomet and music by Benoit Charest, was nominated for a 2003
Academy Award. The music video for "Belleville Rendez-vous" uses both a live-action depiction of
-M- and an animated depiction incorporated into footage from the film. In autumn 2003, he released his 3rd album
Qui de nous deux (Which one of us two) with the singles "Qui de nous deux", "La bonne étoile", "Mon ego". Softer, this album saw the birth of his first daughter, Billie, for whom an all-pink guitar was built by instrument-maker Cyril Guérin. A pink guitar can be seen in the video for "Qui de nous deux". In 2007, he worked once again with
Vanessa Paradis on her album
Divinidylle, released in September 2007.
Mister Mystère Rumors circulated before the release of his 2009 studio album,
Mister Mystère, that Chedid had decided to drop the character
-M- to record and perform under his given name. The album, however, was released under the name
-M- but included photographs of the singer without the wild costumes and hair associated with the
-M- character. The music video for the first single, "Le Roi des ombres", showed Chedid burning a tiny effigy of his alterego.
Louis, Matthieu, Joseph et Anna Chedid Chedid was part of the musical group
Louis, Matthieu, Joseph et Anna Chedid with several members of his family. They began with a tour in 2015, which was followed by a studio recording.
Îl, Lamomali, and Lettre infinie In autumn 2012, he released the album,
Îl, played with Lawrence Clais and Brad Thomas Ackley. He worked with
Toumani Diabaté and
Sidiki Diabaté on a collective album,
Lamomali, released in March 2017 The album also features many well regarded names from the world music scene, such as
Philippe Jaroussky,
Oxmo Puccino,
Youssou N'Dour,
Seu Jorge, and
Fatoumata Diawara, lending a mesmeric world music flavour to it that celebrates cultural diversity and world peace. The album "showcases musical stylings from across the planet, whilst at its core it contains a traditional West African rhythm". In 2019, he released the studio album,
Lettre infinie, featuring collaborations from
Thomas Bangalter and
Phillipe Zdar. His album
Rêvalité was released in June 2022. ==Public image==