We collected the confidences of ex of the "Star Ac" on Grégory Lemarchal

Lucie Bernardoni and Hoda in the clip of Restons Amis.

-

• In 2004, Hoda, Mathieu and Lucie were alongside Grégory Lemarchal in the final square of season 4 of

  Star Academy

  on TF1.

• Grégory Lemarchal, who won the telecrochet, died in 2007. Thirteen years later, several of his former comrades pay tribute to him through a tribute album, the first single of which, Restons Amis, has just been released.

• For

  20 Minutes

  , Lucie, Hoda and Mathieu recall the strong moments lived with Grégory Lemarchal.

On April 30, 2007, Grégory Lemarchal succumbed to cystic fibrosis at the age of 23.

Thirteen years later, the public retains a vivid memory of the singer revealed in 2004, during the fourth season of

which he won.

His former telecrochet comrades have not forgotten him either.

Several of them got together for the recording of a tribute album which will be released on October 2, for the benefit of the Grégory Lemarchal association.

While the first extract,

, has been available on streaming platforms since Friday,

has collected the confidences of Lucie, Mathieu and Hoda who, with Grégory, made up the final square of the TF1 show.

Lucie Bernardoni: "I would have liked to announce her victory myself"

Lucie Bernardoni was only 17 when she found herself in the

Star Academy

La Marelle

“For me, Grégory is still there.

He inspires me.

He still picks me up today when something is wrong.

I relativize a lot.

When I think of him, I see joy.

When you lose someone you love, you have the impression that all that will remain is sadness, regret knowing that they are no longer there.

But, over time, despite the pain that persists, I remember many happy moments.

Particularly more private moments, of discussions, away from the cameras - when we were filmed, we paid attention to what we said.

We could talk about complex things in life.

As people saw on television, Grégory and I walked into the castle hand in hand.

It was a fluke.

We also left hand in hand.

It was a final without competition, a magical final.

There was a symphony orchestra, it was a dream.

That evening, we both had a 40 ° fever, we had caught a cold, we were exhausted.

Before the start of the show, we waited behind the giant screen that had to open to allow us to enter the scene.

No one told us about the live kickoff.

We heard the music start and we wondered if it was really starting.

So we went there, but when we got to the set, we weren't ready.

At the end of the song, we couldn't help but laugh about it.

Nikos asked us to stop bickering.

I knew the result, I knew that Grégory would win, I would have liked to open the envelope myself to announce his victory.

I took a tanasse: 20% of the votes.

With Greg, we laughed about it for years.

When Mathieu Johann asked me to write a song for the tribute album, which would talk about what we had lived through and what we felt for Grégory, it took me many weeks.

This is a subject I had a hard time writing about.

The image of hopscotch came to me, illustrating the "Earth" and "sky" side.

So I wrote the text of

like a poem.

We don't sing it, it's a spoken song.

Grégory's parents and sister came to the studio the day we recorded it.

They were moved, it was a nice reward.

I will never forget this moment.

"

Mathieu Johann: "We believed so much that we were immortal"

When he participated in

Star Academy

“We seized all the luck we had to have met Grégory and to have shared a part of our life with him.

We spent four months in the castle, then we went on tour.

It was an extraordinary adventure.

If there was one word to define it, it would be "wonderful".

He was in every way.

The guy, the singer, the comrade… I had nicknamed him The Little Prince because he reminded me of the character of Saint-Exupéry with his kind of innocence, his dazzling beauty.

We were all under his spell and the public was not mistaken in making him the winner by far.

season 4

was separate.

We knew very well that Grégory was going to win.

There was no doubt about it.

There was no suspense, the case was closed, but we had no problem with that.

We were happy for him to see him flourish, evolve.

And then we were 20 years old, we were carried by our dreams.

We thought it was wonderful to meet Lenny Kravitz, Beyoncé, Véronique Sanson, Laurent Voulzy… What moments of happiness.

Grégory did not sleep with us in the castle.

He couldn't be in contact with carpets and all because of his illness.

A room had been specially designed for him, next to the theater.

I remember an unforgettable moment shared with him.

We had unplugged our microphones to have a real discussion on his daily life.

He spoke very little about his illness.

I entered this room, which was his privacy.

I saw what that represented in terms of arrangements, of care.

He had medical supplies around him.

I didn't know that was what he was going through.

We were so innocent, carefree.

We believed so much that we were immortal and that life could never do it upside down.

We were aware that Grégory was sick, we saw him suffer sometimes, but no one imagined that one day cystic fibrosis would win the day.

It was unreal for us.

There are times I've seen Gregory on the verge of collapse during the

tour

, but it's more the happy images that come to mind.

He was very funny.

When I imagine him, I visualize him turning to me and winking at me.

That's what he was doing, to warn us that he was going to do something stupid.

"

Hoda: "His gaze is so inhabited that it is paralyzing"

Hoda was 25 when she attended

Star Academy

“When I hear Grégory's name, I see his face and his half-moon eyes, his extraordinary laughter, his funny, teasing and mischievous side.

I called her my chick.

He was my friend.

After 15 days in the castle of

, in the euphoria of activities and with his behavior, he had managed to make us forget that he was sick.

He established a spirit of solidarity, of unity, it was in his character.

The goal, for us other candidates, was to get our ticket for the tour and to know who would accompany Grégory in the final.

It was obvious to us that he would win.

He didn't want any privileges, people like Tiburce or Kamel [the sports and dance teachers] sometimes tried to preserve him.

He always refused, even getting angry: he wanted to prove that he was capable.

It is a lesson in life.

It was important for him to be recognized as an artist - he had to face a lot of detractors at the time of his victory - but while he was working on his second album, he confided to me that he wanted to invest more with the sick, with people in his condition.

He didn't have time.

We only sang together twice on the

 - each time on Johnny Hallyday tracks.

I shared

with him.

We were tired, stressed, but everything was erased during this moment of grace that was for me this duo / duel.

I received his charisma in the face.

There were lasers coming out of his eyes.

His gaze is so inhabited that it is paralyzing.

Rather than bring me down, he lifted me up with him.

We were not against each other, but with each other.

The night of the girls' semi-final, we sang

.

I had a feeling I was going to leave.

When I see the images again, I see in his eyes, his hands, what he gives me… all the tenderness and respect he has for me as an artist, beyond our friendship.

In the group, he was not the last to do bullshit (laughs).

With Soso [Sofiane], he spared no one.

I remember having a little problem with my darling.

We only had one minute on the phone a day.

Gregory, heard me, I was crying all the tears in my body.

He did everything to make me laugh, he didn't let go, with his phrasing, his jokes, his hugs.

My God… He was there for all of us, to annoy us, make us laugh and hold our hands.

Rarely have I come across such a healthy, generous, strong and loving person.

"

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