Born in Haiti, French-speaking Canadian singer Mélanie Renaud has made a name for herself in pop, R&B and musical comedy. Born in Bainet, Haiti, on September 9, 1981, she was adopted by a Quebec family at the age of eight months. After debuting with the rap group Rainmen, the singer was noticed in 1998 at the Festival de la chanson de Granby, where she reached the finals. She collaborated as a backing singer with Éric Lapointe before launching her solo career in 2000 with the album Ma Liberté and its single "J'm'en veux". Recognition soon followed, with the Félix award for revelation of the year at the ADISQ Gala in 2002, and a role in the Paris musical Les Dix Commandements. Winner of Best Francophone Album at the Canadian Independent Music Awards the same year, Mélanie Renaud duetted with Corneille on "Vivre pour soi", then recorded her second untitled album, released in 2005, before being offered the role of Esméralda by Luc Plamondon in the show Notre-Dame de Paris, performed at the Bell Centre in Montreal before conquering France at the Palais des Congrés. In 2008, the album Feux d'Artifice marked her shift from chanson and pop to R&B and rap, continued with covers of What's Going On (2012), a tribute to the great names of soul. Mélanie Renaud also took part in recordings in tribute to Joe Dassin (2006) and Francis Cabrel (2012), and also sang a duet with Alain Barrière in 2013. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016, the singer stepped back from the stage to undergo chemotherapy. A final album, Fil de Fer, was released in 2017, featuring "Je reste là", "Laisse le soleil briller " and "Réalise-moi", a duet with Éric Lapointe. Admitted to palliative care at the Centre d'hébergement de La Prairie, Quebec, Mélanie Renaud died on May 14, 2024, at the age of 42.
