Yelle

Yelle are a French band founded by lead singer and namesake Yelle (Julie Budet) and GrandMarnier (Jean-François Perrier). A third member, Tepr (Tanguy Destable), joined the band before the recording of their debut album. Yelle and GrandMarnier began working on music together in 2000. The band came to prominence when it posted an early version of the song "Je veux te voir" on Myspace in September 2005, which later reached the top five in France. The success of the song on Myspace attracted the attention of a record label, which set them to work on their debut album, Pop Up, which was released in 2007. The group's second album, Safari Disco Club, was released in 2011 and the third Complètement fou in 2014.

They have enjoyed a significant following overseas in non-French-speaking countries as well. They toured internationally for three years in support of Pop Up.

History

Budet met and became good friends with producer GrandMarnier in 2000, and in 2005, they began making music together when both wanted to start an electropop band. The name of the band, Yelle, began as an acronym of the phrase "You Enjoy Life", "YEL", but was later feminised to "Yelle" because a Belgian band had the name already. Yelle rose to fame on Myspace when they posted a song titled "Short Dick Cuizi", which later became "Je veux te voir", in late 2005. The song's original title refers to Cuizinier of French alternative hip hop band TTC and was released as a mock diss track. It received a positive response and soon attracted the attention of record label Source Etc. The song later charted at No. 4 in France. Yelle then began working on and recording their debut album, Pop Up, in 2006. While performing at night, producer Tepr had been roped into the band in 2007 after meeting GrandMarnier while working as a journalist. They were in need of a keyboard player on tour.

Rocketeer

The Rocketeer is a fictional character created by writer-illustrator Dave Stevens. The character first appeared in 1982 and is a homage to the Saturday matinee serial heroes of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

The Rocketeer is the secret identity of Cliff Secord, a stunt pilot who discovers a mysterious jetpack that allows him to fly. His adventures are set in Los Angeles and New York in 1938, and Stevens gave them a retro, nostalgic feel influenced by the King of the Rocket Men and Commando Cody movie serials (both from Republic Pictures), and pinup diva Bettie Page.

The Rocketeer was released as a 1991 feature film from Walt Disney Pictures that was directed by Joe Johnston. Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens has a small cameo as the German test pilot who dies when the Nazi version of a rocket backpack explodes during take-off, part of top secret black-and-white film footage stolen, then smuggled to the U. S. that shows Nazi plans for creating an army of flying commandos.

Premise

In 1938 Los Angeles, Cliff Secord, a local racing pilot and barnstormer, discovers a mysterious package hidden by two gangsters, who were fleeing the police. In that package, Cliff finds what the police were looking for: a stolen rocket backpack prototype.

Rocketeer (song)

"Rocketeer" is the second single from Far East Movement's 2010 album Free Wired. The track features Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. It was written by Far East Movement, as well as members of the production teams The Stereotypes, The Smeezingtons, and produced by The Stereotypes and The Smeezingtons. It was released as a single on October 29, 2010, and peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Two different versions of the song were recorded, one with vocals by Bruno Mars (a member of The Smeezingtons) and one with vocals by Ryan Tedder. Tedder's version was the one selected for the album.

"Rocketeer" shares similarities with Justin Bieber's "Somebody to Love", which was released earlier, in April 2010. This led to speculation that "Rocketeer" copied from "Somebody to Love"; in actuality, both songs were co-produced by The Stereotypes, and "Rocketeer" was produced first; "Somebody to Love" uses samples of "Rocketeer".

Background

Speaking about the song in March 2011 to noted UK urban writer Pete Lewis - Assistant Editor of Blues & Soul - group member Kev Nish stated: "'Free Wired' was basically a slang-word we came up with back in the day, that we'd use whenever we'd do something that was outside the box, that was original, that was fresh, and that mashed-up things that maybe SHOULDN'T be mashed-up! Which is why, when it came to titling this latest album, it made so much SENSE!... You know, we'd basically go in the studio and take hip hop-style drums, electronic synths, alternative-style hooks and just - as I say - mash it all UP! Which in turn became the inspiration behind a track like 'Rocketeer'... And, by featuring Ryan Tedder on the song, we were then also able to cover that credible, alternative ROCK base."

The Rocketeer (film)

The Rocketeer is a 1991 American period superhero film from Walt Disney Pictures, produced by Charles Gordon, Lawrence Gordon, and Lloyd Levin, directed by Joe Johnston, and starring Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton, Paul Sorvino and Tiny Ron Taylor. The film is based upon the character of the same name created by comic book artist and writer Dave Stevens.

Set in 1938 Los Angeles, California, The Rocketeer tells the story of stunt pilot Cliff Secord who discovers a rocket powered jet pack that enables him to fly without an aircraft. His heroic deeds soon attract the attention of Howard Hughes and the FBI, who are hunting for the missing jet pack, as well as sadistic Nazi operatives.

Development for The Rocketeer started as far back as 1983, when Stevens sold the film rights. Steve Miner and William Dear considered directing The Rocketeer before Johnston signed on. Screenwriters Danny Bilson and Paul De Meo had creative differences with Disney, which caused the film to languish in development hell. The studio also intended to change the trademark helmet design; Disney CEO Michael Eisner wanted a straight NASA-type helmet, but Johnston convinced the studio otherwise. Johnston also had to convince Disney to let him cast unknown actor Billy Campbell in the lead role. Filming for The Rocketeer lasted from September 19, 1990 to January 22, 1991. The visual effects sequences were created and designed by Industrial Light & Magic.