Wind and string instruments sound the first notes of the opening track, "Cœur ardent". From an air of lightness, the sound rises, intensifies, builds momentum, like a curtain lifting, the final moment of solitude, the last breath before emerging from the shadows. At last, the instantly recognizable voice emerges: "Suddenly I step into the light/out of breath/heart pounding." In just a few seconds, Vanessa Paradis takes full possession of the space, seven years since her last album.

For the first track of Le Retour des Beaux Jours ("The Return of Sunny Days"), which is set for release on October 10, Etienne Daho, who wrote and composed most of the tracks with musician Jean-Louis Piérot, envisioned an entrance like a figure emerging in the glare of the spotlights. "The song came together very quickly," he said over the phone. "I wanted Vanessa to come into the album the way an artist walks onto the stage." The singer will embark on a tour in March 2026. The Paris concert, scheduled at the city's Zénith concert hall in May, sold out only a few days after it was announced.

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