Véa La Pierre

**Léa Viviane Anaïs Deshauts** (born 28 February 2000), known professionally as **Véa La Pierre**, is a Maronan singer and songwriter. Dubbed Marone's breakout musical act of 2020, her music style has been described as blending pop, electronic music, and soul music.

La Pierre was born in the overseas region of Tahare, and relocated to Delmas after graduating from secondary school in 2018. After posting several original songs to her YouTube channel, La Pierre was signed to Global Music Marone and Shamstarz Music. Her debut extended play, *Fantaisie urbaine* (2019), blended dance-pop and soul music and was a modest commercial success. The following year, she released her second extended play, *Phantôme*, which took influence from synth-pop and electronic music and experimented with moodier production. *Phantôme* was preceded by the release of its lead single "Dans le feu," which became La Pierre's breakout hit and top ten single. The song additionally received critical acclaim, being named the best song of the year by numerous Maronan music media outlets.

After touring with Sonia François on her Lollypop Tour (2020), La Pierre released her debut studio album *Tu m'avais perdue dans la nuit* (2021), preceded by the release of its lead single "Tous mes gestes." The album was both a critical and commercial success, becoming her first chart-topping album in Marone, while its lead single additionally became her highest-charting single after reaching the top five. The album also produced the top twenty singles "T'es pas le mec" and "Filles." Following the album's success, La Pierre embarked on the Le carnaval azur tour (2021–2022), her first headlining tour. La Pierre later released her second studio album *En fuyant le grand désastre* (2023), which maintained her debut album's moody electronic production while incorporating soulful vocals and melodies, and slower tempos. The album peaked at number three in Marone, becoming her third top ten release. To promote the album, she will embark on the Le voyage hors du désastre tour (2023–2024).

## Early life and education

La Pierre was born on 28 February 2000 in Sainte-Anne, on the island of Tahare, to parents Jean-Marie (born 1968) and Susie Deshauts (née *Taupe*; born 1970). She has cited her ethnic origins as a mixture of Maronan, East Tarfican, Tirian, and Papaguscan. La Pierre was raised in a middle-class family in the Bosquet-de-Marelle neighborhood of Sainte-Anne. Her father works in technology sales, while her mother is a real estate agent. La Pierre is the elder of two siblings; her younger brother is Quentin (born 2003).

La Pierre began her education in 2005, attending public schooling in Sainte-Anne. She discovered a passion for music and the performing arts at a young age, after being gifted an acoustic guitar from her parents as a Christmas gift at age nine. She taught herself how to play the guitar through a book her parents purchased for her, and wrote her first song on the guitar at age ten. La Pierre completed primary school in 2012, and graduated from *collège* as well in 2015, afterwards enrolling in Lycée Charles Corré to study a *lycée technologique* program in theatre, music, and the performing arts. While in high school, she began performing in her school's musical theatre productions and developed an interest in electronic music. La Pierre graduated in 2018, and afterwards moved to Delmas to begin a music career. Her parents did not initially approve of her choosing not to pursue post-secondary education, but she promised them that she would return to Tahare and continue her education if she was not able to support herself after two years of pursuing music professionally.

## Career

La Pierre began her YouTube channel in 2016, at the age of 16, where she posted homemade videos of herself performing covers and original songs. She used Véa La Pierre as her name on the account so that only her close friends would be able to find it, having used the same name for her private friends-only Instagram account at the same time as well. La Pierre has stated that her stage name came from combining her first name Léa and second name Viviane, while La Pierre was chosen at random "because it sounded cool."

### 2018–2020: Breakthrough and *Phantôme*

La Pierre relocated to Delmas in the summer of 2018, and afterwards began working at a fast food restaurant while putting more effort into uploading original songs to her YouTube channel. After two months, she was discovered by a manager, who had her record the original songs "Yeux bleus" and "Océane" as demo tapes. The demo tapes later led to her signing with Global Music Marone and Shamstarz Music by the end of the year.

After signing with Global and Shamstarz, La Pierre rerecorded "Océane" and released it as her debut single in June 2019. The song combined dance-pop production with soulful vocals, and was praised by Maronan music critics. Despite its critical reception, the song was not a wide commercial success, peaking at number-96 in Marone. The song's release was followed by the release of La Pierre's debut extended play *Fantaisie urbaine* in August 2019. Much like its lead single, the extended play largely combined dance-pop and soul music, and received positive critical reception. The extended play was more commercially successful than its lead single, however, and reached the top 40 of the Maronan albums chart.

Following *Fantaisie urbaine*, La Pierre opted to rework her sound and begin experimenting with new producers. She later released the single "Dans le feu" in March 2020. The song saw a departure from the dance-pop and soul sound that she had cultivated on *Fantaisie urbaine*, and instead was a moody synth-pop song with a slower tempo. Upon its release, "Dans le feu" was an instant hit amongst music critics and within the alternative pop scene, with many music journalists naming La Pierre a breakout artist and leading to La Pierre winning the Hélophone Award for Best New Artist. The song was a sleeper hit, eventually rising to the top ten in Marone by the autumn of 2020. "Dans le feu" was followed by the release of La Pierre's second extended play *Phantôme* in May 2020. *Phantôme* saw a further stylistic departure from *Fantaisie urbaine*, with La Pierre experimenting with genres such as synth-pop and electronic music, with an emphasis on production and lyricism. The extended play was a critical and commercial success, peaking within the top ten in Marone. Following its success, La Pierre was selected to support Sonia François on her Lollypop Tour, which performed shows between August and December 2020.

### 2021–2022: *Tu m'avais perdue dans la nuit*

While on the Lollypop Tour, La Pierre began writing new songs to be included in her upcoming debut studio album. She later released the single "Tous mes gestes" in April 2021. The song was seen as a continuation of the musical style that she had first explored on *Phantôme*, being a synth-pop song with introspective lyrics and an upbeat tempo. "Tous mes gestes" went on to become a widespread hit and La Pierre's first song to reach the top five of the Maronan charts, in addition to being critically acclaimed.

La Pierre later released her debut studio album *Tu m'avais perdue dans la nuit* in August 2021. Upon its release, the album was both a critical and commercial success, and became her first chart-topping album in Marone. By the end of the year, the album was also cited among many Maronan music journalists' best albums of the year lists. In addition to "Tous mes gestes," the album also spawned the singles "T'es pas le mec," "Filles," and "24h," which peaked at numbers-eight, 12, and 24 on the Maronan charts, respectively. Following the success of the album, La Pierre embarked on the Le carnaval azur tour, her first headlining concert tour, which performed shows from September 2021 to March 2022.

### 2023–present: *En fuyant le grand désastre*

La Pierre began work on her second studio album after returning from the Le carnaval azur tour in March 2022. However, following the death of her maternal grandmother in May 2022, she opted to scrap the songs that she had already written in order to reinvent the album's sound as a tribute to her grandmother. La Pierre later released the album's lead single "Ruban" in May 2023. The song was seen as a stark departure from the sound of *Phantôme* and *Tu m'avais perdue dans la nuit*, instead featuring a slow tempo, near-ambient production, soulful vocals, and a heavy emphasis on lyricism, with some music critics likening the song to a modernized Maronan *chanson*. While the song was not as commercially successful as her past releases, reaching just the top forty in Marone, it became one of the most critically acclaimed songs of the year, winning the Hélophone Award for Song of the Year.

La Pierre later released her second studio album *En fuyant le grand désastre* in September 2023. Much like its lead single, the album was a stylistic departure from La Pierre's previous work, and offered an eclectic blend of electronic music, soul music, ambient music, and acoustic ballads, all featuring introspective lyricism and predominantly slow tempos. The album was a commercial success, peaking at number-three in Marone and becoming La Pierre's third top ten release. The album was additionally critically acclaimed, receiving a nomination for the Hélophone Award for Album of the Year. To promote the album, La Pierre will embark on the Le voyage hors du désastre tour, performing shows from October 2023 to June 2024.

## Personal life

La Pierre is openly bisexual. At age 14, she had a secret relationship with her best friend; the relationship later served as the inspiration for her song "Océane." La Pierre came out to friends at age 15, and later to her family at age 17. Regarding her religious beliefs, La Pierre has stated that she was raised between Eurean Catholicism and Tiruism, but now identifies as spiritual rather than religious, with a particular interest in astrology and the supernatural.

La Pierre has expressed regret over the choosing of her stage name. In a 2023 interview, she stated "it's so embarrassing, sometimes I wish I could just go back to being Léa." She has credited the choice of her stage name to her fear that other students at her *lycée* would find her YouTube channel and mock her for it.

## Discography

*Main article: Véa La Pierre discography*
* *Tu m'avais perdue dans la nuit* (2021)
* *En fuyant le grand désastre* (2023)

## Concert tours

Supporting
* Lollypop Tour (2020; supporting Sonia François)

Headlining
* Le carnaval azur tour (2021–2022)
* Le voyage hors du désastre tour (2023–2024)

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Véa La Pierre*