Le Piano French TV show with Natasha St-Pier, Digi Mart USA News (Paris, France): France 2 is preparing a new musical entertainment program, Le Piano, hosted by Natasha St-Pier. The show will feature amateur pianists invited to perform in a public place, with singer and actress Camille Lellouche and pianist Julien Cohen tasked with selecting the standout performers without the participants knowing they are being judged.
According to the publisher, six episodes have already been filmed in Paris. Filming concluded on Wednesday, November 4, at the Gare de l’Est in the 10th arrondissement after three days of recording.
According to Le Parisien, which attended part of the shoot, the two experts watched and listened to performances discreetly from a booth in the station. Meanwhile, Natasha St-Pier greeted participants among travelers, who believed they were taking part in a documentary about their favorite instrument.
The format relies on a carefully orchestrated surprise. While the amateur pianists play, Lellouche and Cohen secretly observe them and choose their favorite performance.
At the end of each episode, St-Pier informs the selected candidate that they have been chosen as the experts’ favorite.
The winner of each episode will have the opportunity to accompany one of the two experts on a historic Parisian stage in 2027. Six pianists will be honored in total.
Some performances during filming were notable, including a young man playing a Bad Bunny song blindfolded and a singer covering France Gall’s “Poupée de cire, poupée de son” in French and Japanese. According to Le Parisien, some travelers were so captivated that they disrupted their travel plans, with one reportedly missing a train to Nancy.
Le Piano is an adaptation of a British format, The Piano, which features the same concept with Mika and Chinese pianist Lang Lang as the experts. The French version is produced by Fremantle.
France 2 is expected to broadcast the show in two blocks of three episodes, although no specific date has been announced. The program also marks St-Pier’s return to presenting on public broadcasting, following her work on Les chansons d’abord on France 3 and her commentary on the Eurovision Song Contest.
Camille Lellouche’s new album is scheduled for release on November 20.
