Taking a brief detour to Paris tonight for a set by Hoshi, recorded for RTL2 Private Private Concert series on January 27, 2022.
Hoshi, whose real name is Mathilde Gerner adopted the name mostly out of love for Japanese culture – initially she went by Hoshi Hideko but dropped it in favor of just Hoshi which translates as “Star” in Japanese.
Hoshi began her musical career with the amateur music group TransyStory, which was formed in September 2011. She provided vocals, keyboard, and guitar to this four-person group. The band occasionally put up municipal performances in Montigny-le-Bretonneux. The group played “Lou”, their first recorded piece of music. Around the same time, in December 2011, Gerner alone competed in and won the “Jeunes Talents, c’est maintenant!” competition, organized by the city. During this competition, she was noticed by Marc Isacco, who was in charge of a musical section in Montigny. Through Isacco, she was able to meet established artists and perform in larger venues. TransyStory separated at the end of 2012 and Hoshi continued her solo career.
She became known by publishing covers on the Internet and received the support of the label Styiens. In 2013, at the age of 16, she was invited by the casting director of the French The Voice to compete. She successfully passed auditions but decided not to continue when the show’s production wanted to control her song choice.
Hoshi left high school and devoted herself to music by performing in the streets. In 2014, she participated in the show Rising Star on the channel M6, but her cover of “Mistral gagnant”[ did not qualify her. She returned to singing in the streets, where she was able to try out compositions. She also performed solo for small concerts. She was contacted almost two years later by a manager, through whom she was signed by the label Jo & Co.
On 3 March 2017, she released her first single, “Comment je vais faire”. The song and its music video achieved some success.
On 19 May 2017, she released her first EP, “Comment je vais faire”, through the label Jo & Co. It contained the eponymous track along with an acoustic version, as well as three original tracks, “Manège à trois”, “En gros tout est gris”, and “Parking sonne”.
On 23 March 2018, she released her first album, “Il suffit d’y croire [fr]”. Her breakthrough success came with the title “Ta marinière”.
On 5 October 2018, she sang a duet in Ycare’s song “À qui la faute”.
In 2020, she was nominated in the Victoires de la musique in the category “Stage Révélation of the Year”.
Hoshi’s varied influences include Jacques Brel, Serge Gainsbourg, Catherine Ringer, Les Rita Mitsouko, Noir Désir, Léo Férré, The Cranberries, Patti Smith, Janis Joplin, Izïa Higelin, and Nirvana.
So now you know – press Play and dive in:
