Benjamin Siksou

Benjamin Siksuo is a French singer‑songwriter and actor who rose to public attention after his appearance on the sixth season of the reality‑music competition Nouvelle Star in 2008. Born on 8 February 1987 in Paris to a visual‑artist mother and a media‑consultant father, he spent his early childhood moving between the 13th and 6th arrondissements, taking violin and tennis lessons from the age of two and a half. A knee injury in 2000 ended his ambition of becoming a professional tennis player and redirected his energy toward music, where he began writing original songs in 2002 and performing in Parisian jazz venues such as the Caveau des Oubliettes and Café Le Charteux. Influenced by a wide spectrum of artists—from John Lee Hooker and Aretha Franklin to Jeff Buckley and Ella Fitzgerald—Siksou cultivated a distinctive “jazz‑blues” style, playing guitar, piano and violin while blending covers like “Just the Two of Us” with his own compositions such as “Just Know That I Knew.” In 2007 he paused his art‑history studies to pursue a full‑time music career, securing his first film roles the same year and later releasing his debut single “My Eternity” in February 2009, produced by Vincent Ségal. The accompanying music video premiered on Le Grand Journal and his first EP, Instantanés du 11 April 2009, captured live performances from a sold‑out French tour that visited cities including Dijon, Lyon and Paris. His participation in André Manoukian’s 2010 jazz tribute album So in Love showcased his vocal versatility on “I Fall in Love Too Easily” and a duet with China Moses on “Lullaby of Birdland.” Beyond recording, Siksou maintains an active online presence, with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, and continues to blend acting projects with his evolving musical output.