If you like March Madness and French music, you will love Manie Musicale! This fabulous Francophone tournament was created by two teachers from Maine: York Middle School teacher Stephanie Carbonnea, and Falmouth Middle School teacher Michelle Fournier. It was created in 2017, for French classes across the nation (and some Canadian provinces). Inspired by the NCAA’s Division I Basketball “March Madness” tournament, Manie Musicale promotes sixteen Francophone songs that compete against each other over a series of weeks. Each week, two songs accompanied by lyrics and music videos are presented to students, who choose a winner. Over time, students will develop unique brackets with a speculated champion song. Participants then contribute their opinions by voting on the official Manie Musicale polls, which determine the winner of the contest.
Haldane junior Tomas Simko shared his predictions for the 2025 competition. “I think this year’s songs are pretty solid overall,” he said. “I think ‘Minimum Ça’ [by Dr. Yaro] and ‘Fighter’ [by Tali] are going to be in the final against each other, and I have ‘Minimum Ça’ winning.”
Madame Amy Hopkin, Haldane High School’s French teacher and Manie Musicale coordinator, believes the competition has many educational benefits. Hopkin explained that, by dissecting song lyrics, students can absorb new vocabulary and complex grammatical structures in a fun, entertaining way. She also emphasized the beauty of introducing students to French-influenced dialects and mixed languages. “It was so cool to see the language spectrum between French and Guadalopen Creole,” Hopkin remarked, “as there are phonetic similarities but spelling differences.”
This exposure to different regions of the Francophone world is Hopkin’s primary motive for participating in Manie Musicale. She noted, “Students get the rich cultural context of seeing music in a contemporary French or Francophone setting.”
Though artists who participate in the competition do not receive monetary compensation, they gain attention and admiration from a new North American audience. In fact, Haldane’s period six and nine French classes participated in a Zoom call with Manie Musicale artist Eloïz on March 10th. In this Zoom, students asked Eloïz questions and learned more about her catchy song “Comment tu vas?” and her other music. Eloïz shared her gratitude and excitement for gaining a new audience with the help of Manie Musicale. On the Zoom call event, Hopkin said, “[Eloïz] was just so happy to be meeting people who appreciate her music and to be able to take questions from students.”
Sophomore Christine Junjulas shared her excitement surrounding the competition. “I love it; it’s so fun and exciting,” she said. “It’s an entertaining way to see French all over the world. It’s also my favorite part of French class.”
Manie Musicale is an enjoyable music contest with a resolute cultural and educational impact on Haldane French students.
