Olympics reviving some old bangers

6 favorite songs from the opening ceremony in Paris

Photo by John Towner on Unsplash

The opening ceremony in Paris on Friday was a true trip down memory lane, featuring some fantastic old tracks. Hearing those songs we hadn’t heard in ages was a real treat.

Here are our 6 favorites from the ceremony that we had a blast rediscovering. They’re not in any particular order.

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Cassius — I <3 U SO

Do you remember this one? This track turned into a huge hit and even got sampled by Jay-Z. The French duo, active from 1988 to 2019, were key players in the 'French touch' electronic music scene of the late '90s.

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Hymne à l'amour — Céline Dion

Yes, she delivered a great rendition of Edith Piaf's Hymne à l'amour.
Thoreau perfectly captured the essence of the moment with these words: 'The Olympic spirit lived in this performance. A person battling the odds, battling her own body, and pushing through pain and doubt to stand on top of the world and share her gift. Truly beautiful.'

Her performance begins at 3:22

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Kate Ryan — Désenchantée

In 2002, Belgian singer Kate Ryan covered "Désenchantée" by French singer Mylène Farmer. The cover reached number one in Belgium and achieved top-20 hits across Europe. Other nostalgic tracks from Kate include “Voyage, voyage” and “Ella, elle l'a.

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Bizet: Carmen, Act 1: Habanera.

This was the oldest banger from the ceremony—it's from 1875. We couldn’t track down the exact version from the event, but this one’s pretty close and still absolutely addictive.

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Justice — D.A.N.C.E

No introduction needed.

But that bassline starting at 0:34 will probably never get old.

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Ottawan — D.I.S.C.O

Despite its Canadian-sounding name, the disco duo Ottawan was created by French producers Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger. Featuring Caribbean-born singers Jean Patrick and Annette, Ottawan scored big in Europe with their debut single "D.I.S.C.O" in 1980, which hit number two in the UK.

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