Phew! A little over two years after he was axed from the French reality-competition show “La Nouvelle Star”, Gaël Faure is at long last releasing his debut album. “Jardin en Ville” (Garden in the City) is available for download on various music platforms, including the US iTunes store. He even sings in English on “Trouble in Paradise”.

However, this long pause after the show is something the French landscapist clearly wanted. “I was offered many opportunities that I refused. I wanted to follow a normal artistic path, act like the show never happened, start from scratch,” he explains. “I had my doubts, I wanted to think about where I was headed. I worked on my voice a lot. I re-started everything from scratch, really.”

Gaël released his first single, “Candy”, in April 2007 and it was enough to catch the attention of Jamiroquai musicians Matt Johnson and Rob Harris, who brought their soul touch to the album’s production.

And the digital release is so successful that a CD could soon follow. “This [digital downloads] ranking is amazing. I was not expecting that much so soon. I hope it will last — I cross my fingers — and hope that more and more people will discover my universe and appreciate it,” Gaël told Ozap.com.

We added a link to a video interview of Gaël in which he explains he loves life and his friends, but no girlfriend, no. In case you wondered.

Gaël Faure’s new single
Gaël Faure’s on MySpace
Video interview