A little girl presses a button. The Christmas lights come on. And suddenly, 100 musicians appear on Rue Royale in Paris (8th arrondissement), instruments in hand, for an improvised concert in the heart of Paris. Welcome to the spectacular world of Julien Cohen, the social media star pianist who transforms the capital into a giant concert stage.
Sunday, November 9, the 32-year-old musician struck a big blow. To inaugurate the Christmas lights of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré Committee, he organized his biggest flash mob to date: 100 musicians, 150 technicians, 50 cameras, and an entire pedestrianized artery, from Place de la Concorde to Madeleine. “The whole of Rue Royale is a bit like a childhood dream,” he told TF1.
A budget multiplied by six
On the program for this XXL production: an orchestral version of “Carol of the Bells”, a famous Christmas song, co-produced with Violin Phonix, the duo founded by his brother Chris Cohen. Combining the Little Singers with the Wooden Cross, the Republican Guard orchestra, string instruments and Brazilian batucada, the show required three successive shoots to obtain the perfect montage.
That day, Julien Cohen captured not one, but five songs. In “Believer”, a batucada of thirty-five percussionists descends all the way from the Madeleine. In another piece, a little six-year-old pianist named Maya, who came specially from Australia, accompanies him on the piano. The young guitarist who was already participating in her cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was also present.
Because this new coup comes just a few months after the viral triumph of his “Bohemian Rhapsody”, filmed this summer at Place de la Contrescarpe in the 5th arrondissement. This cover of the Queen hit, for which the pianist had drawn on his savings to finance the 50,000 euro budget, has accumulated more than 700 million views on all platforms combined.
This time, the bill climbs to 300,000 euros. To finance this production, Julien Cohen had to seek partners, notably the luxurious boutiques on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. An investment that is already bearing fruit: in just two days, a first extract posted online on Monday, November 24, has exceeded 278 million views on TikTok alone.
A race to gigantism
A graduate of the Paris Conservatory and then of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, Julien Cohen says he is “very inspired” by Mr Beast, the most followed YouTuber in the world whose blockbusters regularly exceed half a billion views. “There may be a race to be gigantic, but I really enjoy doing ambitious things,” he admits.
During filming, nothing is left to chance: each movement is precisely measured, certain musical parts are pre-recorded. The stated objective of the pianist, who has nearly 25 million subscribers on his various social networks, remains the same as in a classical recital: “Provide strong emotions”.
With the promise of considerable revenue – YouTube pays 55% of advertising revenue to creators – the pianist influencer continues his meteoric rise. Enough to consider even more ambitious projects in the months to come. Mission accomplished.