Tiken Jah Fakoly turns viral choir performance into Chorales EP
A viral choir version of Plus rien ne m’étonne became a seven-track live EP, turning Tiken Jah Fakoly’s biggest stage moment into Chorales.
A one-off choir version of Plus rien ne m’étonne that raced past 20 million YouTube views is now a seven-track live EP, turning Tiken Jah Fakoly’s most viral stage moment into Chorales. The record arrived on 24 April 2026 and keeps the live spark intact, instead of flattening the performance into a studio polish job.
The story began with Le Grand Choral 2024 at Nuits de Champagne, where Tiken Jah Fakoly’s live take on Plus rien ne m’étonne with the festival choir spread fast online. That response clearly pushed the project forward. Tiken Jah rebuilt the idea in Abidjan with a new choir, and the result was assembled from the strongest moments of two separate choral sessions, one in Côte d’Ivoire and one in Troyes, France.
That structure gives Chorales a real sense of scale. The Abidjan recordings feature the Chorale de l’INSAAC, while the Troyes sessions feature the Grand Choeur des Nuits de Champagne. Together they form a live EP that runs about 36 minutes and threads communal singing through some of Tiken Jah Fakoly’s most recognizable material. The seven tracks include Plus rien ne m’étonne, Tata, Nationalité, Africain à Paris, Tonton d’America featuring Bernard Lavilliers, and Arriver à rêver.
The release also lands as a strong statement about what Tiken Jah does best. His official description frames Chorales as a live project built from “7 titres réinventés” by two major choirs, and that is exactly what the record feels like: part concert document, part audience exchange, part reinvention of familiar songs. Chapter Two Records, through exclusive licensing with Wagram Music and Sotigui, has pushed it as a major release rather than a niche live souvenir.
What makes the whole thing click is the way it stretches a viral moment into something durable. Nuits de Champagne says its Grand Choral brings together 900 choristers from across France, and the festival says nearly 20,000 festivalgoers have taken part in its singing and choral programming since 2021. Tiken Jah Fakoly’s YouTube post also underlines the emotional arc, linking two powerful moments across 2024 and 2025. Chorales captures that energy and fixes it on record, where the call-and-response, the choir lift, and the weight of Tiken Jah Fakoly’s voice can keep working long after the clip stops circulating.
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