A little girl presses a button. Christmas lights are on. And suddenly, 100 musicians appeared on the 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 turned the capital into a giant concert stage.
Sunday, November 9, a heavy blow came from the 32 year old musician. To inaugurate the Christmas lights of the Faubourg Saint-Honoré Committee, he organized his largest flash mob to date: 100 musicians, 150 technicians, 50 cameras and the entire pedestrian artery, from the Place de la Concorde to the Madeleine. “The whole Rue Royale is like a childhood dream,” he told TF1.
Budget multiplied by six
On the program for this XXL production: an orchestral version of “Carol of the Bells,” a famous Christmas carol, co-produced with Violin Phonix, the duo founded by his brother Chris Cohen. Combining the Little Singers with Wooden Crosses, a Republican Guard orchestra, stringed instruments, and a Brazilian batucada, the performance required three consecutive shots to achieve the perfect montage.
That day, Julien Cohen recorded not one, but five songs. In “Believer,” Madeleine’s batucada of thirty-five percussionists descends. In another part, a little six-year-old pianist named Maya, who came specially from Australia, accompanied him on the piano. The young guitarist who had participated in his cover of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was also present.
Because this new coup comes just months after the viral triumph of his “Bohemian Rhapsody,” filmed this summer at the Place de la Contrescarpe in the 5th arrondissement. This cover of Queen’s hit song, for which the pianist used her savings to finance a budget of 50,000 euros, has amassed more than 700 million views across all platforms combined.
This time, the bill rose to 300,000 euros. To finance this production, Julien Cohen had to find partners, especially a luxury boutique on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. An investment that has already paid off: in just two days, the first quote posted online on Monday, November 24, has surpassed 278 million views on TikTok alone.
The race to gigantism
A graduate of the Paris Conservatory and then a mathematician at Cambridge University, Julien Cohen said he was “very inspired” by Mr Beast, the world’s most-followed YouTuber whose frequent blockbuster films have been viewed more than half a billion times. “There may be a race to make it big, but I really enjoy doing ambitious things,” he admits.
During filming, nothing happens by chance: every movement is precisely measured, certain musical passages are pre-recorded. The stated goal of the pianist, who has almost 25 million subscribers on his various social networks, remains the same as in classical performances: “To give strong emotions.”
With the promise of sizable earnings – YouTube pays 55% of advertising revenue to content creators – the influencer pianist continues to rise rapidly. Enough to consider more ambitious projects in the coming months. Mission accomplished.
