Jonatan Cerrada

Personal Life

Jonatan Cerrada was born in Liège, Belgium, to Spanish parents, and grew up in a multilingual household. He is fluent in French and Spanish, among other languages. Despite being Belgian by birth, he is often identified with the French music scene because of his career success in France. In March 2022, Jonatan Cerrada spoke publicly about his personal life on a television program. He revealed that he is gay and that he is married to a French man. The couple has a young son together. After several years in Indonesia, Jonatan Cerrada moved back to Europe. He now lives in Belgium again with his husband and their child. His journey has been one of personal growth and change. 

Professional Career

In 2003, Jonatan Cerrada gained national fame by winning the first season of Nouvelle Star, the French edition of Pop Idol. After his victory, he released his debut single, a cover of Michel Jonasz’s song “Je voulais te dire que je t’attends.” This was followed by an original single titled “Rien ne me changera” later that year. His first album, Siempre 23, came out in late 2003 and found success in both France and Belgium. 

In 2004, Jonatan Cerrada represented France at the Eurovision Song Contest, performing his ballad “À chaque pas”. He was chosen internally by France3 to represent the country. After his original song “Laissez-moi le temps” was presented to the audience, it was decided that the song was not strong enough. The song was replaced by “À chaque pas”. The song reached a 15th place in the grand final. 

Jonatan Cerrada was subsequently invited to make a guest appearance on the Spanish television series Un Paso Adelante, even dubbing his own lines in French for the show. In 2005, Cerrada provided the French soundtrack song “Mon Paradis” for the animated film Robots and released his second album, La Preuve du contraire. A single titled “Libre comme l’air” followed in Belgium later that year. A planned single in 2006, “Ne m’en veux pas,” was never officially released. By 2007, Cerrada had parted ways with his record label and began working independently on a Spanish-language album. He joined the fan-funded platform Sellaband to support this third album project, raising about half of the $50,000 goal before leaving the platform in late 2007.

Continued Music and Acting Career

After Eurovision 2004, Jonatan Cerrada continued his music career. He recorded a song called “Mon Paradis” for the French edition of the animated film Robots in 2005. That same year, he released his second album, La Preuve du contraire, in June 2005. However, this album was less successful than his first. One of its singles, “Libre comme l’air,” was only released in Belgium. In 2007, he released a song titled “Ruban noir,” which was a tribute partly in Spanish to the victims of the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

Besides music, Jonatan Cerrada also explored acting. He guest-starred in a Spanish TV series, Un Paso Adelante (known in France as Un, dos, tres), playing a small role as a French exchange student. He later performed in musical theater productions. In 2007, he played the poet Arthur Rimbaud in a stage musical. In 2008–2009, he joined a jukebox musical based on Charles Aznavour’s songs, performing on stage in Paris and on tour. These acting projects showed another side of Jonatan Cerrada’s talent beyond pop music.

Hiatus and Return to Music

In May 2014, Jonatan Cerrada suffered a tragedy when his older brother died in an accident. This loss deeply affected him. He decided to step away from the music industry and public life for a while. In June 2015, he moved away from France to start a new life in Bali, Indonesia. He lived a simpler life there and stayed out of the spotlight for a few years. However, Jonatan Cerrada eventually found inspiration to make music again.

In January 2018, he released a single in the Indonesian language titled “Lelaki Lain Di Hati”. The song became popular in Indonesia, which is rare for a foreign singer. He also ventured into film during this period – in 2018 he starred in an Indonesian romantic movie called Liam Dan Laila, for which he contributed to the soundtrack. Jonatan slowly restarted his music career with new styles and international influences. He released an English-language single called “Stay” in 2021 and even a French holiday song “Noël, c’est l’amour” in late 2024. These releases marked a comeback for Jonatan Cerrada’s career in music. He also returned to performing on stage in Europe, taking roles in theater productions in 2022.