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Assane Attyé (Arabic: حسن عطية) better known by his stage name Ycare or (born 21 September 1983) is a French singer songwriter who was first known as a contestant in Nouvelle Star before launching a solo career releasing four studio albums, Au bord du monde (2009), Lumière noire (2011), La Somone (2014) and Adieu je t’aime (2018) and a live album Un tour sans fin (2016).

Attyé was born in Dakar, Senegal to Lebanese parents.^[1] Suffering an accident in his early life, he took on learning playing the guitar and wrote his own songs early on.^[2] After obtaining his high school diploma, he moved to France to continue his education and sang in various cafés in Montpellier region. Then he resided in Paris for an MBA degree and becoming a commodities trader.

Attyé took part in the casting for Nouvelle Star, in its sixth season, a music competition show in French on the M6 channel using the stage name Ycare Cavens for an opportunity to sing in front of judges André Manoukian, Lio, Sinclair and Philippe Manœuvre. The season started on 2 April 2008 and continued until 11 June 2008. His performances included:

Date	Song title	Original performer	Result
2 April 2008	“Le Chanteur”	Daniel Balavoine“	Moved to next round
9 April 2008	“Ma gueule”	Johnny Hallyday“	Bottom 2. Moved to next round
16 April 2008	“It’s Oh So Quiet“	Betty Hutton	Moved to next round
23 April 2008	“Un homme heureux”	William Sheller	Bottom 2. Moved to next round
30 April 2008	“Le vent de l’hiver”	Raphaël	Bottom 3. Moved to next round
7 May 2008	“Mistral gagnant“	Renaud	Bottom 2. Moved to next round
	“Crazy“	Gnarls Barkley
15 May 2008	“Je suis un homme”	Daniel Balavoine	Bottom 3. Moved to next round
	“Relax, Take It Easy“	Mika
22 May 2008	“Quand on arrive en ville”	Michel Polnareff	Bottom 2. Moved to next round
	“Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)“	Nancy Sinatra
28 May 2008	“Déshabillez-moi”	Juliette Gréco	Bottom 2. Eliminated. Finished 4th
	“The Show Must Go On“	Queen

Ycare was eliminated after his performances on 28 May 2008 finishing fourth for the season, with the title going to Amandine Bourgeois, and Benjamin Siksou as runner up and Cédric Oheix as third.

Immediately after Nouvelle Star, he returned to Dakar, to record some of his work at Youssou N’Dour‘s studio. Ycare gave two concerts in Dakar in front of 2000 people, followed by a show at Fnac Montparnasse (Paris 6eme arrondissement) and a concert at Glaz’art in Paris to a full house.

In 2009, a year after Nouvelle Star, he released his debut album Au bord du monde on 29 June 2009 at Jive Epic (Sony Music). It was produced by Patrice Renson and Olivier Lude, with “Alison” as the first single from the album.

On 6 June 2011, came his second album Lumière Noire with Sony, with “Lap Dance” taken from the album becoming his first charting hit single in the French charts. He is also well known for tracks “Schizophrène” and “S.E.EX” and has collaborated with Zula in “Vite fait”.

La Somone is his third album released in 2014.^[3] Two singles were released: “Pourvu que tu viennes” and “Sors”. The video for “Pourvu que tu viennes” was shot in Dakar, Senegal.

In 2015, he left his record label to become an independent artist. That same year, he released the EP Hiver 2015. He also launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance new studio recordings, supported by his fans. During this period, he toured France with acoustic guitar-and-voice performances.

In 2016, he released the EP Été and the live album Un tour sans fin, recorded during a concert at La Nouvelle Ève in Paris.

In 2018, he released songs inspired by a personal breakup. The track 14 boulevard Saint-Michel was recorded as a duet with Belgian singer Axelle Red, and he also collaborated with French singer Hoshi.

In 2019, he performed at the Bataclan in Paris, inviting several guest artists including Joyce Jonathan, Lilian Renaud, and Patrick Fiori.

In 2022, Ycare released Des millions d’années, an album of duets featuring artists such as Zaz, Amel Bent, Ibrahim Maalouf, and Tiken Jah Fakoly. The song Animaux fragiles, performed with Zaz, was one of the album’s most notable tracks.

He continued this collaborative approach with Nos Futurs in 2023, a project focused on artistic encounters following the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The album features collaborations with several French-speaking artists, including Patrick Bruel, Garou, Slimane, and Claudio Capéo.

In 2025, he released a self-titled album, Ycare, exploring themes such as love, spirituality, and personal growth. The album is structured in two parts, Ciel et Terre (“Heaven and Earth”), reflecting a contrast between spiritual elevation and grounded human experience.

It includes “Le Fou et le Roi”, a French adaptation of “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay, created with the band’s authorization after Ycare contacted Chris Martin.

In 2024, he published his first book, Tout le monde naît avec des ailes (“Everyone Is Born with Wings”), an autobiographical and poetic work about resilience, personal transformation, and emotional recovery. The text moves between sensitive prose and introspective poetry, addressing strong themes such as night, suffering, the journey toward light, and ultimately personal resilience.

The book is an invitation to reflect on the human condition, self-acceptance, and the ability to be reborn despite hardship. It suggests that, despite inner wounds, everyone has the power to rise again, symbolized by the image of the “wings” that we all carry within us.

In 2026, Ycare is scheduled to launch Sur les chemins de Vendée (“Along the Paths of Vendée”), a project combining walking and music. Over three weeks, he is expected to walk nearly 300 km across the Vendée region in western France, giving acoustic concerts in different towns along the route.

In 2016, Ycare received the Songwriter of the Year award at the 6th edition of the Prix de la Création Musicale, organized by the CSDEM (Chambre Syndicale de l’Édition Musicale, the French Music Publishers’ Association), in Paris.

In 2025, he won season 8 of the French television show Mask Singer, performing under the Rabbit costume.

In 2011, Ycare joined Collectif Paris-Africa, a group of French and French-speaking international artists brought together by UNICEF to raise funds for nutrition programs in countries affected by famine in the Horn of Africa. The collective released the single Des ricochets (“skimming stones”), referring to the scarcity of drinking water in the region, followed by the compilation album Collectif Paris-Africa pour l’UNICEF.

Ycare also participated in the charity single Les voix de l’enfant (“The Voices of the Child”) alongside numerous artists including Yannick Noah, Lorie, M. Pokora, Mélissa Nkonda, Hugues Aufray, Joyce Jonathan, Nicolas Peyrac, Sheryfa Luna, Grégoire, Jenifer, Emmanuel Moire, Mickael Miro, Anggun, Julie Zenatti, Annie Cordy, Yves Duteil, Quentin Mosimann, Lââm, and Michael Jones, among others.

The release was funded through a campaign on My Major Company and was released in 2013.

Since 2025, Ycare is a Friend of UNICEF France. Recently, he has hosted a UNICEF information stand during his concert tours in order to raise awareness of the organization’s work.

Year	Album	Peak positions
		FRA [4]	BEL (Wa) [5]
2009	Au bord du monde	21	–
2011	Lumière noire	30	–
2014	La Somone	47	74
2018	Adieu je t’aime	–	140
2022	Des millions d’années	62	93
2023	Nos futurs	–	50
2025	Ycare	25[6]	–

Year	Album
2016	Un tour sans fin

• 2015: Hiver 2015
• 2016: Été 2016

Year	Single	Peak positions		Album
		FRA [4]	BEL (Wa) [5]
2009	“Alison”	—	—	Au bord du monde
2011	“Lap Dance”	48	2*	Lumière noire
	“S.E.Ex”	—	24*
2014	“Sors”	98	30*	La Somone
2019	“D’autre que nous” (with Axelle Red)	—	14
2022	“Animaux fragiles” (with Zaz)	—	—
2023	“Origami” (with Patrick Bruel)	—	42
2025	“Dans mes bras”	—	—
2025	“Les cités de l’amour”	—	—
2025	“Un paradis”	—	—
2025	“Mon pays c’est la vie”	—	—
2025	“Dans mes bras” (with Lara Fabian)	—	—
2026	“Viens” (with Pascal Obispo)	—	—

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

• 2009: “Alison”
• 2009: “J’y crois encore”
• 2011: “Lap Dance”
• 2011: “S.E.Ex”
• 2012: “Une vie”
• 2012: “Arrête” (with Florent Mothe)
• 2013: “Pourvu que tu viennes”
• 2013: “Sors”
• 2015: “La mer à voir”
• 2016: “Love You (J’te déteste)”
• 2017: “D’autres que nous (14 Boulevard Saint-Michel)”
• 2018: “Cette moitié de nous”
• 2018: “Adieu je t’aime”
• 2018: “A qui la faute” (with Hoshi)

• Discogs.com