Gérald De Palmas (born Gérald Gardrinier) is a French singer. At the age of 10, De Palmas' family left Réunion, to live in Aix-en-Provence, France. At the age of 13, he discovered ska music, and became a fan of the UK band The Specials. Then he met Étienne Daho and formed a group called Les Max Valentins. But De Palmas was uncomfortable with this group, and went solo. After 7 years of writing and singing solo, Da Palmas won a talent contest on the French M6 TV network. In 1994, he released his first album La dernière Année (The Last .