Marie-Mai Bouchard (born 7 July 1984), known professionally as Marie-Mai, is a Canadian singer from Quebec. She was initially known as one of the finalists of the first season of the Quebec reality show Star Académie.
Marie-Mai Bouchard was born in Varennes, Quebec. As her father was also a musician, Marie-Mai began her interest in music in her early years when practicing piano lessons and also participated in musical theatre. Shortly, she began singing and her grandmother noticed her talent. In the following years, she would help Marie-Mai improve her singing abilities even further. At that time, her grandmother suggested to her that she audition for a new competition, Star Académie. Prior to this, in 2001, she would start to perform in shows at Montreal's Théâtre Musical in the Passion intense show.
She became a finalist in the 2003 edition, in which she was immediately noticed by her pop-rock style. She finished third behind Marie-Elaine Thibert, the runner-up of the competition and Wilfred Le Bouthillier, the eventual winner.