at 15:33 on July 2, 2007, EDT.

MONTREAL (CP) - He's sold 1.7 million albums in French but now Quebec singer Corneille says he is looking to tap a new group of listeners from around the world with the launch of his first English language album.

"The Birth of Cornelius" hits stores on Tuesday and is the third album for the German-born, Rwandan-raised singer-songwriter.

Corneille, 30, says singing in English will allow a completely new crowd to enjoy his work.

The album includes 12 songs that look at themes of love, happiness and sorrow. For the first time, Corneille looks through his music at a tragic time of his life growing up in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

Corneille was the only member of his family to survive while his parents and other family members were killed. An orphan at 17, Corneille arrived in Montreal after living a short time in Germany.

"I've been through a lot and I've just started to truly and honestly learn from it and look at it for what it was, and learn some of the best lessons in life that anyone could ever learn," Corneille said in an interview with The Canadian Press.


©The Canadian Press, 2007

He better change his name first