Stormy Weather

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Lore & Background

In this episode, Aurore Beauréal is akumatized into Stormy Weather after losing the school's weather anchor contest to her rival, Chloé Bourgeois. Empowered by Hawk Moth, she gains control over the elements, unleashing tornadoes, lightning, and hailstorms across Paris. Ladybug and Cat Noir must work together to capture her akuma, which is hidden in her microphone, and restore calm to the city.

In Their Own Story

Leo Reisman's orchestra version had the biggest hit on records (with Arlen himself as vocalist), although Ethel Waters' recorded version also sold well. "Stormy Weather" was performed by Horne in the 1943 film Stormy Weather, a big, all-star show for World War II soldiers. The song has since been performed by Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Clodagh Rodgers, Reigning Sound, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, The Spaniels, Willie Hutch, Jeff Lynne, Bob Dylan and others. Notable recordings include: Ethel Waters – 1933; Duke Ellington – 1933 and another version with singer Ivie Anderson in 1940; Harold Arlen – 1933; Lena Horne recorded the song in 1941 for RCA Victor, then in 1943 for the movie Stormy Weather, and at least five times throughout her career, including for the 1957 album Stormy Weather; Billie Holiday with Lester Young and Count Basie – Broadcast Performances Vol. 2 (1955); Red Garland Trio – All Kinds of Weather (1959); Frank Sinatra – No One Cares (1959); Charles Mingus with Eric Dolphy – Mingus! (1960); Billy Eckstine – Once More with Feeling (1960); Etta James – At Last! (1961); Judy Garland – London Sessions and the Grammy Award-winning album Judy at Carnegie Hall; Mary Lou Williams – Live at the Keystone Korner (1977); Viola Wills – covered the song in 1982, peaking at #4 on the Billboard dance charts; Woody Shaw with Steve Turre – Imagination (1987); Jeff Lynne – Covered the song for his first solo album Armchair Theatre (1990); Reigning Sound – Time Bomb High School (2002) – A raucous rock cover using many of the 1933 original's lyrics to a new arrangement; Bob Dylan – Recorded his version for his third album of traditional American covers, Triplicate (2017).

Reader's Guide

The song was first performed by Ethel Waters at The Cotton Club in Harlem in 1933. That same year, the entire floor revue from the Cotton Club went on tour as the Stormy Weather Revue, with Adelaide Hall singing the song. The Comedian Harmonists released a German cover in September 1933 titled "Ohne Dich" with quite different lyrics. Lena Horne's 1941 version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000. The original handwritten lyrics, with crossings out and corrections, were appraised on Antiques Roadshow in 2011 at $50,000–$100,000. Ethel Waters' 1933 recording entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003 and the National Recording Registry in 2004. Horne's 2004 version ranked #30 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey. The Five Sharps' 1952 version is one of the rarest R&B records, with only three 78rpm copies known.

Did You Know?

• This episode was the second to air, premiering on October 19, 2015, in South Korea, after the actual series premiere, 'The Bubbler'.
• Aurore Beauréal's name is a play on 'aurora borealis', fitting her weather-themed powers.
• The episode establishes the core formula of the series: an akumatized victim, a lucky charm solution, and the iconic 'Miraculous Ladybug' cleanup.
• Stormy Weather's design and powers were inspired by classic weather-controlling villains in superhero media.