Private paradise for Villeneuve

Jacques has revealed how his debut music album, Private Paradise, really is his private paradise. Speaking at the album's launch at his Newtown bar in Montreal, during which he performed two songs on a specially-constructed stage, Jacques confirmed that music, for the moment at least, remains secondary to his 'day job' of racing.

"Right now when I think career I still think racing. Music is what I call my professional hobby. It has to be fun, it has to remain fun," Villeneuve insisted.

However, having made the decision to release the album, Jacques is understandably anxious that it receives a favorable impression from listeners.

"The first thing was to get to the studio, with a group of friends and see how it would sound professionally recorded, then to get it out. Obviously when that happens you want people to respond positively to it and for it to be successful. Nobody wants to do something like this and for it just to get blasted," the French/Canadian admitted.

Nonetheless, it was clear that Jacques relished the opportunity to record his own songs without any outside influence.

"The album is a 'private paradise'," he revealed, "which is why we picked that track as the title of the album. The whole thing is something I wanted to do for myself. It's my private paradise, nobody has told me what to do, to sing this song, use that singer. It's really how I wanted it to be, with my friends and so on."