Born in Tokyo to a Korean father and a French mother, Jean-Michel Kim grew up in Japan. He came to France at the age of nineteen to continue his studies at the CNSMD in Paris, where he obtained a master's degree in piano, chamber music and vocal accompaniment. He was assistant professor of singing at the same institution for five years.

Jean-Michel has been nominated for the International Garman Piano Award (2023). He was awarded 1st prize at the 11th Lagny International Piano Competition (2017), the piano prize at the 9th Concours d'interprétation de la Mélodie française de Toulouse (2017) and the Pro Musicis prize (2019). In France, he performs at festivals such as Piano aux Jacobins, Nancyphonies, Musique de La Prée, Festival Chopin à Paris, Piano en Valois and Piano en Saintonge. In Japan, he plays regularly in major concert halls: Toppan Hall, Yamaha Hall, Dai-Ichi Seimei Hall and Opera city Hall. As a chamber musician, he is appreciated by musicians including pianist Haruko Ueda, violinist Mie Kobayashi and clarinettist Seiji Yokokawa.

Since 2010, he has formed a duo with violinist Keisuke Tsushima. The duo was awarded the Prix Sacem at the 10th Lyon International Chamber Music Competition in 2014 and was a laureate of the Fondation Banque Populaire. Their first CD "Recital at Opera city Hall" was acclaimed by Japanese critics.

Jean-Michel Kim released his first solo CD with Passavant in 2021.

Following recent engagements as Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the Staatstheater Kassel, Judith (adaptation of Le Château de Barbe-Bleue by Bartók) at the Opéra de Lille, and Lazuli (L’Étoile by Chabrier) on tour with Opera Zuid, Brenda Poupard performs this season as Yniold (Pelléas et Mélisande) at the Opéra de Lausanne and Bertha (La Vie parisienne) at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. She also sings Monteverdi’s Vêpres with Ensemble La Tempête at the Philharmonie de Paris and on European tour, appears in Momo l’enfant pêche on tour with the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and gives a piano recital at the Opéra de Lille.

A member of the Opéra-Studio of the Opéra National du Rhin from 2021 to 2023 and a graduate with a Master’s degree in voice from the Conservatoire national supérieur de Musique et Danse de Paris in 2019, Brenda Poupard quickly drew attention for both her stage presence and her flexible voice, supported by solid vocal technique.

In 2017, she was awarded at the Concours international de mélodie française de Toulouse alongside pianist Jean-Michel Kim, then joined the 2019 Académie de chant of the Festival international d’Aix-en-Provence, where she sang under the direction of Raphaël Pichon and received guidance from Edith Wiens and Marcelo Amaral. In 2020, she won Second Prize at the Concours international de Chant Baroque de Froville, was named “Révélation Classique 2021” by ADAMI, became a laureate of the Académie de Lied et Mélodie d’Orsay-Royaumont (2022–2023), and in 2024 was awarded Third Prize at the baroque opera competition “Cesti” in Innsbruck.

After completing her studies, she undertook a tour of French mélodie recitals in Japan with Jean-Michel Kim (with whom she later recorded her first duo CD, Ivresse de l’Aube, for the Klarthe label), performed the role of Iris (Coronis by Sebastián Durón) at the Théâtre de Caen and later at the Opéras de Limoges and Rouen with Le Poème Harmonique conducted by Vincent Dumestre, and took part with the same ensemble in the DVD recording of Cadmus et Hermione by Lully (roles of L’Amour and Palès) and the CD recording of Coronis (role of Iris).

She subsequently performed the title role in L’Enfant et les sortilèges at the Opéras d’Avignon and Tours as well as with the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, Oreste (La Belle Hélène) at the Opéra de Toulon, Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) at La Seine Musicale, Simotchka (Le Premier Cercle by Gilbert Amy) at the Opéra de Massy, and Iris (Coronis) again at the Teatro Real de Madrid. As part of the Opéra-Studio of the Opéra National du Rhin, she performed Angelina in a French adaptation of La Cenerentola by Rossini, Orphée in an adaptation of Orphée et Eurydice by Gluck, L’Enfant (L’Enfant et les sortilèges), Paquette (Candide), and La Cigogne (Les Rêveurs de la lune by Howard Moody).

In concert, she has performed with the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire, Le Poème Harmonique, Ensemble La Tempête, as well as with her recital partners, pianists Anne Louise Bourion and Jean-Michel Kim.

Brenda Poupard has been represented by RSBA since 2019.