Stromae
Stromae's thought-provoking lyrics and danceable productions have served him well since the release of "Alors on danse" (2009). That global hit led to the equally colorful number one albums Cheese (2010) and Racine Carrée (2013), which combined influences as diverse as Jacques Brel, Cuban son, Congolese rhumba, house, and hip-hop, as well as the late-'80s new beat sound of the artist's native Belgium. The vocalist, songwriter, and producer has used his platform to write about topics such as AIDS, cancer, and absent fathers, and he has capitalized upon international success to collaborate with the likes of Kanye West and Lorde. Known for his clean-cut look and trademark bow tie, Stromae has approached music and fashion as indivisible creative forms, exemplified by "Défiler" (2018) and "Santé" (2021), two of his several Belgian Top Ten pop hits. The latter single was featured on Multitude (2022), his third chart-topping album.
Born Paul Van Haver in Brussels on March 12, 1985, Stromae was raised by his Belgian mother. His father, a native of Rwanda, was killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Stromae developed an interest in music at an early age. When he was 11, he became a student at L'Académie Musicale de Jette, and started playing the drums. In 2005 he took up rap music, and after briefly performing as Opmaestro, he took the stage name Stromae (an anagram for "Maestro") and launched a short-lived hip-hop combo named Suspicion.
By 2007, Stromae was back to working as a solo act, and he recorded his first single, "Juste un Cerveau, un Flow, un Fond et un Mic...." It was in 2009 that he got his big break -- while working at a Belgian radio station, he created the song "Alors on dance" using his home-recording setup, and the manager of the station was impressed enough with it to play it on air. Response from listeners was enthusiastic, and Stromae struck a deal with PolyGram. "Alors on dance" became a number one hit in Belgium, and went on to repeat that success in over a dozen countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, and Denmark.
As "Alors on dance" climbed the charts across Europe and Stromae's videos became a sensation on YouTube, he released his first album, Cheese, in 2010. In August of that year, after the record had topped the Belgian chart, his career got a major boost in the United States when Kanye West collaborated with him on a remix of "Alors on dance." Stromae's follow-up, Racine Carrée, appeared in August 2013. Distinguished by his integration of African and Caribbean influences, and lyrics regarding disease, discrimination, and absentee fathers, the album was an immediate success in Belgium and France, spending virtually the rest of the year at number one in each country. Ultimately, Racine Carrée went platinum eight times in Belgium and sold over 1.5 million copies in Europe. That November, Stromae won the Best Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.
Racine Carrée's success continued into 2014. The song "Ta Fête" became the official song for Belgium's national football team at that year's World Cup, and Stromae made his U.S. debut that June, performing his first live dates as well as appearing on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers. He also appeared on the Lorde-curated soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1 on "Meltdown," a track featuring Pusha T, Q-Tip, HAIM, and Lorde. He continued to play live in 2015, performing at festivals such as SXSW, Coachella, and Lollapalooza, and embarked on an African tour. During the next few years, Stromae released a handful of singles highlighted by the compelling nine-minute ballad "Défiler." Issued in 2018 as the soundtrack for a fashion show dedicated to his Mosaert clothing brand, the song became his seventh Belgian Top Ten pop hit. "Santé," a preview of his next album, arrived in October 2021, topping the Belgian charts and cracking the Top 20 of Billboard's Hot Dance and Electronic Songs chart. The travel-inspired parent album Multitude became Stromae's third straight number one LP upon its release in March 2022.
© Mark Deming & Andy Kellman /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
21 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Multitude
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Mar 3, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alors On Danse
Dance - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Dec 22, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cheese
French Music - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Jan 1, 2010
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Multitude
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Mar 3, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alors On Danse (Louis Testa Remix)
Electronic - Released by Louis Testa on Feb 18, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Racine Carrée (Standard US Version)
French Music - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Jan 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mon amour
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Jul 27, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santé
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Oct 15, 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Papaoutai
French Music - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Jan 1, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alors On Danse (DubDogz Remix)
Dance - Released by Musical Freedom on May 3, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Santé
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Oct 15, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Up Saw Liz
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L’enfer
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Jan 9, 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Multitude
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Mar 3, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L’enfer
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Jan 9, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cheese
Dance - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Jan 1, 2010
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alors On Danse (Remix - Explicit)
Pop - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Dec 22, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Up Saw Liz (Remix)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Universal Music Distributed Labels on Jan 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Multitude
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Mar 3, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mon amour
French Music - Released by Universal Music Division Carthage Music on Jul 27, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -