Stromae is the biggest musical surprise that Belgium has ever produced and by far, he’s their biggest star. With “Formidable”, he conquered the world, but anyone can tell there are many sides to Paul van Haver, Stromae’s real name. He’s artistic talent goes far beyond singing and writing songs. He often shows off his dance moves and his fashion ideas.
Over the weekend, Stromae announced his retirement from the music scene. In an interview, he said his focus will fully be directed to fashion instead. His already existing record label, Mosaert, also has a fashion division and this is what he would like to extend in collaboration with his wife. They are already known for jackets and sweaters, which they now plan to export to Japan. His fans should not expect any new music any time soon.
This is most certainly a huge shock for many of his fans, worldwide, who’ve been patiently awaiting new music. As definite as the interview sounded, keep in mind, that he still has a music label and at some point I’m positive he will pick that up again. But for now, it is a loss of a lot of originality to the music business.
Stromae’s success has always amazed me. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but we always assume that when you perform in your native tongue, you are limiting yourself in your potential success. This is the reason why many artists prefer to sing in English and even work on sounding as international as possible, getting rid of their accent. And here’s a guy taking over the world singing in French.
There’s a performance of his on YouTube somewhere, performing his song, “Formidable”, on a New York City rooftop for an American breakfast TV show. I think this was the moment I realized how far he had made it. Not just for the pun of “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere”, but for the fact that NYC was pretty much the last place that hadn’t caught on yet. Not bad for someone singing in French. I didn’t really get the impression that French is a very present language in the United States (unlike Spanish for instance).
As I said, I think there will be a time, when we see his return, but for now, he’s definitely a loss for music and perhaps a great addition in the fashion business. I’m staying tuned.
