One musician I’m currently intrigued with is Christine and the Queens. And while the name may sound like a band, it is actually only Héloïse Letissier who writes and performs her material. Although I just recently became aware of her, she has been making music in her native France since 2011.
Letissier began studying theater at the prestigious École normale supérieure de Lyon before deciding to pursue music. Inspired by the fabulous drag queens she watched perform, she eventually came up with the name "Christine and the Queens" and her dynamic performances involved elements of theater, dance and song.
After releasing several EPs, her debut album, "Chaleur Humaine (Human Warmth)" was released in 2014. The album was a hit in France and Christine won the 2014 Victoires de la Musique for Best Female Artist. The record was reworked with English-language versions of the songs and released as a self-titled album the following year. This version found great success in English-speaking, European countries with it reaching number two in the U.K. and hitting the top-spot on the Irish Album chart.
Christine and the Queens' album did make it stateside and while it received some buzz, it didn't really have a major impact here. Perhaps that may change as Letissier is preparing to release her follow-up album. The first single comes in French as "Damn, dis-moi" and English as "Girlfriend" and features American musician, Dâm-Funk. In either language, it's a great funky pop tune and should bring her some serious attention here. Another single, "Doesn't Matter" has recently dropped and comes in French and English. The album, "Chris" is due out in September. Check out the music videos for these songs which features fantastic visual imagery and slick dance moves:
And as a bonus, here is Christine and the Queens on BBC Radio One performing live an interesting cover of Beyoncé's "Sorry" back in 2016. Michael Jackson was another major influence of Letissier and you can see that in her moves here:
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