The francophonie in music

You're bound to be familiar with her stage name, which refers to one of the characters in the TV series Heroes. In terms of success, recognition and influence, Aya Nakamura has been one of the biggest stars of French chanson for several years now.

Video game publishers collaborate with her, and international stars such as Madonna, Rihanna and Alicia Keys hum her songs...

The young woman has the whole world dancing to lyrics largely influenced by the slang of the Paris suburbs where she grew up. She has also popularized Ivorian slang words such as djo (guy, lad) in "Copines" and tchouffer (Screw up) in "Djadja".

The blending of cultures and languages is also one of the hallmarks of the work of Stromae, another successful ambassador for the French language. The visual inventiveness of his work, the cruel poetry of his lyrics and the haunting rhythms of his compositions have made the Belgian artist a profoundly original figure on the French-speaking music scene.

Theinventor of catchphrases ("Solassitude"...), imaginative titles ("Papaoutai"...) or the hijacker of expressions and proverbs ("Malgré toutes ces bouteilles de rhum, tous les chemins mènent à la dignité" in "Ave Cesaria"), Stromae is the contemporary representative of a lively French-language music scene ready for any kind of experimentation.

Despite her "Cerveau ramolli" and her sad life ("J'ai pas d'chien, j'ai pas d'chat, j'ai pas d'char, j'ai pas d'chum"), Lisa LeBlanc has been bringing the colors of inventive, zany French chanson to the world for over ten years.

Her work, which features a variety of Acadian French called "chiac", perpetuates an ever-creative Canadian tradition, multicultural by nature, but deeply attached to its francophone identity.

As you can see, the French-speaking musical landscape has changed a great deal since Maurice Chevalier seduced America with his "titi parisien" accent in the 30s.

With Aya Nakamura, Stromae and Lisa Leblanc - not forgetting the electropop of Christine and the Queens, or Angèle's "Brol" and "Nonante-Cinq" albums - a contemporary, rhythmic, crossbred French has reached many non-French-speaking audiences.

Did this article make your mouth water? You'll be able to discover other Francophone songwriters and songs thanks to the "En chanson" program at the future Cité internationale de la langue française.