Stromae captivates with fun, free-flowing concert

Though all of his songs are sung completely in French, one word that is making its way into the American English vocabulary is “Stromae.”  Stromae, the Belgian hip-hop sensation who gained most of his popularity in Europe, brought his sold-out U.S. tour to the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on Oct. 4 and 5.

Stromae, a singer, songwriter and composer, left the audience transfixed and excited for the full two-hour show of his electronic dance beats and showmanship. Stromae proved he is far more than just a singer and a composer — he is an entertainer. With each new song he performed he became a new character, often undergoing a wardrobe change in the process.

For example, when performing his hit, “Tous les mêmes,” which in English translates to “All the same,” Stromae applied make-up and jewelry to one side of himself, and integrated dance moves into his choreography that demonstrated both feminine and masculine demeanors. During his encore performance of “Papaoutai,” which roughly translates to “Dad, where are you?” a song about the difficulty in defining parenthood and how everyone ends up like their parents, Stromae was carried onto the stage, dressed as a doll and performed some of his most impressive dancing of the evening. In “Formidable,” which translates to “Wonderful” and is a song about the effects of loneliness and the absence of relationships, Stromae stumbled onto the stage with his hair askew and shirt wrinkled. Throughout the song he acted as if he were inebriated and eventually after the last note of the song, began violently coughing and collapsed onto the stage as his fellow musicians had to drag him off the stage only to return for the next song in his bow tie and boyish grin. Each song he performed had its own individual story and was a unique experience.

With the changing of his appearance after each song also came the change of the sets. Though each set had interesting designs and colors and lights throughout, the one recurring theme was the use of shadows. Stromae, with his very distinct tall, gangly frame, along with the four musicians that joined him onstage dressed in bowler hats and bow ties, made interesting and distinct shadows on the various backdrops throughout the show.

The set began with “Ta fête,” a song that was selected as the official anthem of the Belgian soccer team for the 2014 World Cup. He mostly played songs from his most recent album, Racine Carrée, which translates to “Square Root,” but included the biggest hits off of his last album including “Alors on danse” and “Peace or Violence.” Throughout the show, aside from the singing and dancing, Stromae also played various instruments: including the keyboard and the drums.

The highlight of the show came at the very end during the second encore.  He set down his microphone, called the other four musicians out from behind their instruments, and told the audience to be completely silent. Though Stromae had already performed the crowd pleaser “Tous les mêmes,” with its infectious electronic dance beat and catchy tune earlier in his set, he and the other four musicians began singing the tune again completely a capella. They had no instruments, no props, no backdrops and no theatrics and it was still just as good, if not better, than the rest of the set. It was almost Stromae’s way of showing that yes, he is an entertainer and a dancer, but if you strip that away, he is, first and foremost, a singer and a songwriter. Stromae has a vocal range that is uncommon of artists in the rap and hip-hop genres.

Building his fame on singing songs only in French created an interesting problem for Stromae in catering to both English and French speakers, and he handled it like a pro. There were no tedious translations of every interaction he had with the crowd, but instead he would seamlessly transition from French to English and back again, making everyone in the room feel part of the show.  One of the most incredible parts about the show was the audience Stromae attracted. There were children in elementary school standing next to couples in their fifties and sixties standing next to college students. Not everyone spoke the same language, but everyone understood Stromae’s message and appreciated his art.

Though Stromae’s music dabbles in the hip-hop, rap and electronic genres, unlike most of his counterparts, he does not put forth messages about drug use, partying or promiscuity, but instead tackles social issues in an eloquent and relatable way. He is able to communicate these ideas about things including war, paternity and gender through his songs, movement and the spectacle he creates in order to make them understandable and relevant.