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Stromae Paul Van Haver (born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae [stʁɔmaj], is a Belgian musician, singer, rapper and songwriter. Stromae was born to a Rwandan father, Pierre Rutare, and a Belgian mother, Miranda Marie Van Haver. He is originally from Laeken, in Brussels.[1] He established himself in both the hip hop and electronic music genres. Stromae came to wide public attention in 2009 with his song "Alors on danse", which became a number one in several European countries. In 2013, his second album Racine Carrée was a commercial success, selling 2 million copies in France[citation needed] alone and nearly 600,000 units elsewhere.[citation needed]

Paul Van Haver (født 12. marts 1985), bedre kendt ved hans kunstnernavn, Stromae [stʁɔmaj], er en belgisk musiker, sanger, rapper og sangskriver. Stromae blev født til en Rwandisk far, Pierre Rutare, og en belgisk mor, Miranda Marie Van Haver. Han er originalt fra Laeken, i Bruxelles. Han etablerede sig selv i både hip hop og elektronisk musik. Stromae fik stor offentlig opmærksomhed i 2009 med hans sang ”Alors on danse”, som blev nummer et i adskillelige Europæiske lande. I 2013, udkom hans andet album ”Racine Carrée, som blev en stor kommerciel succes, med 2 millioner solgte kopier i Frankrig alene, og næsten 600.000 kopier i andre lande.

Early life[edit] Stromae was born in Belgium to a Rwandan father and a Flemish mother.[2] His father, a successful Rwandan architect, was killed during the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.[2] His mother raised him and his four siblings in Brussels, and later in a nearby suburb. She encouraged each of her children to play a sport and an instrument. Stromae studied percussion. His mother placed him in a Roman Catholic Jesuit school after he failed in the public school system at the age of sixteen.[2] He formed a small rap group with friends while still in school. His early influences included Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, Cuban son, and Congolese rumba.[3] He did not always feel that he was from Belgium, even though he was raised as a Belgian. He always saw himself more connected to his Rwandan side; some believe that is the source of his talent. This "outsider" image became part of his appeal.[2]

Stromae blev født i Belgien til en Rwandisk far, og en flamsk mor. Hans far, en succesfuld Rwandisk arkitekt, blev dræbt under Folkedrabet i Rwanda i 1994. Hans mor opdragede ham og hans 4 søskende i Bruxelles, og senere i en nærliggende forstad. Hun opmuntrede hvert barn til at spille en sport og et instrument. Stromae valgte slagtøj. Hans mor placerede ham i en romersk katolsk jesuitisk skole, efter han dumpede i den offentlige skole, som 16-årig. Han dannede en lille rap gruppe med sine venner, mens han stadig gik i skole. Hans tidlige indflydelse inkluderede den belgiske singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, musik- og dansegenren Cuban Son, og musikgenren Congolese Rumba. Stromae følte ikke altid at han var fra Belgien, alligevel når han var født og opvokset der. Han følte sig mere forbundet til han Rwandiske side; flere tror det er kilden til Stromaes talent.

Musical career[edit] 2000–07: Early career[edit] In 2000 he appeared as a rapper called Opsmaestro, though he later changed his stage name to "Stromae", which is "Maestro" with the syllables reversed in a French vernacular practice called verlan.[2] At the age of 18, he founded a rap group called "Suspicion", along with rapper "J.E.D.I." in Eichof. They produced the song and music video "Faut que t'arrête le Rap..." before J.E.D.I. decided to leave the rap duo. In order to finance his private school education, Van Haver worked part-time in the hospitality industry, but his academic performance wasn't up to standard.[citation needed] It was only later, when he registered at the Institut national de radioélectricité et cinématographie, that he released his first album "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic...".[citation needed]

I år 2000 optrådte Stromae som en rapper, med navnet Opsmaestro. Dog skiftede han senere sit kunstnernavn til ”Stromae”, som betyder ”Maestro (mester)” med stavningerne vendt om i en Fransk folkelig skik, kaldt verlan. Som 18-årig, dannede han en rap gruppe, med navnet ”Suspicion”, sammen med rapperen ”J.E.D.I.” i byen Eichof. De producerede sammen sangen og musikvideoen ”Faut que t’arrête le Rap…”, før J.E.D.I. valgte at forlade rap duetten. for at finansiere hans private skoleundervisning, arbejde Stromae deltid i hospitalsbranchen, men hans akademiske bedrifter var ikke gode nok. Det var først senere, da Stromae kom ind på ”Institut national de radioélectricité et cinématographie”, at han udgav sit første album ”Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…”.

2007–08: Debut EP and record career[edit] In 2007 during his studies at the film school of Brussels, Stromae decided to concentrate fully on his musical career. This resulted in his debut-EP "Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…". In 2008 he signed a 4-year record deal with "Because Music" and "Kilomaître".[citation needed]

I 2007 under hans studier på filmskolen i Bruxelles, valgte Stromae udelukkende at fokusere på sin musikkarriere. Dette resulterede i hans deput-EP ”Juste un cerveau, un flow, un fond et un mic…”. i 2008 underskrev Stromae en 4-årig pladekontrakt med ”Because Music” og ”Kilomaître”.

2009–12: Breakthrough and international success[edit] In 2008 Stromae worked as a young trainee at the music radio station NRJ in Brussels. Vincent Verbelen, Music Manager, was impressed by the talent he perceived in Stromae's first single "Alors on danse" and decided to air it for the first time on NRJ. The response from listeners (including influential personalities ranging from Anna Wintour and Jean-Claude Van Damme, to the then-president of France Nicolas Sarkozy)[citation needed] was one of extreme enthusiasm and Stromae came to wider public attention. In a few weeks from that point, sales of the song established it as number one in Belgium.[citation needed] Vertigo Records, a label of Mercury Records France (Universal Music Group), signed him for a worldwide licensing deal soon after this.[citation needed]

I 2008 arbejdede Stromae som praktikant, hos radiokanalen NRJ I Bruxelles. Vincent Verbelen, musikleder for kanalen, var imponeret over Stromaes første single ”Alors on danse”, og valgte at afspille den for første gang på NRJ. Reaktionen fra lytterne, inklusive mange kendte personer fra Anna Wintour og Jean-Claude Van Damme til den daværende franske præsident Nicolas Sarkozy, elskede den, og Stromae fik hurtig stor opmærksomhed rundt om i verden. Efter ikke mere end et par uger, nåede single førstepladsen, som den mest solgte sang i Belgien. Vertigo Records, en afdeling fra Mercury Records France, skrev efter opnåelsen, en kontrakt med Stromae, om at udgive Single globalt.

By May 2010 the track "Alors on danse" had reached number one in Belgium, France, Sweden, Greece, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Romania and the Czech Republic.[citation needed] On 2 September, Stromae collaborated with Kanye West in a remix of his hit "Alors on danse".[4] In 2010, he was nominated for Best Dutch and Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.[citation needed]

“Alors on danse” var i maj 2010, single nummer et, i Belgien, Frankrig, Sverige, Grækenland, Tyskland, Østrig, Tyrkiet, Schweiz, Italien, Danmark, Rumænien og Tjekkiet. 4 måneder efter, begyndte Stromae et samarbejde med Kanye West om en remix af hittet, og i november 2010 blev Stromae nomineret til ”Best Dutch and Belgian Act” ved MTV Europe Music Awards.

Of his music and influences, he has said: "I was in a little group doing rap music. I thought that rather than copying the French sound, I'd focus on a more American style but give it a European spin. And then I rediscovered 90s Eurodance. For a long time we were ashamed of that sound but in fact there's a lot to discover. It has its roots in everything from house to salsa. I also really admire Jacques Brel – he has been a huge influence on me – but also all sorts of other stuff, Cuban son, and the Congolese rumba, that I heard as a child; that music rocked the whole of Africa." Also, Stromae insists he wanted to collaborate with up and coming rap group Swag+5 featuring rapper T-Jay. In the end, the collaboration did not take place, but Stromae is a big fan of the America-based group.[5]

Stromae sagde i et interview: Jeg var i en lille gruppe, som lavede rapmusik. Jeg tænkte at i stedet for at kopiere den Franske lyd, ville jeg fokusere mere på den amerikanske stil, men dog give det et europæisk twist. Det var her, jeg

The critic Molloy Woodcraft : "He combines 90s electro synths and beats with a laidback delivery to mesmeric effect".[citation needed] He is one of the ten winners of the European Border Breakers Award 2011. On 9 February 2011, his debut album Cheese (including the hit single "Alors on danse") won the award for Best Dance Album at the Victoires de la musique.[citation needed] On 23 May 2011, during the recording of the French TV show Taratata, Stromae did a mashup of "Alors on danse" and "Don't Stop the Party" with the Black Eyed Peas. Stromae also announced he would perform as opening support act for the first of two concerts by the band in Paris on 24 and 25 June 2011 at Stade De France.[6] Stromae had previously met will.i.am at the NRJ Music Awards in January. will.i.am told him that he liked "Alors on danse" and said he wanted to collaborate with Stromae.[citation needed] In 2011, he received one nomination for Best Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.[7] 2013–present: Racine Carrée[edit] The first single "Papaoutai" from his second album Racine Carrée (English: Square root) was digitally released on 13 May 2013. It went on to chart number 1 in Belgium and France, number 2 in the Netherlands, as well as number 7 in Germany and Switzerland.[citation needed] On 22 May 2013, amateur-looking videos appeared on YouTube showing Stromae, apparently drunk and wandering at the Louiza tram station in Brussels at dawn.[8] The videos went viral. A few days later, it was revealed that this was linked with the filming of a professional music video. This was confirmed during an appearance by Stromae on the French TV show Ce soir ou jamais in which he discussed and also performed his new single "Formidable", which is about the story of a drunk man just separated from his girlfriend. The clip was made from edited hidden camera footage taken on 22 May. It also shows people taking pictures with their cellphones, people who are clearly irritated by his drunk actions, people helping him stand up, and three policemen asking if the artist is ok or if he needs some help.[9][10] The policemen also got some critiques for not acting against the drunk Stromae; however, they later declared that the entire story was not shown. The part where they returned and Stromae had to explain his case was not broadcast.[11] On 26 July 2013, Stromae announced on his Facebook[12] and Twitter[13] accounts that he had completed his second studio album Racine Carrée or √ and that it would be released on 16 August 2013. On 25 August 2013, Stromae joined Major Lazer's show at French festival Rock en Seine, where he performed Papaoutai. In September 2013, Belgian rock band Mintzkov covered his song "Formidable/Wonderful" for a live session on Studio Brussel, with lyrics in English. In November 2013, Stromae received the award for Best Belgian Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards.[14][15] On 17 March 2014, it was made public that Stromae's song "Ta fête" would become the official song for the Belgian national football team at the 2014 World Cup.[16] In June 2014, in support of Racine Carrée, Stromae made his US television debut on NBC's Late Night with Seth Meyers.[17] He then embarked on a tour across the United States and performed at the Best Buy Theater in New York City.[18][19] While in New York, on 22 June 2014, Stromae guest starred in a Snapchat story with Jerome Jarre as The Carrot's Father.[20] On 21 October 2014, it was revealed that New Zealand singer Lorde invited Stromae to work on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 along with artists like Kanye West, Grace Jones, Diplo and The Chemical Brothers.[21] He contributed to the song "Meltdown" which also features Pusha T, Q-Tip, Haim and Lorde herself.[22] Earlier that month she declared herself a fan of Stromae after attending his concert.[23] In March 2015, Stromae released a music video for the song "Carmen", which was directed by Sylvain Chomet. The video warns people against the addiction of social websites such as Twitter.[24] Stromae continued touring the United States, performing in March 2015 in several places among which the SXSW in Austin, Texas.[25] He was also among the line-up of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.[26][27] He then began a tour in Africa on 13 May. However, in mid-June Stromae was forced to cancel the remaining of his shows until 2 August for health reasons.[28] He performed at the Madison Square Garden in October.[29] On 14 September 2015, Stromae released a single "Quand c'est?", a song about cancer, which plays on the fact that "Quand c'est?" (When is it?) and "cancer" are phonetically similar in French.[30] By the end of 2015, the album became the first in over a decade to reach 2 million sales in France.[citation needed] Fashion label[edit] Stromae is known for his distinctive physique and clothing style. He has used this image in launching a limited fashion line, Mosaert (an anagram of his stage name). The collection features bright colors and geometric patterns, and has been described as "hipster" and "retro kitsch". Stromae has said that he wanted to "create a bridge between British style and African aesthetic."[31] The first collection was a success, with stocks almost sold out after three days.[32] The second collection, Capsule No. 2, was released at Colette in Paris on 3 December 2014, and features the square root design on each item in different colors.[33][34] Personal life[edit] On 12 December 2015, Van Haver was married to Coralie Barbier by well-known Catholic Priest Guy Gilbert, in a private ceremony held in Mechelen.[35]