Justin Timberlake may be the biggest global act performing in this year’s Mawazine festival in Morocco, but it is the Europop star Stromae dominating the billboards and local chatter.
The 29-year-old Belgian is one of the biggest stars in French speaking Africa and Europe; his concert at Rabat’s OLM Souissi stage last night was attended by over one hundred thousand people and marred the city with traffic jams for hours after.
Born in Brussels to a Rwandan father and a Flemish mother, Stromae (real name Paul Van Haver) began as a rapper in the Belgian group Suspicion before signing a record deal.
His breakthrough arrived in 2010 with his debut single Alors on danse. A breezy ode to partying, the track reportedly had admirers ranging from then French president Nicolas Sarkozy and the actor and fellow Belgian Jean-Claude Van Damme.
News of the song reached the ears of rapper and culture-vulture Kanye West who went on to collaborate with Stromae on a new Alors on danse remix.
The song paved the way for his 2010 debut album Cheese to sell well across Europe and Canada.
Stromae continued his impressive run by release his anticipated second album Racine Carrée last year.
A more polished affair, the album’s winning blend of 90s eurodance and house-established himself as one of Europe’s biggest pop-stars with the album selling big in non-francophone countries such as Germany and Italy.
Stromae’s appeal has not only been limited to Europe, the UAE also had a small taste of his talent when he performed an intimate set with Roni Size at Dubai’s Chi at the Lodge back in 2010.
He was also set to perform at the 2012 Atelier/Festival — New Year’s Eve Edition at the Meydan Racecourse before cancelling.
With his growing international appeal, and fans in high places, Stromae is a definite case of watch this space.
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sasaeed@thenational.ae
