Sonic Sundays | Christine and the Queens
Christine and the Queens in 2015
Image | Steven Pisano , Wikimedia Commons
Christine and the Queens, a.k.a. Chris, is a French indie singer who challenges the gender binary, stereotypes, and the patriarchy through her music and onstage persona. Born Héloïse Lessitier in Nantes, France, the singer-songwriter’s whole personas—Christine and Chris—defy society’s expectations to carve her own path of what a pop star can be.
Her first album, Chaleur Humaine, was met with critical acclaim for both the French and English versions, and she headlined at Glastonbury festival in the UK in 2016. Her 2018 album, Chris, undeniably reminiscent of ‘80s pop, is the more upbeat sequel, bursting with sexual energy and heavy on danceable tunes. Her latest EP, La vita nuova, came out in 2020, featuring the single “People, I’ve been sad,” which feels like a perfect song for the feelings we’ve felt during the pandemic. La vita nuova is less brazen and slower than Chris, but just as vulnerable as her earlier work. With this latest EP, she also released a short music video with all of the songs, set in the grand Opéra Garnier in Paris. Characterized by synths and poppy melodies, but she’s able to create both sparse soundscapes and anthem-like compositions. Her music videos, too, range from simple sets in which she is alone on screen to large group productions. Dancing is almost always part of the videos, a signature contemporary, flashy style that goes perfectly with the music and lyrics.
Now, Chris identifies as both pansexual (sexual attraction to a person regardless of their gender) and genderqueer (an umbrella term denoting gender identity outside the gender binary). Her music, lyrics, and fashion style (often pantsuits or collared shirts) rejects traditional cisgender (identifying with gender assigned at birth) and heteronormative societal expectations, especially of women in the music industry. Chris smashes these expectations by embodying masculinity and femininity, blending them with ease to transcend rigid binary labels.
While some songs are in strictly French or English, many of them are in a “franglais” blend, and she branches into Spanish and Italian, too, on a whim. “Saint Claude,” from Chaleur Humaine, is a song Letissier wrote for someone who was “too different to be accepted.” “Christine” (called “Tilted” on the English version), off of the same album, describes the feeling of being out of balance. “Girlfriend” is about feeling trapped by gender roles in relationships, which don’t feel like they fit. “Comme si on s’aimait” invites the listener to embrace sensuality and, as the first track on Chris, keep that same hungry, horny energy throughout the rest of the album.
“Saint Claude”
”Christine”
“Girlfriend” (content warning: explicit)
”Comme si” (Like This)
Bonus Video: La vita nuova (content warning: strobe effect, fake blood)
