Guest of a televised news program over the weekend on TF1, Belgian artist Stromae made a comeback with his last song “Enfer” after seven years of hiatus. This time, he explored themes of suicide and mental health that blew up in France.
Mental health issues
After 7 years of absence from his musical career, the artist revealed that he has been battling mental health issues, mainly depression, leading him to think about suicide several times.
The pop star said in the interview, “People often see my songs as a mix of joyful music with darker topics, a little sadder,” he said before performing, adding, “that’s how I see life, it’s not completely white or black, there are hard times, happier moments, ups and downs – and that’s life.”
In a response to the journalist’s question about his hard times during his 7 years of absence, the artist started performing the song while sitting at the newsdesk, with the lyrics, “I’m not the only one to feel alone, that’s what comes to my head -And if I start counting, how many are we, … So Many. Suddenly, I sometimes had thoughts of suicide, and I am not very proud of it.”
“Enfer” is part of the “Multitude” Album, which involves the influence of 5 continents in terms of the rhythm instruments, including South American, African, Asian instruments, with French lyrics (Europe).
The artist said, “I wanted to mix different rhythms, using Chinese violent, harpsichord, Brazilian instruments—inspirations from everywhere, without finger-pointing a certain country, as our personality involves different characters.
The audience’s interaction
The televised news program interview totaled 7 million views, for the first time ever, said the French media.
Following the artist’s exclusive performance, the music video came out on the streaming platform Youtube a week after, totaling 10.7 million views in less than a week.
Stromae’s performance had a noticeable impact on suicide prevention in France, pushing most of the big audience to take immediate appointments with psychiatrists as well as calling 3114 (France’s national suicide prevention number) in recent days.
The psychiatrist Christophe Debien, based in Lille and specializing in suicide prevention, said Stromae’s live performance of his last release on mental health issues is “a magnificent gift,” will help save lives, by the fact that a famous artist in whom many young people identify themselves expresses his hard times and suicidal thoughts.
Additionally, the World Health Organization’s director (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed gratitude to Stromae on Twitter for highlighting mental health issues, saying, “Thank you Stromae for raising the difficult topic of suicide on your latest album, So important to reach out for help if you are struggling and to support those who need help, ”he wrote, linking with his tweet an explanatory note on how to deal with negative thoughts.
Each year, there are 9,000 deaths occurring due to suicide in France, representing three times more than the total number of deaths recorded due to road accidents.
The Western European country announced the following numbers for free, which are anonymous, and available 24/7, including 3114 (Suicide Prevention), 0145394000 (Suicide Listening), and 0972394050 (SOS Friendship) in order to prevent suicide among its population.
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