Angèle Joséphine Aimée van Laeken (, ; born 3 December 1995), known simply as Angèle, is a Belgian singer and songwriter. She was one of 2018's biggest breakout acts in French and Belgian pop music, breaking

Stromae Paul Van Haver (; born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae (), is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his music, which is a blend of hip-hop and electronic music styles. Stromae came ...

's record for weeks at the top of the Belgian singles charts with her 2018 single " Tout oublier" which features her brother,

Roméo Elvis Roméo Johnny Elvis Kiki van Laeken (; born 13 December 1992), better known by his stage name Roméo Elvis (), is a Francophone Belgians, Belgian Rapping, rapper and record producer. His career began with the release of two Extended play, EPs ...

Early life

Van Laeken was born on 3 December 1995, in

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

Brussels-Capital Region Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital ...

, the daughter of singer Marka and actress . Her brother is the rapper

. Her father encouraged her from an early age to learn the piano, which inspired her musical career. Angèle spent a difficult adolescence in a strict Catholic school before attending the Decroly School. The artistic options at this high school helped develop her musical skills. She then enrolled in the Jazz Studio Antwerp for a jazz education before joining her father's band.

Career

2015–2017: Career beginnings

Angèle gave her first performances in streets around

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, most notably at the restaurant Le Delecta, in

Ixelles (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located to the south-east of Pentagon (Brussels), Brusse ...

, now closed. She was first noticed for her cover of

Dick Annegarn Dick Annegarn (born in The Hague, 9 May 1952) is a Dutch rock singer-songwriter who sings mostly in French, and occasionally in Dutch and English. Discography Albums * '' Sacré Géranium'' (1974) * ''Dicks'' (1974) * ''Je te vois'' (1974) * '' ...

, "Bruxelles", and on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

videos where she mixed singing and comedy. In 2017, she was the support act for

Ibeyi Ibeyi is a French musical duo consisting of twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz. The duo sings in English, French, Spanish and Yoruba, In Yoruba, Ibeyi (''Ìbejì'') means "twins". Their music has elements of Yoruba, French and Af ...

and the Belgian rapper

Damso William Kalubi Mwamba (born 10 May 1992 in Kinshasa), better known by his stage name Damso (), is a Belgian- Congolese rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is popular in France, where all of his albums have been certified at least platinum. Early ...

, whom she also accompanied in his album Lithopédion. Her first single, "La Loi de Murphy", was released in late 2017 and received millions of views on YouTube.

2018–2020: ''Brol''

A second single "Je veux tes yeux" was released in early 2018. The two video clips were directed by the Belgian photographer Charlotte Abramow. In May 2018 she performed her first Parisian concert at the Trianon accompanied by

MC Solaar Claude Honoré M'Barali (; born 5 March 1969), professionally known as MC Solaar (), is a French rapping, rapper of Senegalese people, Senegalese and Chadian people, Chadian origin. He is one of France's most famous and influential hip hop musi ...

on her cover of his song "Victime de la mode". She performed in several summer festivals in Belgium, France and Switzerland such as

Les Ardentes Les Ardentes () or Ardentes are a Belgium, Belgian multi-day electro music, electro-rock music, rock music festival which yearly takes place in Liège, in early July. The last edition of the event took place in the district of Rocourt. Les Arden ...

, Dour, Garorock, and

Rock Werchter Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiva ...

. In 2018, Angèle released her third single, "La Thune". In August 2018 she announced the tracklist of her first album ''Brol'' on the Initial label. The album was released on 5 October 2018, the same day as her single duet with her brother, Roméo Elvis. This album was successful and resulted in Angèle invitation to perform on various French TV shows. The single, "Tout oublier", spent nine weeks at number 1 on the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created in 1995 on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organiz ...

charts, breaking the record for a Belgian artist formerly set by

. In 2019 Angèle became one of the most sought for artists in France and Belgium and affirmed her feminism with the song "Balance ton quoi" in reference to the French #

metoo #MeToo is a social movement and awareness campaign against sexual abuse, sexual harassment and rape culture, in which women publicize their experiences of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. The phrase "Me Too" was initially used in this con ...

movement, Balance ton porc.

Pierre Niney Pierre Niney (; born 13 March 1989) is a French actor. He made his acting debut in the two-part miniseries ''La dame d'Izieu'' in 2007, followed by films such as '' LOL (Laughing Out Loud)'' (2008), '' The Army of Crime'' (2009), '' Romantics Ano ...

makes an appearance in the video alongside some of Angèle's friends to talk about struggles her female friends have encountered with men. Angèle became an ambassador for

Chanel Chanel ( , ) is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1910 by Coco Chanel in Paris. It is privately owned by French brothers, Alain and Gérard Wertheimer, through the holding company Chanel Limited, established in 2018 and headquarte ...

afterwards. In April 2020 Angèle performed for '' One World: Together At Home'', a global broadcast and digital special to support front-line healthcare workers and the

WHO The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and has 6 regional offices and 15 ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, hosted by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

. In October 2020, Angèle was pictured alongside London singer

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

on the set of a music video. A collaboration with the latter was later announced and would feature on the reissue of Lipa's new album

Future Nostalgia ''Future Nostalgia'' is the second studio album by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 27 March 2020 by Warner Records. Lipa enlisted writers and producers including Jeff Bhasker, Ian Kirkpatrick, Stuart Price, the Mon ...

. "

Fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

" was released on 30 October 2020. The music video was released a week later on 6 November 2020 on YouTube. Before the release of the video, Lipa announced on social media that Angèle will be appearing as a special guest on her live stream concert Studio 2054 on 27 November 2020.

2021–2024: ''Nonante-Cinq''

In 2021 Angèle made her film debut in '' Annette'', directed by

Leos Carax Alex Christophe Dupont (born 1960), best known as Leos Carax (), is a French film director, critic and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was ''Boy Meets Girl (1984 film), Boy Me ...

. Her second studio album, '' Nonante-Cinq'' was released on 3 December 2021, her 26th birthday. In 2022 Angèle featured in "Sunflower" from Tamino Amir's second album, ''Sahar''.

2024 Paris Olympics

In 2024 Angèle performed " Nightcall" alongside

Kavinsky Vincent Belorgey (born 31 July 1975), known professionally as Kavinsky, is a French musician, producer, DJ, and actor. His production style is reminiscent of the electropop film soundtracks of the 1980s. Kavinsky claims that his music is inspire ...

and Phoenix as part of the Paris Olympics closing ceremony. As a result, Nightcall became the most searched-for song in a single day and in a single minute on the musical search site Shazam. In 2025 Angèle released "A Little More," a single featured in an advertising campaign for

Musical influences

Angèle is a fan of

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

and

Hélène Ségara Hélène Ségara (, born ''Hélène Aurore Alice Rizzo''; 26 February 1971), is a French singer of Armenian and Italian descent, who came to prominence playing the role of Esmeralda in the French musical ''Notre Dame de Paris''. She has sold o ...

. She is inspired by many musical genres from French songs to electronic music and rap, which she disliked as a teenager. She became influenced by rap, particularly while performing with her brother

Romeo Elvis Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a pries ...

and the rappers Caballero and JeanJass.

Personal life

From 2017 to 2019 she dated French dancer and choreographer Léo Walk. She wrote the song "Perdus" which is about the end of their relationship, linked to her new notoriety. In August 2020 Angèle announced on

that she was dating French actor Marie Papillon, while

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

. They separated the following year. Photos of them were previously published by French tabloid ''Public'' in 2019, then discussed in the talk show ''

Touche pas à mon poste ! ' (TPMP), literally "Don't Touch My TV Set!", was a French live television talk show that ran from 2010 to 2025. First broadcast on France 4, it moved to D8 (which became C8) from 2012 until the network lost its license. It was produced by Pr ...

'', without Angèle's consent and

outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBTQ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia, biphobia, and/or transphobia Transphobia consists ...

her. In her 2021 self-titled

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

documentary, Angèle confirmed her

bisexuality Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...

. Later, in May 2023, Angèle came out as

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

. In an interview with the French talk show France 2, she said that " hecan fall in love with a boy, a girl, a non-binary person, or a transgender person." She added that "the feeling of love, having butterflies in your stomach, whether with a girl or a boy, is the same for er"

Tours

Headlining * Brol Tour (2018–2020) * Nonante-Cinq Tour (2022–2023) Opening act *

– Ipséité Tour (2017) *

–

Future Nostalgia Tour The Future Nostalgia Tour was the second concert tour and first arena tour by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa, in support of her second studio album, ''Future Nostalgia'' (2020). It began on 9 February 2022 at the FTX Arena in Miami and en ...

(2022)

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

Notes

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

Berlin Music Video Awards

The

Berlin Music Video Awards The Berlin Music Video Awards is an annual international festival held in Berlin, Germany to celebrate the art of music videos. The festival brings together music video enthusiasts, directors, producers, and musicians worldwide to showcase their ...

is an international festival that promotes the art of music videos.

Red Bull Elektropedia Awards

D6bels Music Awards

The D6bels Music Awards is a musical event organized by

RTBF The ("Belgian Radio-television of the French Community"), shortened to RTBF (branded as rtbf.be), is a public broadcasting, public service broadcaster for the French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Community of Belgium. Its counterpart i ...

, a public radio and television service of the

French Community of Belgium In Belgium, the French Community (, , CFB) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (, , FWB), which is controversial because ...

MTV Europe Music Awards

Music Industry Awards

The MIA's, in full Music Industry Awards, are Flemish music prizes that are awarded by the VRT in collaboration with Music Centre Flanders.

Victoires de la Musique

Victoires de la Musique is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the

French Ministry of Culture The Ministry of Culture () is the ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of France in charge of List of museums in France, national museums and the . Its goal is to maintain the French identity through the promotion and pro ...

to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry that recognizes the best musical artists of the year. The awards are the French equivalent to the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

and the Brit Awards for music, and it is one of the major awards in France.

NRJ Music Awards

UK Music Video Awards

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Angele Living people 1995 births 21st-century Belgian women singers People from Uccle Belgian women singer-songwriters Belgian singer-songwriters 21st-century Belgian pianists Belgian women pop singers Belgian pop singers French-language singers of Belgium Feminist musicians Belgian LGBTQ singers Belgian LGBTQ songwriters Belgian LGBTQ women Pansexual musicians Belgian pansexual people Belgian LGBTQ rights activists MTV Europe Music Award winners Pansexual women Universal Music Group artists 21st-century Belgian LGBTQ people 21st-century Belgian women pianists LGBTQ women singers