"Formidable" () is a song by

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

singer

Stromae Paul van Haver (; born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae (), is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and producer. He is mostly known for his music blending hip hop and electronic music. Stromae came to wide public attenti ...

. The song was released as a digital download in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

on 4 June 2013 as the second single from his second studio album ''

Racine carrée Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

'' (2013). The song entered at the number 1 spot the week of its release in

and reached number 1 in France. It was his most financially successful single since "

Alors on Danse "Alors on danse" (, French for "And so we dance") is a song by Belgian rapper Stromae. It was released in September 2009 in Belgium and in February 2010 in the rest of Europe. The song reached number one in Belgium, Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, th ...

" in 2009.

Music video

On 21 May 2013, amateur videos surfaced on YouTube showing Stromae apparently drunk and wandering at the Louise/Louiza tram and metro station in Brussels during the daybreak, which eventually went viral. It was revealed days later that the incident was part of the taping for a music video; this was confirmed during the TV programme Ce soir (ou jamais!) on

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

in which Stromae discussed and also performed "Formidable", which is about the story of a drunk man just separated from his girlfriend. The video, taken by cameras hidden around the station, appears to show a drunken, disheveled, and distraught Stromae stumbling around the station, shouting snatches of the song's lyrics at passersby, falling down, and on several occasions appearing on the verge of stepping into traffic. Onlookers are shown recording the incident with their cellphones, but only one person intervenes to prevent Stromae from sitting in the path of an oncoming tram. The music cuts off abruptly as three policemen, unaware that this is a taping, approach Stromae to assess his wellness and to inquire if he has been drinking. Stromae reassures them, and the video resumes. In the video's final scene, Stromae leaves, followed by his camera crew, and displays that his drunkenness was only an act by grinning into the camera, straightening his clothing, and clicking his heels. The video is subtitled "ceci n'est pas une leçon" ("this is not a lesson"). The video won the award for the " Music video of the year" category at the 2014

Victoires de la Musique Victoires de la Musique (; en, Victories of Music) is an annual French award ceremony where the Victoire accolade is delivered by the French Ministry of Culture to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The classical and jazz ...

Track listing

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

<--Post by François Delétraz a Figaro Magazine journalist-->

Release history

Cheyenne Toney cover

On 6 December 2013, during the fourth live show of the fourth season of the Dutch television programme ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known as ''TVOH'', is a Dutch reality TV singing competition, that became a near global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol and musician Roel van Velzen, in the Netherlands airing on RTL 4. ...

'', Dutch singer Cheyenne Toney performed a cover of "Formidable". She sang her own written cover, with lyrics translated from French to Dutch. Her version of the song reached the peak position in the

Mega Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the ...

(charting higher than the original) and the eighteenth position in the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

Charts

Year-end charts

Arabic version

Maghrebi Arabic Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alger ...

version of the song by

Moroccan Canadian Moroccan Canadians are Canadians of full or partial Moroccan descent, as well as people from the state of Morocco who are ethno-linguistic and religious minorities. According to the 2011 Census, there were 71,910 Canadians who claimed full or p ...

performer

Nadia Essadiqi Nadia Essadiqi, who performs under the stage name La Bronze, is a Moroccan Canadian musician and actress. Although usually singing in French, she is currently best known for her Maghrebi Arabic version of the Stromae hit " Formidable". As an ac ...

was an internet hit in October 2015. On 17 November, she went on to perform the song live on the

VivaCité VivaCité is a Belgian public service radio station operated by RTBF. The station launched on 29 February 2004 from the merger of regional network ''Fréquence Wallonie'' and Brussels station ''Bruxelles Capitale''. VivaCité is the French-langua ...

radio chart show ''Tip Top'' and on

Le Petit Journal (Canal+) ''Le Petit Journal'' is a French news and entertainment television program that airs every weekday on Canal+, presented by Cyrille Eldin. It was hosted by journalist Yann Barthès from its beginnings in 2004 through to June 2016. The program init ...

.La Bronze « Formidable » - Le Petit Journal du 17/11

Canal+ Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...

website, accessed 14 December 2015.

References

External links

* {{authority control 2013 singles Stromae songs Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles SNEP Top Singles number-one singles 2013 songs Songs written by Stromae