"The state of health of Stromae does not allow him to ensure his performance," says just his tour producer, Auguri, in a joint text with Mosaert, structure of the singer, Belgian megastar of 38 years.
"I must accept today that this time of rest and remission will be longer than I imagined," writes the author of the hit "Formidable". "It is therefore with great regret that I will not be able to honour my promise and that I announce the end of the Multitude Tour today."
Like a bad chorus. Wringed by an XXL world tour in the wake of the tube album "Racine carrée" (2013), Stromae had first thrown in the towel at the end of 2015, undermined by depression aggravated by the side effects of an antimalarial.
The one who is one of the most listened to francophone artists in the world was finally back on stage in 2022, to present "Multitude". Disc that had allowed him to win a 6th and a 7th Victoires de la musique (awarded in France).
"Undefeated", the opening track - on record and on stage - seemed to attest to his return to form and a newfound ambition.
"Suicidal thoughts"
But "Hell" is back. To say that he had created the event with this piece, by unveiling it in a sequence staged on the news of 20:00 of TF1 on a Sunday evening of early 2022 in France.
"As a result, I sometimes had suicidal thoughts / I'm not very proud of it / We sometimes believe that this is the only way to silence them / These thoughts that make me live a hell", we hear in this piece with strong autobiographical overtones.
Stromae has never made a secret of the problems encountered during his ascent. "Even if we sell dreams, it remains a job and, as in any job, when we work too much, we arrive at a burn-out," he conceded in 2018 in an interview with France 2.
In the news of 20:00 of TF1, he had confided that the work on clips for others in recent years - Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa or OrelSan, among others - had "really done him good" because "the attention" was then "no longer focused" on him.
"Going peanut"
Everything seemed crystal clear at first for Paul Van Haver, for the civil status, which has become a reference for young artists like his compatriot Pierre de Maere or the French Zaho de Sagazan (both roll the "r" like him and like Jacques Brel before).
Born in the suburbs of Brussels, of a Flemish mother and a Rwandan father who left home very early and was killed during the genocide, he discovered teen rap. He made his debut there, then composed for mainstream artists, such as Anggun, before turning to the eurodance of the 90s, of which Belgium is one of the melting pots.
In 2010, his first album under the name Stromae contains the hit "Alors on danse", an evocation of people dancing to forget the crisis, their despair and death. The song looped in nightclubs, became the hit of the summer and was even remixed by Kanye West.
A few months later, the public discovered a singular artist, between Brel, Arno and Kraftwerk, on the stage of the Trans Musicales in Rennes.
"My fear is that I won't stay normal. The day I take myself seriously, that's when I'll start peanuts," he said at the time of the success of the dazzling "Formidable" or "Papaoutai".
© 2023 AFP