People, We’ve All Been Sad
by Nada Alturki
The French singer Christine and the Queens sends a flying saucer full of melancholy and “baby blues” our way once again in her new single “People, I’ve been sad,” released on February 5th through a COLORS show on YouTube. COLORS show is a unique platform that showcases diverse music artists and talent from around the world, inviting them to perform in front of a colored background of their choice, with merely a spotlight and a microphone.
The song begins with a vocal adlib, sounding like a cross between a screech and a whisper, which oddly enough, makes you want to keep listening. The vivid synthpop along with haunting yet empathetic vocals – a common style choice in her body of work– is reminiscent of classic ‘80s top hits, as she creates more of a persona for herself through her music. David Bowie and Prince did the same; she is known as Chris, not Héloïse Letissier, which is her given name, and that is who she wants you to know through her words.
Despite this, the lyrics are vulnerable and carry notes of regret, while still managing to be hopeful; she regrets her adolescent years and feels like she missed out on a lot because of her state. She sings “you know the feeling” multiple times, alluding to the fact that we all go through similar experiences in that sense. With that simple line, she reaches into something deeper. There is a simple declaration of intimacy she is trying to connect to her viewers. This is the first time we are looking into her, and not necessarily just Christine.
Christine and the Queens was born as a way to cope for the artist, and the song bravely tries to portray sorrow and pushing others away, as she sings the second verse starting with “Je n'ai décroché pour personne (Jamais pour personne).” That verse roughly translates to:
People come and say evil things (such evil things)
About feelings that, however, matter (oh how they matter)
Trapped within something so strong (something so strong)
I didn’t pick up for anybody (never for anybody)
She mentioned in an interview with NPR that she finds it hard to receive love sometimes and reacts better to rejection. Here, she seems to try to explain the experience of reacting to hurtful words or criticisms, which seem to define “rejection” for her.
She reacts better to rejection because it leaves no room for disappointment. It results in an automatic motion of closing oneself off and that becomes a shelter.
The song, however, sounds like a “like a nice dream you don't want to wake up from,” as one of the viewers commented on the video, which might be the point to be made here.
It is so difficult to be in a state of depression, and sometimes if it is there long enough, it can become part of your comfort zone. She has finally broken out of the “dream” state she was in as she sings a line in French: “Marcher pieds nus sur du verre et maintenant tout est plus fort,” which roughly translates to “walking barefoot on glass and now everything feels more intense.” It addresses the oddity and difficulty of breaking habits. Sadness has become a home for the speaker, but the declaration of it is a big move: a step forward, finally.
She doesn't necessarily offer hints of wanting to be out of this black hole she has found herself in, one where she won’t take calls and is missing out on the events around her, but all she offers is an “if you fall apart, then I’m falling behind you.” She wants whoever is listening to know that there is someone out there who feels for them. It is a declaration of community. Even though her music is a way for herself to cope with the world, she hopes it can be that for other people too.
The song also mimics the comfort of isolation. It takes on the sound of an easy-breezy-”freakpop” track, while still carrying heavy notions of bleakness and emptiness that are all-too-familiar to us all.
Christine released her first album Chalieur Humaine in French in 2014. She later went on to release the same album in English, while some verses were left unchanged in French. She first gained significant attention after the release of her single “Tilted” in early 2015, which prefaced her EP Saint Claude.
Chris’ latest hit “Gone” is a collaboration with Charli XCX, which appeared on her co-artist’s album Charli (2019). The track “People, I’ve been sad” subtly references her collaboration with Charli with the line “It’s true that, people, I’ve been gone” corresponding with the first lyric of the collab track “I have to go, I’m so sorry.”
She also sings a lyric in French in the song, making sure to leave her stamp on the collaboration.
It’s not yet clear if this track is teasing an upcoming project, but in the meantime, you can catch up with Christine and the Queens’ latest announcements here.