Nonante-Cinq: Angèle’s New Music

As the new year approaches many artists are announcing tour dates, a result of over a year of making music that is now ready to be seen around the world. Angèle, a singer from Belgium who is certainly not new to this blog, has also announced her tour, “Nonante-Cinq” (“95”) after recently releasing her new album with the same title. 

The album was originally set to come out on December 10th, a week after Angèle’s birthday. However, the week of December 3rd Angèle tested positive for Covid, and in isolation decided to push for an early release. With no Covid symptoms, Angèle held a birthday Instagram livestream on December 2nd. The livestream featured guests including singer Pomme and one of Angèle’s team members. She sang some of the new songs live, before ending the virtual celebration with the early-release announcement. 

In my opinion, Angèle is like France’s equivalent of Ariana Grande. While she may not be known by Americans (because most Americans don’t listen to international music), she is very popular in France. Surprisingly, she only has one other album “Brol” (released in 2018) and a larger version of this album called “Brol La Suite” (released in 2019). Her music is very catchy and her lyrics are well-thought out.

The new album is no different. Named “Nonante-Cinq” after her birth year, it includes much more personal songs than “Brol.” Perhaps due to the all-around challenging year, “Nonante-Cinq” touches more sensitive subjects, reflecting on various struggles that she faced or faces. 

The album begins on a lighter note with a song entitled Bruxelles je t’aime meaning Brussels I love you, as an anthem to her home country. The second song, Libre, is about being free from someone and celebrating freedom. On s’habitue, Solo, and Pensées Positives follow, continuing with personal sentiments. While all of the 12 songs on the album are good, my favorites include Libre, Taxi, and Plus de sens. The album is available on all music streaming platforms. 

If you are interested in knowing more about Angèle’s life and rise to fame, she recently released a Netflix documentary on November 26 (available to watch in French and English!) Let me know what you think of the album or documentary:)