Biography[edit]
Angèle Van Laeken is the daughter of the singer
Marka and of the actress
Laurence Bibot. Her brother is the rapper
Roméo Elvis.
She was born in
Uccle,
Brussels-Capital Region. Her father encouraged her from an early age to learn the piano, which inspired her musical career.
[3]
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.
[4] She then enrolled in the Jazz Studio Antwerp for a jazz education before joining her father's band.[
citation needed]
Musical career[edit]
Angèle gave her first performances in cafés around
Brussels. Notably at the restaurant Le Delecta, in
Ixelles, now closed.[
citation needed]
She was first noticed for her cover of
Dick Annegarn, "Bruxelles",
[5] and on
Instagram videos where she mixed singing and comedy. In 2017, she was the support act for
Ibeyi and the Belgian rapper
Damso, 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. A second single "Je veux tes yeux"
[6] was released in early 2018. The two video clips were directed by the Belgian photographer
Charlotte Abramow.
[7]
In May 2018, she performed her first Parisian concert at the
Trianon accompanied by
MC Solaar on her cover of his song "Victime de la mode." She performed in several summer festivals
[8] in Belgium, France and Switzerland such as
Les Ardentes,
Dour,
[9] Garorock and
Rock Werchter.
[10]
In 2018, Angèle released her third single, "La Thune".
[11]
In August 2018, she announced the tracklist of her first album
Brol on the Initial label.
[1] 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 charts, breaking the record for a Belgian artist formerly set by
Stromae.
[2]
In 2019, Angele 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 movement,
Balance ton porc.
Pierre Niney makes an appearance in the video alongside some of Angele's friends to talk about struggles her female friends have encountered with men. The song is not about ridiculing men but about educating everyone to live in a more accepting society.
In April 2020, Angèle performed for
One World: Together At Home-A global broadcast & digital special to support front line healthcare workers and the
WHO during the
COVID-19 pandemic, hosted by
Lady Gaga.
In October 2020, Angèle was pictured alongside London singer
Dua Lipa 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. "
Fever" was released on October 30, 2020. The music video was released a week later on November 6, 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 livestream concert
Studio 2054 on the 27th of November.
[12]
Musical influences[edit]
Angèle is a fan of
Ella Fitzgerald and
Hélène Ségara.
[13] 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 and the rappers
Caballero and
JeanJass.
[14]
]; born 3 December 1995), better known by her stage name Angèle, is a Belgian singer-songwriter, musician, pianist, record producer and actress.