Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Indila sings "Love Story" from her debut album Mini World. In her song, Indila celebrates enduring love through the eyes of an old man reliving his past.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
"S.O.S." is the third single by French R&B singer-songwriter Indila from her album Mini World. The music video was shot in Greece and the song was released in 2014. Indila's sweet, melancholy voice seems perfect for this song, a cry for help from within her "kingdom of pain."
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Kendji Girac, a winner of the French version of The Voice, sings about his "beautiful Andalusian girl" in this video that will definitely make you want to get up and dance. You'll even learn a few Spanish words along with your French!
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
In "Les Voyages en train" (Train Rides), the French slam poet Grand Corps Malade creates an extended metaphor comparing love stories to train rides. Just as a successful train ride involves arriving at the station on time and catching the right train, a good love story involves finding the right person at the right moment in one's life. See if you can find some other similarities between the two in this gorgeous video.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Maître Gims's song "Changer" (To Change) is a promise to change and rescue his crumbling relationship. Too busy building his empire, he neglects his family and wants to become a better person, but is it too late to make amends? Maître Gims's choice of decor, the atmospheric ambiance of a grandiose castle—empty but for him, a guard dog, and the ghostly figure of a woman in the background—only adds to the feeling of mystery and heartache.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
R&B singer Indila sings "Tourner dans le vide" (Spiraling into Emptiness) from her album Mini World. In the song, she describes how her lover's absence has caused her to fall into a state of vertiginous sorrow and suggests that societal prejudices may also be playing a role.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France, Spain
Kendji Girac, a star of the French version of The Voice, goes back to his Gypsy roots in "Color Gitano" (Spanish for "Gypsy color"). This fun, rhythmic song will definitely make you want to get up and dance, and it'll even teach you some Spanish too!
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Isabelle Geffroy, aka Zaz, sings “On ira” (We'll Go) from her 2013 album Recto Verso. She takes us on a beautiful journey where, as she says, "encounters make the most beautiful voyages." Let her powerful voice transport you into an ideal world where "children are the guardians of the soul."
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Oldelaf's "Bérénice" is a beautiful love song with a somewhat tragic (but very comical!) ending. You'll both laugh at and be moved by Oldelaf's poetic language and soulful crooning.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
The thirty-four-year-old singer Zaz made her debut in 2010 (after singing on the streets of Paris for a while, like her famous predecessor, Edith Piaf). Her single "Eblouie par la nuit" (Blinded by the Night) was hugely successful and is sure to dazzle you too.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
In his song "Zombie," Maître Gims wants to wake up from his Zombie state and take charge of his destiny by removing the chains that hold him back: warding off the darkness, confusion, and paranoia surrounding his life.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
Oldelaf, aka Olivier Delafosse, sings "Je mange" (I Eat). This darkly humorous video paints a portrait of a modern man's dysfunctional relationship with food. If it sounds a little too familiar to you, that could mean it's time for a game of table tennis (with a partner)!
Difficulty: Intermediate
Belgium
In the music video for "Tous les mêmes" (All the Same) Stromae impersonates both the man and the woman in a stormy relationship. He wants children. She doesn't want any because she thinks "men are all the same" and can't be trusted to raise them. Stromae concludes the song with a beautifully choreographed dance equal to none—except for the late Michael Jackson, perhaps.
Difficulty: Intermediate
Belgium
In his brilliant song "Papaoutai" (Dad, Where Are You?), Stromae depicts the endless game of hide and seek that some children play with their fathers. Stromae (né Paul Van Haver), who was raised by his mother, lost his own father in 1994 to the Rwandan Genocide.
Difficulty: Intermediate
France
In this powerful music video, Grand Corps Malade puts a modern twist on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and even gives it a happy ending. You'll find a good amount of argot (slang) in the song lyrics, including some verlan, a form of slang that's very popular among French youth.
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