Formidable (song)

"Formidable"
Single by Stromae
from the album Racine Carrée
Released	4 June 2013
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2012
Genre	Hip hop R&B
Length	3:34
Label	Mosaert
Writer(s)	Stromae
Stromae singles chronology
"Papaoutai" (2013) "Formidable" (2013) "Tous les mêmes" (2013)

"Formidable" is a song by Belgian singer Stromae. The song was released as a digital download in Belgium on 4 June 2013 as the second single from his second studio album Racine Carrée (2013). The song entered at the number 1 spot the week of its release in Belgium and reached number 1 in France. It was his most successful single since "Alors on Danse" in 2009.

Music video

On 21 May 2013 amateur videos appeared on YouTube showing Stromae, apparently drunk and wandering at the Louise/Louiza tram and metro station in Brussels during the daybreak. The images went viral. Some days later it was revealed that that was the taping of a music video. This was confirmed during the French TV show Ce soir (ou jamais !) in which Stromae discussed and also performed his new single "Formidable", which is about the story of a drunk man just separated from his girlfriend. The clip was fully composed by extracts of hidden cameras taken on 21 May. It also shows people taking pictures with their cellphones and three policemen talking to the artist.

Track listing

Digital download
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Formidable"	3:34

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2013–14) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[1] 36 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[2] 1 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders Urban)[2] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[3] 1 Denmark (Tracklisten)[4] 20 France (SNEP)[5] 1 Germany (Official German Charts)[6] 39 Italy (FIMI)[7] 16 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 2 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 13

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Dutch Singles Chart[11] 55 Chart (2014) Position Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[12] 48

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Belgium (BEA)[13]	3× Platinum	60,000
France (SNEP)[14]	Diamond	309,800
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[15]	Gold	0
Italy (FIMI)[16]	Gold	15,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[17]	Platinum	20,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Belgium	1 June 2013[18]	Digital download	Mosaert

Cheyenne Toney cover

"Formidable"
Single by Cheyenne Toney
Released	6 December 2013
Format	Digital download
Genre	Hip hop R&B
Length	3:34
Label	8ball
Writer(s)	Stromae Toney

On 6 December 2013, during the fourth live show of the fourth season of the Dutch television programme The Voice of Holland, Dutch singer Cheyenne Toney performed a cover of "Formidable". She sang her own written cover, with lyrics translated from French to Dutch. Her version of the song reached the peak position in the Mega Single Top 100 (charting higher than the original) and the eighteenth position in the Dutch Top 40.

Charts

Chart (2013)	Peak position
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[19]	18
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20]	1

Arabic version

A Maghrebi Arabic version of the song by Moroccan Canadian performer Nadia Essadiqi was an internet hit in October 2015.^[21] On 17 November she went on to perform the song live on the VivaCité radio chart show Tip Top^[22] and on Le Petit Journal (Canal+).^[23]

References

1. "Austriancharts.at – Stromae – Formidable" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
2. "Ultratop.be – Stromae – Formidable" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
3. "Ultratop.be – Stromae – Formidable" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
4. "Danishcharts.com – Stromae – Formidable". Tracklisten. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
5. "Lescharts.com – Stromae – Formidable" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
6. "Musicline.de – Stromae Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
7. "Italiancharts.com – Stromae – Formidable". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Stromae search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – Stromae – Formidable" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
10. "Swisscharts.com – Stromae – Formidable". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
11. http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2013&cat=s
12. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2014&cat=a
13. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2013". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
14. "French single certifications – Stromae – Papaoutai" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
15. "Danish single certifications – Stromae – Formidable". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved 9 January 2015. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
16. "Italian single certifications – Stromae – Formidable" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 9 January 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Stromae in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
17. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Stromae; 'Formidable')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
18. iTunes - Music - Formidable - Single by Stromae
19. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Cheyenne Toney search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Cheyenne Toney – Formidable" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 28 December 2013.
21. La "formidable" reprise de Stromae en arabe par une chanteuse québécoise, La Libre Belgique, 30 October 2015. Accessed 14 December 2015.
22. Eagles of Death Metal, Louise Attaque & La Bronze c'est dans le Tip Top de ce 17/11, VivaCité website, accessed 14 December 2015.
23. La Bronze « Formidable » - Le Petit Journal du 17/11, Canal+ website, accessed 14 December 2015.

External links

• (French) Official website