Racine Carrée

Racine carrée
Studio album by Stromae
Released 16 August 2013
Recorded 2010
Genre
Length 46:04
Language French
Producer
  • Stromae
  • Antonio Santos
  • Aron Ottignon
  • Atom
  • Bart Maris
  • Lional Capouillez
  • Maître Gims
  • Mauricio Delgados
  • Noumoucounda Cissoko
  • Orelsan
  • Papa Dizzy
  • Thomas Azier
  • Shameboy
  • Vincent Peirani
  • Schérazade
  • Guillaume Huguet
  • Tibass Kazematik
Stromae chronology
Cheese
(2010)
Racine carrée
(2013)
Singles from Racine carrée
  1. "Papaoutai"
    Released: 13 May 2013
  2. "Formidable"
    Released: 27 May 2013
  3. "Tous les mêmes"
    Released: 23 September 2013
  4. "Ta fête"
    Released: 3 February 2014
  5. "Ave Cesaria"
    Released: 21 July 2014
  6. "Carmen"
    Released: 30 March 2015
  7. "Quand c'est?"
    Released: 14 September 2015
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Racine carrée (French for "square root", stylised ) is the second studio album by Belgian musician Stromae. It was released digitally on 16 August 2013 and three days later physically in France and Belgium. Recorded in an attic, Stromae expressed his desire to incorporate Caribbean and African musical influences along with his signature 1990s-inspired dance beats. The album explores themes as diverse as alienation from social networks, relationship issues, discrimination, cigarettes and lung cancer, AIDS and absent father figures. Prior to its official release and afterwards, Racine carrée received critical acclaim for its thoughtful lyrics and gained comparisons to fellow Belgian recording artist Jacques Brel.

The album was a commercial success across Western Europe, including non-francophone countries. Racine carrée topped the charts in France, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy, as well as reaching the top ten in Canada, and the top forty in Germany. In his native Belgium, it remained at the top the charts for multiple weeks and been certified twelve times platinum by the BEA. In France, the album has been certified triple diamond by the SNEP and become one of the highest-selling albums in recent years after amassing over one million copies sold four months after its release. Racine carrée yielded three chart-topping singles: "Papaoutai", "Formidable" and "Tous les mêmes".

Chart performance

In France, Racine carrée debuted at number one with one of the year's strongest first-week sales: 80,882 units, of which 55,597 were physical copies and 25,285 downloads. The opening week numbers were higher than the 75,000 copies his previous album, Cheese, had sold since its release.[2] The following week, the album sold 50,901 copies but was replaced at the top of the chart by the second volume of tribute album Génération Goldman, which sold 59,274 units. By the end of September and after only six weeks of release, Racine carrée had crossed the 300,000 mark and spent five non-consecutive weeks at number one.[3] In the last week of October, the album surpassed Daft Punk's Random Access Memories as the best selling album of 2013; up to that point the former had sold 475,500 copies while the latter had amassed 469,700 units.[4] In its eighteenth week on the chart, just before Christmas, Racine carrée remained at number one for a sixteenth non-consecutive week at the top with its biggest weekly sales and the second-best weekly score of 2013, 182,034 units, just behind the 195,013 copies Random Access Memories sold in its first week of availability. This allowed it to cross the million mark in just four months; the last album to sell over one million copies was Adele's 21 (2011), which took eleven months.[5]

In francophone Europe, Racine carrée also experienced massive success. In his native Belgium, Stromae's second album opened at number one in both Flanders and Wallonia. In the former, Racine carrée spent 17 non-consecutive weeks at number one; while in the latter, it remained at the top for 26 non-consecutive weeks.[6][7] In late December, the album was certified seven times platinum by the Belgian Entertainment Association, denoting shipments of over 140,000 copies in the country.[8] Additionally, Racine carrée finished the year as the best-selling album in both Flanders and Wallonia.[9][10] In Switzerland, the album also debuted at number one and held the top spot for four additional weeks.[11] In French-speaking Romandie, the album spent fourteen non-consecutive weeks at number one and remained in the top three for several weeks after its release in late August.[12] In addition, Racine carrée has been certified platinum by the Swiss branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, denoting shipments of 20,000 units.[13] In Canada, the album debuted within the top ten and remained in the chart for only three weeks.[14]

Success was not limited to francophone countries; the album also sold well in Germany and the Netherlands. In Germany, Racine carrée debuted just outside the top twenty in the main albums chart and at the top of the digital albums chart.[15][16] In the Netherlands, the album debuted at number sixteen; the following week it climbed five positions to reach number eleven, its highest chart rank up to that point. After falling below the top forty and reaching positions as low as fifty-seven for two weeks, it eventually rebounded and entered the top ten for the first time in mid-December. The album later peaked within the top three.[17] According to MegaCharts, the album finished the year as the fifty-eighth highest-selling album in the Netherlands.[18] In Austria, the album did not reach the chart but sold constantly in the lower sales regions, eventually reaching gold.

Singles

Racine carrée produced six singles:

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Ta fête"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Shameboy
  • Thomas Azier
2:56
2. "Papaoutai"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Papa Dizzy
  • Aron Ottignon
3:52
3. "Bâtard"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Noumoucounda Cissoko
  • Thomas Azier
3:28
4. "Ave Cesaria"  
  • Stromae
  • Orelsan
  • Stromae
  • Orelsan
  • Mauricio Delgados
  • Antonio Santos
  • Vincent Peirani
  • Schérazade
4:09
5. "Tous les mêmes"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Bart Maris
3:33
6. "Formidable"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Lional Capouillez
3:33
7. "Moules frites"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Guillaume Huguet
2:38
8. "Carmen"  
  • Stromae
  • Orelsan
Stromae ("Inspired by Georges Bizet's Carmen") 3:09
9. "Humain à l'eau"  StromaeStromae 3:59
10. "Quand c'est?"  StromaeStromae 3:00
11. "Sommeil"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Tibass Kazematik
3:38
12. "Merci"  Stromae
  • Stromae
  • Thomas Azier
  • Aron Ottingnon
3:54
13. "AVF" (featuring Maître Gims and Orelsan)
  • Stromae
  • Maître Gims
  • Orelsan
  • Stromae
  • Maître Gims
  • Orelsan
  • Atom
3:44
Total length:
42:53
iTunes bonus track
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
14. "Papaoutai" (featuring Angel Haze)
  • Stromae
  • Angel Haze
  • Stromae
  • Papa Dizzy
  • Aron Ottignon
3:51
Total length:
46:04

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2013–15) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 1
Belgian Artists Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[20] 1
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 1
Belgian Artists Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[21] 1
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[22] 10
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[23] 25
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[24] 1
French Albums (SNEP)[25] 1
German Albums (Media Control)[26] 21
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 1
US Top Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29] 19
US World Albums (Billboard)[30] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2013) Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 1
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[32] 1
France (SNEP)[33] 1
Netherlands (MegaCharts)[34] 58
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 5
Chart (2014) Position
Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[36] 1
Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia)[37] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[38] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[39] Gold 7,500
Belgium (BEA)[40] 12× Platinum 240,000
Canada (Music Canada)[41] Platinum 80,000+
France (SNEP)[42] 4× Diamond 2,000,000+
Italy (FIMI)[43] Platinum 50,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[44] 2× Platinum 50,000+
Russia (NFPF)[45] 2× Platinum 20,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[46] 5× Platinum 75,000+
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[47] 2× Platinum 2,000,000+

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Australia[48] 16 August 2013 Digital download Mosaert
Austria[49]
Belgium[50]
Denmark[51]
France[52]
Italy[53]
Latin America[54]
Japan[55]
New Zealand[56]
Norway[57]
Singapore[58]
Spain[59]
Sweden[60]
Switzerland[61]
United Kingdom[62]
Canada[63] 19 August 2013
Mexico[64]
United States[65]

References

  1. Prunes, Mariano. "Racine Carrée – Stromae". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  2. "Stromae décroche son premier numéro 1 au Top Albums avec "Racine Carrée"". Charts In France. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  3. "Stromae : son nouvel album "Racine carrée" franchit le seuil des 300,000 ventes". Charts In France. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  4. "Ventes 2013 : Stromae passe devant Daft Punk avec "Racine carrée"". Charts In France. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  5. "Stromae franchit le cap du million de ventes avec son album "Racine carrée"". Charts In France. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  6. "Flemish Albums Chart". Belgian Entertainment Association. Ultratop. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  7. "Walloon Albums Chart". Belgian Entertainment Association. Ultratop. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  8. "Goud en Platina". Belgian Entertainment Association. Ultratop. 27 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  9. "Jaaroverzicht". Belgian Entertainment Association. Ultratop. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  10. "Rapport Annuels 2013". Belgian Entertainment Association. Ultratop. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  11. "Schweizer Hitparade". Hitparade. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  12. "Charts Romandie". Hitparade. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  13. "Edelmetall". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Hitparade. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  14. "Stromae: Chart History". Nielsen Soundscan. Billboard. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  15. "Stromae tanzt durch die Download-Charts". Media Control. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  16. "German Albums Chart". Media Control. Chart.de. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  17. "Dutch Charts". MegaCharts. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  18. "Jaaroverzichten". MegaCharts. 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  19. http://www.chartsinfrance.net/Stromae/news-96490.html
  20. 1 2 Stromae – Racine carrée (In Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  21. 1 2 Stromae – Racine carrée (In French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
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  32. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2013&cat=a
  33. "Quels sont les meilleurs vendeurs d'albums de l'année 2013?". Charts In France. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  34. http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2013&cat=a
  35. http://hitparade.ch/year.asp
  36. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2014&cat=a
  37. http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=2014&cat=a
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  39. "Austrian album certifications – Stromae – Racine Carrée" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 21 January 2014. Enter Stromae in the field Interpret. Enter Racine Carrée in the field Titel. Select album in the field Format. Click Suchen
  40. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2015". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
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  43. "Italian album certifications – Stromae – Racine Carree" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 8 January 2015. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Stromae in the field Filtra. Select 2014 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
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External links

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