Angèle is a perfectionist. One of those people who have a hard time letting go, who are rarely satisfied, even when they accomplish great things. “It allowed me to move forward in my life,” she tells us as we meet her on Zoom for an interview. It allowed me not to be satisfied, not to think small, to always want to improve myself. I always know what I can improve on. »

It is probably this ambition that has led her to where she is today. On a North American tour, after the release of her second album which has already taken her to European stages. At the time of speaking to us, she is in California, a few days after her first performance at the Coachella festival and a few days before her second (the event takes place over two weekends).

At the arrival of this historic moment in her career, Angèle for a rare time managed to let go. “It’s so important to be able to do that,” she said. And I surprisingly succeeded, even though the stakes were so high and it was a situation that made me so vulnerable: I’m a francophone on this big stage, on a pretty good schedule [9 p.m.], and it was additionally filmed live. It puts pressure. But the only thing I have power over is to focus and have fun. »

In her hotel room, installed at the office, large glasses on her nose, Angèle looks completely serene. The very friendly singer says she is “super happy” to have been able to live this moment, which is not offered to everyone, even less when you are an artist who sings in French.

In fact, one of the things that touched her the most was realizing that part of the Coachella crowd was singing her refrains in French during her performance. “They were really singing!” There were clearly people who were there because they knew me, she says. It’s pretty cool. There was really everything in the audience, from the curious to the people who knew the lyrics. But everyone was on board. »

For the singer, who now has a well-established fan base in the Francophonie, this discovery of a whole new audience is an incredible opportunity. “I never had the desire to conquer other territories or even, sincerely, just to fill mega halls in France. But I wanted it to work, says Angèle. I wanted to make a coherent project, music that works, I wanted to be listened to. I don’t know if I really realized at first what that meant. I don’t know if I wanted to become a megastar, although now that it’s there, I’m very happy about it. »

But making pop music that works, and assuming it, does not mean abandoning artistic ambition, she argues. “I want it to have my touch, I would never want to have to dress up,” adds the artist. There are times when I searched for myself. Even recently. And the difficulty of the job is that we seek ourselves publicly. Our mistakes are public too. But we learn and the changes are visible. What I have as a feeling, in the end, is that there is still possible evolution, while being vulnerable. It’s the mix between something very clear, a desire to do things, and at the same time, I don’t know exactly where it’s leading me. »

A lot has happened since its inception. The one who has just been crowned female artist at the Victoires de la musique looks back with pride on the path traveled, but also noting the learning that this journey has given her.

“At the start of my project, I had no role to play, I was a new artist who landed, she says. I was as I was, with my faults, my qualities. I still have weaknesses, but sometimes I try to erase them to try to be perfect. I tell myself that if I got there, I have to make sure that I always deserve it, so I can’t make mistakes. I can’t be tired, I can’t be off the mark, I have to be square all the time. »

The work she does on herself aims to make her more forgiving, to accept being who she is, quite simply. “I’m doing it because the public is forgiving, and somehow they’re just happy to see an artist who’s still around, who’s developing. It’s very cool, for example, to tell myself that I’m arriving in Quebec in a few days with an audience that knows me, that supports me, that is happy and touched that I’m coming. And me as well. »

Angèle’s North American tour has been underway since the beginning of April. After defending her first record, the acclaimed Brol, for several years, the Belgian has taken on new challenges for the series of concerts for her album Nonente-Cinq.

“My other tour had started with opening acts for Damso and ended at the Bell Center in Montreal! The gap was big. It was a show that was very touching, very sincere, but which had started in very small rooms. We had added layers, people, musicians. It was consistent with the times. And this time, I also wanted that consistency with a project that’s more pop, that has a lot of songs that make you want to dance, songs full of glitter and that wanted to get us out of the gloom of the COVID- 19 at the time. »

Months of work made it possible to mount an elaborate concert, during which the artist dances a lot, with more grandiose stage effects. A little two-hour party! “Since the start of the tour, we’ve worked it out, we’ve changed it, we’ve improved it,” says Angèle, true to how she described herself at the start of the conversation, always looking for the best. We have a solid base that allows us to always improve. What I love about the stage is that you can prepare, but to learn the trade, you have to do it, you have to go. »

So that’s what she’s been doing for a year now with this new show that she will present at the Videotron Center, then at the Bell Center for two nights in a row. “The public in Montreal and Quebec, I compare it a bit to the Belgian public, says Angèle. It is such a joyful, festive and, at the same time, so attentive public. It’s a shame we’re so far away, because I would come more often. We have a real story. »