Biography
Rahim C Redcar once fronted the project known as Christine and the Queens, whose poignant and passionate electronic pop probes gender, sexuality, and identity with thoughtful depth. Comparable to consummate performers such as David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, and Michael Jackson, the singer, songwriter, choreographer, and producer Chris frequently fuses atmospheric music with multimedia presentations. His turbulent adolescence received reflection on the 2014 debut album Chaleur Humaine, which established him as a distinctively open-hearted talent via the singles "St. Claude" and "Tilted." The 2018 release Chris, widely acclaimed and featuring '80s R&B sounds that repudiate gender stereotypes, marked a pop pinnacle he extended through theatrically inspired efforts including the 2022 fantastical expression of identity Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) and 2023's Paranoïa, Angels, True Love. Insistent house beats merged with his passion on 2024's Hopecore, highlighting Redcar's dedication to prompting listeners to think, feel, and move.
Born in Nantes in 1988 to a teacher and English professor, Rahim C Redcar was raised in an artistic, literary household where piano and dance lessons began at an early age. Theater studies followed at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon) before a 2010 relocation to Paris. A difficult breakup prompted entry into music, with the Christine and the Queens name adopted in tribute to the drag queens who joined performances. The project's first EP, Miséricorde, surfaced in 2011, succeeded a year later by the Mac Abbey EP. Also in 2012 came tours alongside Woodkid, Lykke Li, and the Dø, whose energetic live presentations earned the Best Discovered Act award at Le Printemps de Bourges Festival plus the Premières Francos award at Les Francofolies de La Rochelle.
After signing with Because Music, Christine and the Queens delivered the 2013 Nuit 17 à 52 EP, marking Redcar's initial appearance on the French albums chart SNEP. June 2014 brought the full-length Chaleur Humaine, whose songs drew from teenage experiences and spotlighted the single "Saint Claude." Inspired by Kendrick Lamar along with science fiction, classical, and house music, the album achieved international critical and commercial success. A top ten hit across nine countries, including France where diamond certification followed, it appeared in an English-language edition titled Christine and the Queens in the U.S. during October 2015. That version incorporated collaborations with Perfume Genius and Tunji Ige plus additional production by Ash Workman, reaching number 48 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. In the U.K., the English edition issued as Chaleur Humaine in February 2016 ultimately climbed to number two on the U.K. Albums Chart and yielded the hit single "Tilted."
Redcar wrote, arranged, and produced the second album, Chris, a collection that wove tougher '80s funk and R&B influences with lyrics examining conventional gender roles. The Dâm-Funk collaboration "Girlfriend" appeared on French and English versions that arrived in September 2018. Platinum certification in France and silver status in the U.K. accompanied a number-one placement on the Heatseekers Albums chart in the U.S. An eighteen-month tour supported the project, during which Chris joined Charli xcx on the 2019 single "Gone" and collected nominations for Brit Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and the 2019 Victoires de la Musique. The February 2020 EP La Vita Nuova, shaped by the 2019 passing of his mother, included a title-track collaboration with Caroline Polachek. A short film directed by Colin Solal Cardo and featuring choreography by award-winning choreographer Ryan Heffington—known for the video of Sia's smash hit "Chandelier"—accompanied the release. A deluxe edition with live renditions of select tracks followed a year later. Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, Redcar streamed live performances on social media and joined Lady Gaga's One World: Together at Home. Later that year the project contributed a track to the second season of Amazon Prime Video's series Hanna and partnered with Indochine on "3Sex," an update of the band's 1985 single "3e sexe."
Redcar tracked the subsequent album in two weeks at a home studio in Paris during 2021. Work then continued in Los Angeles alongside producer Mike Dean, recognized for contributions to the Weeknd, Lana Del Rey, and Kanye West. September brought the Joseph EP, pairing a cover of George Michael's "Freedom" with the French standard "Comme l'oiseau." Two months afterward, Redcar and Polachek featured on Charli xcx's single "New Shapes" from the album Crash. The 070 Shake collaboration "Body" preceded the November 2022 arrival of Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue). Credited to both Christine and the Queens and Rahim C Redcar, the album's ambitious exploration of sensuality and identity adopted an operatic scale. It entered the Top 40 of the French album charts, reached number 45 on the U.K. Albums chart, and hit number seven on the U.K. Independent Album charts. Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, the follow-up to Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue), emerged in June 2023. Once more co-produced by Dean, the album engaged themes of love, loss, and transformation drawn from Tony Kushner's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America while incorporating appearances by Madonna and 070 Shake. A Top 20 success in France, it also attained number 24 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
February 2024 brought a duet with MGMT on their single "Dancing in Babylon." Additional singles such as April's "Rentrer chez moi" and June's Arthur Russell cover "That's Us/Wild Combination" preceded Redcar's rendition of the classic “Non, je ne regrette rien” at the Paris 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony. The single "Deep Holes" preceded the September 2024 release of the next album, Hopecore, which spotlighted the sensual dimensions of the music through driving, house-inspired tracks that Redcar wrote, produced, and mixed independently.
Born in Nantes in 1988 to a teacher and English professor, Rahim C Redcar was raised in an artistic, literary household where piano and dance lessons began at an early age. Theater studies followed at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon) before a 2010 relocation to Paris. A difficult breakup prompted entry into music, with the Christine and the Queens name adopted in tribute to the drag queens who joined performances. The project's first EP, Miséricorde, surfaced in 2011, succeeded a year later by the Mac Abbey EP. Also in 2012 came tours alongside Woodkid, Lykke Li, and the Dø, whose energetic live presentations earned the Best Discovered Act award at Le Printemps de Bourges Festival plus the Premières Francos award at Les Francofolies de La Rochelle.
After signing with Because Music, Christine and the Queens delivered the 2013 Nuit 17 à 52 EP, marking Redcar's initial appearance on the French albums chart SNEP. June 2014 brought the full-length Chaleur Humaine, whose songs drew from teenage experiences and spotlighted the single "Saint Claude." Inspired by Kendrick Lamar along with science fiction, classical, and house music, the album achieved international critical and commercial success. A top ten hit across nine countries, including France where diamond certification followed, it appeared in an English-language edition titled Christine and the Queens in the U.S. during October 2015. That version incorporated collaborations with Perfume Genius and Tunji Ige plus additional production by Ash Workman, reaching number 48 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. In the U.K., the English edition issued as Chaleur Humaine in February 2016 ultimately climbed to number two on the U.K. Albums Chart and yielded the hit single "Tilted."
Redcar wrote, arranged, and produced the second album, Chris, a collection that wove tougher '80s funk and R&B influences with lyrics examining conventional gender roles. The Dâm-Funk collaboration "Girlfriend" appeared on French and English versions that arrived in September 2018. Platinum certification in France and silver status in the U.K. accompanied a number-one placement on the Heatseekers Albums chart in the U.S. An eighteen-month tour supported the project, during which Chris joined Charli xcx on the 2019 single "Gone" and collected nominations for Brit Awards, GLAAD Media Awards, and the 2019 Victoires de la Musique. The February 2020 EP La Vita Nuova, shaped by the 2019 passing of his mother, included a title-track collaboration with Caroline Polachek. A short film directed by Colin Solal Cardo and featuring choreography by award-winning choreographer Ryan Heffington—known for the video of Sia's smash hit "Chandelier"—accompanied the release. A deluxe edition with live renditions of select tracks followed a year later. Throughout the COVID-19 global pandemic, Redcar streamed live performances on social media and joined Lady Gaga's One World: Together at Home. Later that year the project contributed a track to the second season of Amazon Prime Video's series Hanna and partnered with Indochine on "3Sex," an update of the band's 1985 single "3e sexe."
Redcar tracked the subsequent album in two weeks at a home studio in Paris during 2021. Work then continued in Los Angeles alongside producer Mike Dean, recognized for contributions to the Weeknd, Lana Del Rey, and Kanye West. September brought the Joseph EP, pairing a cover of George Michael's "Freedom" with the French standard "Comme l'oiseau." Two months afterward, Redcar and Polachek featured on Charli xcx's single "New Shapes" from the album Crash. The 070 Shake collaboration "Body" preceded the November 2022 arrival of Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue). Credited to both Christine and the Queens and Rahim C Redcar, the album's ambitious exploration of sensuality and identity adopted an operatic scale. It entered the Top 40 of the French album charts, reached number 45 on the U.K. Albums chart, and hit number seven on the U.K. Independent Album charts. Paranoïa, Angels, True Love, the follow-up to Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue), emerged in June 2023. Once more co-produced by Dean, the album engaged themes of love, loss, and transformation drawn from Tony Kushner's Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play Angels in America while incorporating appearances by Madonna and 070 Shake. A Top 20 success in France, it also attained number 24 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart.
February 2024 brought a duet with MGMT on their single "Dancing in Babylon." Additional singles such as April's "Rentrer chez moi" and June's Arthur Russell cover "That's Us/Wild Combination" preceded Redcar's rendition of the classic “Non, je ne regrette rien” at the Paris 2024 Paralympics Opening Ceremony. The single "Deep Holes" preceded the September 2024 release of the next album, Hopecore, which spotlighted the sensual dimensions of the music through driving, house-inspired tracks that Redcar wrote, produced, and mixed independently.
Albums
Singles
