Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier, known professionally as Christine and the Queens or occasionally simply Chris, is a French singer, songwriter, and record producer. Letissier studied theatre at ENS Lyon, moving to Paris in 2010, where she concluded her studies. When she visited London in 2010, she was inspired by the work of local drag queen musicians, including Russella, who accompanied her in one of their early concerts. The queens then became her “Queens” as a backing band. She dedicated many of her creations to them and to all transgender individuals, describing their genre as “freakpop”.
She adopted the name Christine and the Queens releasing her debut EP Miséricorde independently followed by another EP in 2012 called Mac Abbey with the minor hits “Narcissus Is Back” and “Christine”. Her first album was first released in France as Chaleur humaine in June 2014. The album was released in United States on 16 October 2015 via Because Music as Christine and the Queens. For its American release, many the tracks were reworked with English lyrics and revamped beats by producer Ash Workman. Two tracks were replaced with three new songs. Two of the new songs are collaborations – “Jonathan” with Perfume Genius, and “No Harm Is Done” with rapper Tunji Ige. The American version was released in the UK in 2016 but reverted to its original French title.
Chris is her second studio album released in September 2018 in both English and French versions through Because Music. It was preceded by the release of two singles, each of which were released in both English and French versions: Girlfriend/Damn, dis moi, featuring Dam Funk and Doesn’t Matter/Voleur de soliel.
Although still credited to Christine and the Queens, Héloïse Letissier explained before the album’s release that she had adopted the simplified moniker Chris, saying “it had to be Chris at some point because I was bolder and stronger and had more muscle…it was natural for me to shed the rest of the stage name and to cut my hair.”
On 17 July 2019, Charli XCX released the song and video for Gone, featuring Christine and the Queens. Pitchfork listed the song at number 4 on its list of the 100 best songs of 2019 and at number 145 for the 200 best songs of the 2010s. The track was also shortlisted by BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac for Hottest Record of The Year, voted for by the public, and ended up scoring third place.
