History YMMV / Stromae

* IronWoobie: Paul Van Haver himself. His father was killed during the Rwandan Genocide---and he was so absent from his children's lives to begin with that it took people ''three years'' to tell Paul what had happened (and Paul had to ask, to boot). Later, in 2015, Paul had a mental breakdown triggered in part by an anti-malaria medication with known psychiatric side effects. This breakdown would have [[DrivenToSuicide driven Paul to suicide]] had his younger brother not realized something was wrong, and it left Paul with complications years after. Nevertheless, Paul [[TheDeterminator finished his 2015 tour]] (with an understandable rescheduling of some dates) and did the video for "quand c'est ?" before taking an extended break to work on other projects. As for his father? Paul genuinely believes he did the best he could.

* FaceOfTheBand: Stromae serves as this for Mosaert, the record and fashion label Paul cofounded. He ''hates'' it, saying it takes away from the rest of the team.

** [[ItMakesSenseInContext Stromae arguing with his wife]] ([[TalkingToHimself Stromae]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser dressed as a woman]]) about "tous les mêmes" before [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70slr7skdtI performing it on Le Grand Journal]].

* MomentOfAwesome:
** The TriumphantReprise "L'enfer" gets in concert. In spite of [[TearJerker everything that's just happened,]] Stromae is [[TheDeterminator determined to show everyone]] that things ''do'' get better. Doubles as a HeartwarmingMoment.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: "Moules frites" uses a long and elaborate metaphore to tell the story of a [[TheCasanova Casanova]] named Paulo, who dies of a STI caught from unprotected sex, and features ambiguous lines in its second verse.[[labelnote:lyrics]]Et il est tellement agile, Paulo[=/=]Qu'il ne doit même pas supplier,[=/=]Et c'est à chaque fois si facile, mais cette fois-ci[=/=]Et c'est à chaque fois si facile, mais cette fois-ci[=/=]Elle est un peu moins fragile que ce que Paulo imagine,[=/=]Mais du moment qu'elle criait (Translation: And Paulo is so agile[=/=]That he doesn't even need to beg[=/=]And each time it's so easy, but this time[=/=]She's a bit less fragile than he imagines[=/=]But as long as she screamed)[[/labelnote]]
** Several Youtube comments points out a disturbing interpretation of the end of those lines. They analyse Paulo as a pickup artist who raped the girl mentioned in this verse[[note]]it may be an overinterpretation of Stromae's intent: the song seems to actually imply the girl "screams" the chorus[[/note]]. As the next verse explains Paulo caught a STI from this intercourse and eventually died from it, it paints Paulo as an AssholeVictim who is inflicted a KarmicDeath.
** Other comments interpretate the line "she's a bit less fragile than [Paulo] imagines" as the girl knowing she's ill, and manipulating Paulo to have unprotected sex in order to spread her STI.

* UncannyValley:
** The dancing in the music video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aJw4chksqM "Quand c'est"]] is seen only in silhouette, and most of the movements seem almost inhuman. There are even a few instances when Stromae has a third arm or leg, but only for a ''very'' brief moment, so it's easy to miss but still makes the whole thing that much creepier. It doesn't help the lyrics compare cancer to a creep who goes after women and children.
** The father in the music video for "Papaoutai" isn't just stiff and unmoving, but he has a permanent [[TheUnSmile un-smile]] on his face and never blinks, adding to his creepy, mannequin-like presentation. He does briefly [[HopeSpot dance with his son,]] but still shows the same frozen grin in close-up shots; the boy is eventually shown dancing on his own while his father sits lifeless in the car, implying that it was just his imagination. When the son pushes the car into the driveway, he seems to give up and takes a seat next to his father with the same stiff pose and eerie expression mentioned above.

* CrossesTheLineTwice: "Dodo" is about DomesticAbuse, told in a very deadpan tone, and parts of the lyrics are based on a lullaby. The result is so horrifying some may find it darkly hilarious.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: The public reaction to "Fils de joie" has been that Stromae respectfully highlighted a topic (the (dis)respect of sex workers) that desperately needs to be discussed.

* Anvilicious: Compared to other Stromae songs with AnAesop to deliver, "L'enfer" is rather blunt and straightforward in its message. That's not a bad thing, part of what makes the song so compelling as an anti-suicide song is how straightforward it is.

* Anvilicious: Compared to other Stromae songs with AnAesop to deliver, "L'enfer" is rather blunt and straightforward in its message. That's not a bad thing, though—see SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped below.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Part of what makes "L'enfer" so compelling as an anti-suicide song is how straightforward it is.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped:
** "Dodo" has the uncommon but very necessary [[AnAesop Aesop]] that cheating on your partner is wrong, but that you are not justified in beating your partner for doing so—especially because you probably would have found another reason to beat them had they been loyal, anyway. Also, toxic masculinity is bad, and being a man does not justify your being violent, especially toward your wife and children.
** "bâtard" explains that [[TakeAThirdOption not taking a binary option in terms of identity]] [[BeYourself is fine (and even to be encouraged)]], but that when it comes to sociopolitical issues like racism, you ''do'' need to take a side.
** "moules frites" tells you to be careful who you have sex with, or else, you can and will die [[SpaceWhaleAesop (almost instantly, apparently)]].

** [[ItMakesSenseInContext Stromae arguing with]] his wife ([[TalkingToHimself Stromae]] [[WholesomeCrossdresser dressed as a woman]]) about "tous les mêmes" before [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70slr7skdtI performing it on Le Grand Journal]].