by Jill Calhoun
There was a time when Héloïse Letissier slid into a deep depression in the aftermath of a disastrous breakup. Letissier left her studies in Paris and fled to London where she found herself wandering the streets alone at night. She stumbled across Madame Jojo’s, an underground burlesque venue in Soho, London where she met 3 drag queens. The queens encouraged her to start singing, so Lettisier locked herself in her room for weeks and taught herself how to write music. From there, Christine and The Queens was born; the name paying homage to the queens who Letissier claims to be her saviors.
The self titled album Christine and The Queens was released in October 2015, and it has helped the artist gain recent popularity in the United States. On the album, Lettisier sheds light on her own battles with gender identity and her refusal to negotiate with society about who she should be. Christine and The Queens is empowering and vulnerable, but it also makes listeners want to get up and dance. The album features songs with Perfume Genius on “Jonathan,” and Philadelphia’s own Tunji Ige on “No Harm Is Done”. Communion and World Cafe Live present Christine and The Queens on June 1st, be there!
