After Indila’s « Dernière danse » last May, Stromae’s « Papaoutai » becomes the second French-language song in history to surpass one billion views on YouTube. A feat that will have taken the « Racine carrée » hit, which has just celebrated its tenth birthday, just over a decade.
Belgian artist Stromae‘s iconic hit « Papaoutai » has just surpassed one billion views on YouTube. Simply incredible figures for the first single from the singer’s second event album, making it the second French-language track in history to surpass this impressive milestone on the video platform. This performance had previously only been achieved by Indila, who crossed this symbolic threshold last May with « Dernière danse ». The latter achieved the feat in nine years, while it took Stromae ten to reach the same milestone. It’s worth noting that the colorful, danceable video for « Papaoutai », posted online on June 6, 2013, buoyed by the cult performance of the young boy at his side, just as memorable as the song itself, are also probably no strangers to the song’s YouTube success. At the time, his performance at the NRJ Music Awards where Stromae, frozen, was carried up the steps of the Palais du Festival had also contributed to the phenomenon.
A very exclusive club that’s about to get even bigger!
This billion views for « Papaoutai » is a fine way for Stromae to celebrate the tenth anniversary of « Racine carrée », an album that has become a legend since its release on August 16, 2013. It quickly became a cult album thanks to its many hits such as « Formidable » and « Tous les mêmes », earning itself the title of the best-selling record in France over the past decade with over 2 million sales on the counter. Another 20,000 copies have been sold since the start of 2023! To mark the occasion, Stromae – who is still battling health problems that forced him to cancel his latest tour – has released a special edition of the album. However, this initiative has raised a few eyebrows among fans, who feel that the prices are too high, especially for vinyl.
Whatever the case, the billionaires’ club is only set to grow in the years to come. The third and next French artist to rack up a billion plays on one of his YouTube clips is set to be Willy William! Indeed, the former member of Collectif Métissé hit the international charts with his hit « Ego ». However, this one, which currently has 996 million views at the time of writing, was released online on November 2, 2015. Barring a catastrophe, the artist is thus poised to become the fastest French singer in history to reach one billion views on YouTube with a track in French!
