A crowd of two thousand gathered at TD Echo Beach last night to see the impeccably-dressed, French-singing Belgian electropop superstar Stromae. Until recently, I hadn’t heard of him either.

This changed when I lived with a French Master’s student who introduced me to the “bête de scène” (their term for charismatic showman) and his infectious hip-hop sound. As the New York Times succinctly put it, “his music mingles electronic dance beats with hints of African, Latin and cabaret styles. He sings and dances with long-limbed aplomb; he’s a striking video presence with a flashy and sometimes androgynous fashion sense.”

Listening closely to (or Google translating) his lyrics reveals the deep and often somber subject matter of his songs, with topics ranging from absent fathers, breakups, unemployment, gender stereotypes, social media’s impact on our relationships and, most recently, cancer. However, this does little to stop his fans from dancing like crazy. Stromae’s live vocals and spectacular audio-visual displays are legendary.

The tracks chosen for the concert strayed little from his biggest hits, Stromae likely aware that his Toronto audience would not be familiar with the lesser-known songs in his repertoire. He closed the show with a trippy extended drum solo and an a capella version of “Tous Les Mêmes” showcasing his sheer talent and vocal artistry.

Aware of his Kanye-like, million-selling status in Europe, it was exhilarating to be fewer than twenty feet away from Stromae in this intimate concert venue. As the performance concluded and the crowds dispersed towards the streetcar, all anyone could say of the concert was that it had been “formidable”.

This article originally appeared on BlogUT here.