He’s the Belgian star who brought his country back to the top five at Eurovision for the first time in 12 years. Now, as Loïc Nottet builds up to the release of his sophomore album Sillygomania, he’s dropped the new song “Mr/Mme” – his first official single in the French language.

Loïc Nottet’s second album Sillygomania has unfortunately been delayed as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. The LP is now set for a 29 May release date.

However, to fill the gap, Belgium’s Eurovision 2015 star has released a new track from the album for his fans. “Mr/Mme”, which sees Nottet singing in French for the first time, is set to be the closing song of Sillygomania.

Loïc Nottet explores his inner emotions in “Mr/Mme”

“Mr/Mme” is an emotional piano ballad. Although the instrumentation here is very simple, Loïc adds depth to the song with the texture in his voice and his artistry is made apparent through the lyrics.

At 6:22 minutes in length, “Mr/Mme” is a marathon not a sprint. Nottet takes the listener on a journey into his soul and explores the emotions that are swirling inside.

The Belgian star takes the time to open up to the listener: “Good evening, Sir, Madam / Today, I’ll say it all”.

Loïc Nottet – “Mr/Mme”

The lyrics read like a poem, with much to explore every time you re-listen to the song. Loïc starts off by declaring he wants to escape from this world:

This world strangles me, crushes me and burns me
Destroys me, prevents me from living in my bubble
So, I would like to leave
[…]

If God says suicide is a sin then
I’ll let him decide my fate without doing him wrong
Let him turn me into what the doctors call “crazy”

There are moments where the song is a declaration to God, as Nottet falls deeper into the loneliness he believes his successful career has resulted in: “Success makes you lonely / Few friends, no life … God, I need a guide”.

The Eurovision alum knows that there are people who won’t understand what he’s feeling, but tries not to concentrate on them: “Some morons will say / That I am exaggerating / But to hell with those idiots / Because I am young and I am struggling”.

All in all, the Belgian star feels lost despite being able to live his childhood dreams.

However, in amongst all the sadness that Loïc feels inside, there is a glimmer of hope and gratitude. He knows that there are ways of escaping from the world while still remaining on Earth. As in the end, no matter how hard life may seem, there will always be someone out there who loves you and supports you – for Loïc this is his fans.

Thus, to finish, Nottet thanks the listener for providing him with the opportunity to perform and sing:

But, know all the same
That on stage, thanks to you
I feel like I’m far from this crazy world
Because I write when I mess up
And I laugh when I dance
And I live when I sing
And for all that, I tell you:
Thank you

The music video for “Mr/Mme” is shot entirely in black and white and in one take. Loïc wanders the streets of Brussels as he contemplates his thoughts. The Eurovision star confirmed that this was filmed before the coronavirus lockdown was in place.

On Instagram, Nottet explained what he hoped people would take away from the song:

““Never say never”! That’s what I answered when you asked me if I was going to sing in French one day! Today it’s done with “Mr/Mme”! I hesitated for a long time to share it with you, but after a long reflection with myself, I realised that this song meant a lot to me and that it might tell your own story without even knowing you personally! Basically, we are all the same and our weaknesses are often the same!”

Indeed, there are a lot of themes in the lyrics, particularly surrounding mental health, that will resonate with a number of people. From the despair, to the loneliness, to wanting to escape from a world where you don’t feel at home. But most importantly, the hope that never fades, the continual desire to find your place, and ultimately the love that will always be there even in the darkest of moments.

Lyrics: Loïc Nottet – “Mr/Mme”

Original French

Bonsoir, monsieur, madame
Aujourd’hui, j’te dis tout
J’préfère t’parler en “tu”
Car je n’aime pas le “vous”
J’trouve que ça vieillit
Et moi, j’veux rester p’tit
Un gamin pour la vie
Sans mouchoirs, ni cris

Alors, vas-y, j’te dis tout
Sur le drame que j’vis
Au quotidien, en enfer
Voilà où j’suis
J’voudrais m’en aller
M’évader loin de tout
De ce monde de fous
Et partir je-ne-sais-où

Ce monde m’étrangle, m’écrase et me brûle
Me détruit, il m’empêche de vivre dans ma bulle
Alors, j’voudrais partir
Loin de tout, juste m’enfuir
Laisse-moi courir loin
Laissant ce monde à bannir

Si Dieu dit que l’suicide est un péché alors
Qu’il dise comment je part, sans lui faire de tort
Qu’il me transforme en c’que les médecins appellent “fou”
Et peut-être qu’ainsi j’y verrai dans le flou

Alors, cher Monsieur T
Aide-moi, aime-moi
Moi, j’n’y arrive pas
Dans ce monde que je vois
Dans ce monde de luttes
Où l’Homme n’est qu’une brute
Où l’Amour n’est plus rien
Que querelles et disputes

J’voudrais m’écrire un monde
Une planète rien qu’à moi
Une planète sur laquelle
Je me sentirais moi
Un renouveau, sans chaînes
Dépourvu de haine
Une planète sur laquelle
Tu me donnerais des ailes

Un nouvel univers
Où les larmes, les peines
Ne seraient qu’un mythe
Qu’une putain de légende urbaine
Alors, laisse-moi partir
Dis-moi comment m’enfuir
Assez d’questions posées
Laisse-moi, j’veux tout quitter

La seule chose que j’aime
En ta création : l’homme
C’est qu’il peut rêver chaque nuit, comme les mômes
Qu’on soit vieux, jeune, vilain
Gentil, ou encore moche
On a le droit d’rêver, sans même rien dans les poches

Mendiant, j’implore le soir
Je mendie de l’espoir
Mais la nuit est radine
Madame, garde sa morphine
Parce que j’ai pas payé
Ou du moins, pas assez
Né d’parents sans fortune
Elle me refuse la lune

Puisque certes, dans ce monde
On n’peut vivre sans ces nombres
Que tes enfants ont transformé en méchants monstres
Chaque mois tu en gagnes
Chaque jour tu en perds
L’addition est sévère
J’rends la note, j’quitte l’enfer

C’est vrai, j’m’avoue p’têtre vaincu
J’l’avoue, j’l’assume
La vie m’bouffe avec un sale goût d’amertume
Alors, entend-moi hurler
Gerber toutes mes tripes
Dans ce son qui conte la vie d’un con pessimiste

J’me sens seul, putain !
Personne me tient la main
Personne avec qui partager cette gloire, putain
J’marche seul sur un chemin
Qui semble sans lendemain
J’accélère mais personne ne m’attend à la fin

Alors, chaque soir, je bois
Je me tronche la gueule
Pour oublier, qu’au fond
Le succès, ça rend seul
Peu d’amis, peu de vie
J’suis enfermé sous vide
Plein d’ennemis, plus d’sortie
Dieu, j’ai besoin d’un guide

Certains bouffons diront
Que j’abuse, j’exagère
Mais qu’ils s’emmerdent ces cons
Car j’suis jeune et j’galère
Dans ma tête, c’est le bordel
Qui a éteint la lumière ?
Maman, j’n’y vois plus clair
J’ai besoin qu’on m’éclaire

D’abord, c’est le bonheur
Quand tu donnes à ton coeur
À bouffer un amour
Qui calme tes douleurs
Tu oublies ton malheur
Mais, au fond, c’n’est qu’un leurre
Dans cette génération d’cons, remplie de menteurs

Une fois le coeur brisé
Pas besoin d’l’appeler
La solitude débarque
Elle vient vite te trouver
Elle n’attend pas qu’tu ouvres, nan !
Elle entre sans frapper
Tes coups d’blues sont pour elle un 4 heures à bouffer

Alors toi, qui es-tu ?
Au fond, le sais-tu ?
Car moi je n’sais plus qui je suis, j’suis perdu
Mon ambition est grande
Dure à satisfaire
Mon bonheur a le goût d’une saveur amère

Alors, monsieur, madame
J’l’avoue, j’suis malheureux
Et pourtant je vis de mon rêve de morveux
Mais c’est plus fort que moi
Il me manque encore ça
Ça et ça là-bas
Toujours plus, j’suis comme ça !

Alors, j’espère qu’un jour
Je pourrai faire l’amour
À une personne sincère
Qui n’me jouera pas d’tours
J’en ai vraiment assez
De donner sans retours
J’suis saoulé d’m’aimer, moi
Sans l’âme-soeur, c’est lourd

Mais, sachez tout de même
Que sur scène, grâce à vous
J’ai l’impression d’être loin de ce monde de fou
Car j’écris quand j’me plante
Et je ris quand je danse
Et je vis quand je chante
Et pour tout ça, j’te dis :
Merci

English Translation

Good evening, Sir, Madam
Today, I’ll say it all
I prefer to address you familiarly
Because I don’t like formalities
I find that they age people
While I wish to stay young
A kid for life
Without a tissue or cry

So here we go, I’ll say it all
On the drama I’m living
My daily life is hell
This is where I stand
I would like to go away
Get away from it all
From this crazy world
To go, I don’t know where

This world strangles me, crushes me and burns me
Destroys me, prevents me from living in my bubble
So, I would like to leave
Far from it all, just run away
Let me run away
Leave this world, banish it

If God says suicide is a sin then
I’ll let him decide my fate without doing him wrong
Let him turn me into what the doctors call “crazy”
And maybe I would see it clear in this fog

So, dear Mr. G
Help me, love me
I can’t do it on my own
In this world that I see
In this world of struggles
Where man is only a bully
Where love is nothing
But quarrels and disputes

I would like to write a world for myself
A planet just for me
A planet on which
I would feel like me
A new world without chains
Free from hatred
A planet on which
You would bless me wings

A new universe
Where tears, sorrows
Are only a myth
Just a fucking urban legend
So let me go
Tell me how to run away
Enough questions asked
Just let me be

The only thing I like
In your creation of man
Is that he can dream every night, like kids
Whether we are old, young, naughty
Nice, or ugly
We have the right to dream, even with empty pockets

As a beggar, I implore the evening
I beg for hope
But the night is stingy
Madam keeps her morphine
Because I didn’t pay
Or at least not enough
Born of parents without fortunes
She refuses me the moon

Since it is certain in this world
We can’t live without these numbers
That have turned your children into evil monsters
Every month you earn some
Every day you lose some
The bill is steep
I must give it back, I’m leaving hell

It’s true, I admit I can be defeated
I admit it, I own up to it
Life eats me up , leaving a nasty taste of bitterness
So hear me scream
Throw up all my guts
In this song that tells the life of a pessimistic idiot

I feel lonely, damn!
No one is holding my hand
No one to share this glory with, f***
I walk alone on this hopeless path
That seems without a future
I’m speeding up but no one is waiting for me at the end

So every night I drink
I get uncontrollably drunk
To forget, that basically
Success makes you lonely
Few friends, no life
I’m locked in a vacuum
Full of enemies, no more nights out
God, I need a guide

Some morons will say
That I am exaggerating
But to hell with those idiots
Because I am young and I am struggling
In my head, it’s a mess
Who turned off the light?
Mom, I can’t see clear anymore
I need some enlightenment

First some happiness
When you give to your heart
A true love
That calms your grief
You forget your misfortune
But, in the end, it’s just a decoy
In this stupid generation filled with liars

Once the heart is broken
No need to summon it
Loneliness sets in
She quickly comes to find you
She doesn’t wait for you to open, no!
She enters without knocking
Your low spirits are for her a treat to snack upon

So who are you?
Basically, do you know?
Because I don’t know who I am anymore, I’m lost
My ambition is grand
Hard to satisfy
My happiness holds a bitter taste

So, sir, madam
I admit, I’m unhappy
And yet I’m living my childhood dreams
But I can’t help it
There is always something missing
This and that over there
Always more, I’m like that!

So, I hope that one day
I could make love
To a sincere person
Who won’t play tricks
I’ve really fed up
Of giving and not receiving
I’m fed up of feeling unworthy
Without no soulmate, it’s hard to bear

But, know all the same
That on stage, thanks to you
I feel like I’m far from this crazy world
Because I write when I mess up
And I laugh when I dance
And I live when I sing
And for all that, I tell you:
Thank you

What do you think of Loïc Nottet’s new song? What do you take away from the lyrics of “Mr/Mme”? Let us know in the comments below!

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10 Comments
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eurovisionaire
eurovisionaire
3 years ago

I thought it was Mr. Mime at first…

Kobe
Kobe
4 years ago

Yet again another masterpiece!

Purple Mask
Purple Mask
4 years ago

Wow.

Agumon
Agumon
4 years ago

I would LOVE to see him in a Eurovision Home Concert video. He’s already posting his own covers on his Instagram and they’re all great. He’d do a great job on Arcade, Black Bird, or Soldi.

Koen
Koen
4 years ago

He’s ***ing talented.
And he’s prone to attend the Eurovision stage once again, when asked. To me, he is – along with Tom Dice in the new duet setting The Starlings – the only former Belgian Eurovision star who can win the damn thing, if he gets a new chance. He’s shown what he got in 2015, but he’s grown so much already in those 5 years.
If RTBF thinks about second chances: Loïc Nottet is the way to go.
If Één thinks about second chances: Tom Dice is the way to go.

John
John
4 years ago

He makes it look so easy. Every song on this album so far is a genuine hit.

Cai
Cai
4 years ago

I do not even speak french but I’m crying

Bella
Bella
4 years ago

He’s by far the most talented person to ever grace the Eurovison stage. His voice is magical, and his songs span a variety of styles but are always classy and stylish.

Adam
Adam
4 years ago

A beautiful song which truly deserves its own article. Quite possibly his most expressive and personal track to date. Merci beaucoup pour ce chef-d’oeuvre.

ehehege
ehehege
4 years ago

very borig song