Christine and the Queens

Rahim Claude Redcar, best known as Christine and the Queens, broke through with the 2014 debut album Chaleur humaine, a critically acclaimed record that reached number two in both France and the United Kingdom. Certified diamond in France, it also became a best-selling debut record in the UK. Born on 1 June 1988 and raised in Nantes, France, Redcar began learning piano at four and found inspiration in a London club while studying.

After issuing a series of EPs between 2011 and 2013, Redcar signed with the independent label Because Music in 2012. The Christine and the Queens project brought together pop songwriting, electronic production and performance, initially under a name that reflected a formative encounter with London drag artists. Chaleur humaine introduced songs in French and English and established Redcar beyond France.

The second studio album, Chris, arrived in 2018 to further critical acclaim. Clash, The Guardian and The Independent each named it album of the year, while nine other year-end lists placed it in their top tens. Its single “Girlfriend” was named song of the year by Time. In 2020, following his mother’s death, Redcar released the EP La vita nuova; some critics called it his strongest work to that point, and Time named “People, I’ve Been Sad” its song of the year.

Later releases included Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) in 2022 and Paranoia, Angels, True Love in 2023. Both were critically acclaimed, though they did not match the commercial performance of the earlier albums. In 2024, Redcar released Hopecore, a more dance-inflected album. His awards include four Victoires de la Musique, presented by the French Ministry of Culture. In 2016, Vanity Fair placed him first on its list of French figures promoting “French ingenuity”; Forbes included him among its 30 Under 30 list in 2017, and Time named him a Next Generation Leader in 2016 and 2018.

In August 2022, Redcar said that his gender journey had been a long process and that he had been using masculine gendering for about a year. He subsequently adopted he/him pronouns on social media and has spoken against the idea that trans identity requires hormones or surgery.