Stromae's 'homecoming' finally confirmed

MANY Rwandans were disappointed when international musician Stromae's home coming concert was cancelled in June, this year. Before he could embark on his tour of Rwanda, the singer fell sick and was forced to postpone the historical concert in his father’s home country.

Tuesday, August 04, 2015
Stromae is a Rwandan-Belgian vocalist, songwriter, and producer. (Net photo)

MANY Rwandans were disappointed when international musician Stromae’s home coming concert was cancelled in June, this year.

VIDEO: Papaoutai. Source. Stromae/YouTube

Before he could embark on his tour of Rwanda, the singer fell sick and was forced to postpone the historical concert in his father’s home country.

Now, organizers say that the Papaoutai hit maker will thrill Rwandans in October. The director of Positive Production, Judo Kanobana, who is among the organisers of the singer’s show in the country, has confirmed to The New Times that the concert is on come October.

VIDEO: Formidable (ceci n'est pas une leçon). Source. Stromae/YouTube

"We are yet to confirm the exact date but he (Stromae) will be here in October,” Kanobana said.

Stromae, whose real name is Paul Van Haver, had music tour of Africa, which he was supposed to end with the final leg on June 20, at Amahoro national stadium, Remera.

However, the 30-year-old artiste got an adverse reaction to anti-malaria medicine and was flown back to Brussels after he suffered from what was termed as ‘serious secondary effects of anti-malaria treatment.’

Asked for more details about entry fees and venue, Kanobana said the public will be updated on the issue as soon as possible. "Maybe in a month’s time, we would almost be done with   everything. Of course we will then inform the public; after all it’s their concert,” he explained.

At a concert in May in Dakar, Senegal, Stromae expressed his anticipation to perform in Kigali. "Honestly… I don’t know what to expect (in Rwanda), he said. "A lot of things are going to come out in me.”

The highly anticipated show in Kigali had not only exhilarated his fans, but the rest of the world was waiting in anticipation to see how the singer’s ‘homecoming’ would go.

VIDEO: Alors on danse. Source. Stromae/YouTube

Apart from the Kigali concert, the singer called off concerts in London, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Canada, the US, among others, but had already staged successful shows in Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Cameroon and Gabon.

Born to a Rwandan father and half-Belgian, half-Dutch mother, Stromae attended a film school in Brussels but decided to concentrate on a music career in 2007.

His first single, Papaoutai, from his second album Racine Carrée (Square Root) dominated music charts in half a dozen European countries. His other song, Ta fête, was the official song for the Belgian national football team at the 2014 World Cup.