Chris (album)

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Chris
ChristineAndTheQueensChris.png
Studio album by
Christine and the Queens
Released21 September 2018 (2018-09-21)
Studio
  • Atlas, Paris
  • Studio 45, London
  • Band House, Los Angeles
  • 10 Feet Under, Los Angeles
Genre
Length44:28
Language
  • English
  • French
LabelBecause
Producer
  • Christine and the Queens
  • Cole M.G.N.[a]
Christine and the Queens chronology
Chaleur humaine
(2014) 		Chris
(2018) 		La vita nuova
(2020)
Singles from Chris
  1. "Girlfriend" / "Damn, dis-moi"
    Released: 17 May 2018
  2. "Doesn't Matter" / "Doesn't Matter (Voleur de soleil)"
    Released: 5 July 2018
  3. "5 Dollars"
    Released: 16 August 2018
  4. "La Marcheuse"
    Released: 23 August 2018
  5. "Comme si"
    Released: 20 May 2019

Chris is the second studio album by French singer Christine and the Queens, released on 21 September 2018 in both English and French versions through Because Music.[8] It was preceded by the release of two singles, each of which were released in both English and French versions: "Girlfriend" / "Damn, dis-moi", featuring Dâm-Funk, and "Doesn't Matter" / "Doesn't Matter (Voleur de soleil)".[8] An English-language single, "5 Dollars", was also released alongside an S&M-inspired video,[9] followed by the French version of "La Marcheuse".[10]

On iTunes and other online streaming and download services, the album includes 23 tracks, with 11 in English and 12 in French, most of which are versions of the same song.[11] The album is available physically in individual French and English versions and sets including both.[12]

Background[]

Although still credited to Christine and the Queens, Héloïse Letissier explained before the album's release that she had adopted the simplified moniker Chris, saying "it had to be Chris at some point because I was bolder and stronger and had more muscle [...] it was natural for me to shed the rest of the stage name and to cut my hair."[8]

Music and themes[]

In a track-by-track interview with Letissier, Pitchfork said the album "bounces from horny consumerism to melancholic machismo to stark vulnerability".[13] It contrasted Chris with Letissier's debut album Chaleur humaine, saying that album's "warmth was slow-burning, [while] Chris is red hot, sweaty, and insatiable".[13] Letissier later elaborated: "The first album was born out of the frustration of being an aberration in society, because I was a young queer woman. The second was really born out of the aberration I was becoming, which was a powerful woman—being lustful and horny and sometimes angry, and craving for this will to just own everything a bit more and apologise a bit less."[11]

The Fader stated the album is "less starry-eyed than its predecessor", calling the lyrics more direct and sharp than before.[14] It also claimed the album "explodes" Letissier's queer, feminist identity.[14] Letissier named some of her references for the album were "immediate, catchy pop productions" by the likes of Cameo and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, also specifically naming Michael Jackson's Dangerous and Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope as influences.[14] The track "Goya Soda" references the Spanish painter Francisco Goya.[13]

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10[15]
Metacritic89/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[17]
The A.V. ClubA−[18]
The Daily Telegraph5/5 stars[19]
The Guardian5/5 stars[4]
The Independent5/5 stars[1]
NME5/5 stars[2]
The Observer4/5 stars[20]
Pitchfork7.9/10[3]
Q4/5 stars[21]
Rolling Stone4/5 stars[22]

Chris received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 89, based on 26 reviews, signifying "universal acclaim".[16] Robert Steiner of The Boston Globe called the album a "refreshing, empowering record" and complimented its "stellar production and contagiously danceable jams", as well as Letissier's "engrossing lyricism".[23] Although he felt that the album "loses steam" in its second half, Steiner named "The Walker" as a highlight for its "poignant" portrayal of a victim of domestic violence.[23] In her review for AllMusic, Heather Phares concluded that "As she examines what masculinity, femininity, strength, and vulnerability mean to her, Christine has never sounded more exposed -- or in control. A triumph, Chris reaffirms just how masterfully she engages minds, hearts, and bodies."[17]

Year-end lists[]

Critics' rankings of Chris
Publication List Rank Ref.
AllMusic The Allmusic 2018: Year in Review N/A
[24]
Associated Press AP's top 2018 albums 9
[25]
Billboard Billboard's 50 Best Albums of 2018 20
[26]
Clash Clash's Albums of the Year 2018 1
[27]
Consequence of Sound Top 50 Albums of 2018 6
[28]
Crack The Top 50 Albums of 2018 16
[29]
The Daily Beast Top 10 Albums of 2018 4
[30]
Dazed Digital The 20 best albums of 2018 8
[31]
Drowned in Sound Drowned in Sound's 15 Favourite Albums of 2018 3
[32]
Idolator The 25 Best Albums of 2018 2
[33]
The Independent The 40 best albums of 2018 1
[34]
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2018 1
[35]
The Line of Best Fit The Best Albums of 2018 14
[36]
Mojo MOJO's Best Albums of 2018 5
[37]
MusicOMH Top 50 Albums Of 2018 4
[38]
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2018 10
[39]
NPR Music Best Music of 2018 21
[40]
Pitchfork The 50 Albums of 2018 30
[41]
Spin The 51 Best Albums of 2018 27
[42]
PopMatters The 70 Best Albums of 2018 17
[43]
Slant Magazine The 25 Best Albums of 2018 16
[44]
Spectrum Culture Top 20 Albums of 2018 18
[45]
Spin The 51 Best Albums of 2018 27
[46]
USA Today USA Today's Best Albums of 2018 N/A
[47]

Decade-end lists[]

Critics' rankings of Chris
Publication List Rank Ref.
AllMusic AllMusic's 200 Best Albums of the 2010s N/A
[48]
Consequence of Sound Top 100 of the 2010s 87
[49]
Top 25 Pop Albums of the 2010s 15
[50]
Paste The 30 Best Pop Albums of the 2010s 24
[51]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by Christine and the Queens, except "Girlfriend" / "Damn, dis-moi", co-composed by Christine and the Queens and Dâm-Funk.

English version
No.TitleLength
1."Comme si"3:52
2."Girlfriend" (featuring Dâm-Funk)3:20
3."The Walker"4:16
4."Doesn't Matter"4:24
5."5 Dollars"3:28
6."Goya Soda"5:25
7."Damn (What Must a Woman Do)"3:37
8."What's-Her-Face"5:03
9."Feel So Good"3:45
10."Make Some Sense"3:20
11."The Stranger"4:03
Total length:44:28
Target US bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Comme si on s'aimait"3:52
13."Doesn't Matter (Voleur de soleil)"4:24
14."5 Dols"3:28
15."Bruce est dans le brouillard"3:38
Total length:59:49
French version
No.TitleLength
1."Comme si on s'aimait"3:52
2."Damn, dis-moi" (featuring Dâm-Funk)3:20
3."La Marcheuse"4:16
4."Doesn't Matter (Voleur de soleil)"4:24
5."5 Dols"3:28
6."Goya ! Soda !"5:25
7."Follarse"3:37
8."Machin-chose"5:03
9."Bruce est dans le brouillard"3:38
10."Le G"3:55
11."Les Yeux mouillés"3:20
12."L'Étranger (Voleur d'eau)"4:03
Total length:48:16

Notes

  • All English and French track titles, except "Goya Soda" / "Goya ! Soda !", are stylised in sentence case capitalisation.
  • The French tracks "Bruce est dans le brouillard" and "Le G" have no English counterparts, while the English track "Feel So Good" has no French counterpart.

Personnel[]

Only English track titles listed, except for French-exclusive tracks.

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[73] Platinum 100,000double-dagger
United Kingdom (BPI)[74] Silver 60,000double-dagger

double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Notes[]

  1. ^ Vocal production; co-production on "The Walker" / "La Marcheuse", "5 Dollars" / "5 dols", "What's-Her-Face" / "Machin-chose", "Damn (What Must a Woman Do)" / "Follarse" and "Bruce est dans le brouillard"

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Brown, Helen (20 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens – 'Chris' album review: Adding sweat and swagger to a perfect pop record". The Independent. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Hunt, El (20 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens – 'Chris' album review". NME. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Cox, Jamieson (21 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens: Chris". Pitchfork. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Petridis, Alexis (20 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens: Chris review – pop music that truly matters". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  5. ^ Hughes, Kayleigh (21 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens Joyfully Returns with the Groovy and Sultry Chris". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. ^ Manno, Lizzie (11 December 2018). "Christine and the Queens: Chris Review". Paste. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. ^ Edwards, David. "Album Review: Christine and the Queens - Chris". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b c Daly, Rhian (5 July 2018). "Christine And The Queens explains why she had to become 'Chris' on new album". NME. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  9. ^ Bote, Joshua (16 August 2018). "Christine and the Queens Premieres '5 Dollars' Video". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  10. ^ Maine, Samantha (24 August 2018). "Listen to Christine and the Queens' new French single, 'La marcheuse'". NME. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "Chris by Christine and the Queens on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  12. ^ "christine and the queens – chris – resident". Resident Music. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c Moreland, Quinn (19 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens' Héloïse Letissier Breaks Down Every Song on Her New Album, Chris". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  14. ^ Jump up to: a b c Heaney, Katie (18 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens isn't afraid to be too much". The Fader. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Chris by Christine and the Queens reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b "Chris by Christine and the Queens Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b Phares, Heather. "Chris – Christine and the Queens". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  18. ^ Zaleski, Annie (20 September 2018). "Christine And The Queens' swaggering Chris revels in fluid identities". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  19. ^ McCormick, Neil (20 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens, Chris, review: stylish, smart and defiant, she's the pop star we need right now". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  20. ^ Empire, Kitty (23 September 2018). "Christine and the Queens: Chris review – the triumph of a slick character". The Observer. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  21. ^ Aroesti, Rachel (October 2018). "Crowning Glory". Q. No. 390. United Kingdom. p. 110.
  22. ^ Hermes, Will (21 September 2018). "Review: Christine & the Queens Sly, Seductive 'Chris'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
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  25. ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (11 December 2018). "AP's top 2018 albums: Janelle Monae, Kacey Musgraves, J Cole". Associated Press. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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  27. ^ "Clash's Albums of the Year 2018". Clash. 12 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  28. ^ COS Staff (3 December 2018). "Top 50 Albums of 2018". Consequence of sound. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  29. ^ "The Top 50 Albums of 2018". Crack. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  30. ^ Stern, Marlow (31 December 2018). "Top 10 Albums of 2018: Ariana Grande Is the New Princess of Pop". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  31. ^ "TThe 20 best albums of 2018". Dazed Digital. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  32. ^ "Drowned in Sound's 15 Favourite Albums of 2018". Drowned in Sound. 8 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  33. ^ "From 'Golden Hour' To 'Caution,' The 25 Best Albums Of 2018". Idolator. 29 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  34. ^ "The 40 best albums of 2018: From Arctic Monkeys to Christine and the Queens, Kendrick Lamar to Janelle Monae". The Independent. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  35. ^ Snapes, Laura (4 December 2018). "The 50 best albums of 2018: the full list". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  36. ^ "The Best Albums of 2018". The Line of Best Fit. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  37. ^ "MOJO's Best Albums of 2018". Mojo. 15 November 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  38. ^ Hubbard, Michael (5 December 2018). "Music OMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2018". Music OMH. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  39. ^ Hunt, El (17 December 2018). "NME's Albums Of The Year 2018". NME. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  40. ^ "Best Music of 2018". NPR Music. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  41. ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2018". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  42. ^ "The 51 Best Albums of 2018". Spin. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  43. ^ "The 70 Best Albums of 2018". PopMatters. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  44. ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2018". Slant. 11 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  45. ^ "Top 20 Albums of 2018". Spectrum Culture. 13 December 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  46. ^ "The 51 Best Albums of 2018". Spin. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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  48. ^ "Decade In Review". Retrieved December 15, 2019.
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  50. ^ COS Staff (30 December 2019). "Top 25 Pop Albums of the 2010s". Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  51. ^ Paste Staff (1 November 2019). "The 30 Best Pop Albums of the 2010s". Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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  74. ^ "British album certifications – Christine and the Queens – Chris". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
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