“At the time I learned drums, I wanted to be the drummer of Hanson. I w...” — Stromae Quote

At the time I learned drums, I wanted to be the drummer of Hanson. I wanted to be this guy because he was so young, and he was already drumming in the band, you know, so I just wanted to be like him. And later, I discovered hip-hop music at boarding school.

I'm a composer like every maestro on this earth.

I'm not making music for old people or young people.

I'm not making music for intelligent people or dumb people. I'm just making music for people.

I'm sure, ever since I was really young, that happiness is not a bottle of champagne and a girl and a limousine and a swimming pool.

My maternal grandma was a tough, tough lady and a stern woman, who lost her husband young and raised six kids by herself. She lived in a mining community in Upstate New York and ran a boarding house for miners. She took care of an entire family and miners who lived in the house as well.

This was 1978, when flying was still an occasion, a special grand event that took planning and care. I worked as a TWA flight attendant then. I stood in my Ralph Lauren uniform at the boarding door and smiled at the passengers through lips coated with lipstick that perfectly matched the stripe on my jacket. Mostly, the passengers smiled back.

I went to an all-girls boarding school for most of my youth.

I'm always represented as a bit of a class warrior - a bit Down With Men and Down With Middle-Class People. Whereas I'm actually very fond of men and am middle-class. I even went to boarding school in Perthshire.