克莉丝汀和皇后

Rahim Claude Redcar (born 1 June 1988) is a French singer and songwriter best known under the pseudonym of Christine and the Queens. Born and raised in Nantes, he started learning piano at the age of four and found inspiration in one of London's clubs while studying. Redcar released a series of extended plays (EPs) throughout 2011–2013.

Redcar's debut studio album, Chaleur humaine (2014), received critical acclaim, reached number two in the French and UK charts, and was certified diamond in France; it was also a best selling debut record in the United Kingdom. In 2018, he released his second studio album, Chris, to further critical acclaim. It was ranked album of the year by Clash, The Guardian, and The Independent, and placed in the top-ten of nine other year-end lists. "Girlfriend" was recognized by Time as song of the year. In reaction to his mother's death, Redcar released an EP in 2020 La vita nuova, with some critics calling it his strongest work up to that point. Time again named his song, "People, I've Been Sad", the song of the year. Ensuing years saw the releases of Redcar les adorables étoiles (prologue) (2022) and Paranoia, Angels, True Love (2023), which were met with critical acclaim but did not achieve the commercial success of his previous releases. In 2024, he released Hopecore, a more dance-inflected album.

In 2016, Redcar was ranked number one in Vanity Fair's list of most powerful and influential French people who "promote French ingenuity", ahead of the country's president. The next year, Forbes placed him on its list of 30 most influential and talented people under 30, and Time included him on its list of Next Generation Leaders twice – in 2016 and 2018. His accolades include four Victories of Music awarded by the French Ministry of Culture. Christine and the Queens has been signed to the independent record label Because Music since 2012.

In August 2022, he stated in a TikTok video in French that his gender journey was "a long process" and explained that he had gendered himself in the masculine for about a year, which he had shared with family and close friends. He subsequently updated his pronouns to he/him across social media platforms. He has stated that he is "in resistance to the approach of trans identity that there has to be hormones and operations", which he considers a form of binarism.

Early life

Rahim Redcar was born Héloïse Adélaïde Letissier on 1 June 1988 in Nantes. His father, Georges Letissier, taught English literature at the University of Nantes and specialises in Victorian era literature. His mother, Martine Letissier, taught French and Latin at a local middle school. Martine died suddenly from a heart infection in April 2019, in the week between Redcar‘s two scheduled Coachella performances on 13 and 20 April. The latter performance was cancelled because Redcar travelled back to France to be with his mother.

Redcar began learning to play the piano at the age of four, learned classical dance at five, and then modern jazz. His parents recommended to him writers such as Sarah Waters and Judith Butler, whose works served both as inspiration and reference in Redcar‘s youth. He attended Lycée Clemenceau learning theatre and then Lycée Fénelon secondary school in Paris learning literature. He later studied at the Department of Arts of École normale supérieure de Lyon (ENS Lyon) and studied drama at the Lyon Regional Conservatory.