“People don’t always understand that there is something cumbersome about popularity,” confides the French singer, who will be in concert on March 21, 2025, at the Geneva Arena.
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It took him just seven years, an EP, two albums and four Victoires de la Musique to establish himself as a big name in French song. Others got a big head for less than that. But not Clara Luciani. At 32, while she releases her third opus, “Mon sang”, on November 15, 2024, the singer remains true to herself, with humility anchored to her body, readily citing Gainsbourg, Deneuve or Hardy among those she she admires. We submitted quotes from her idols to her, and she tells us what they inspire in her.
“Success and glory will only ever intoxicate our temples.” (Serge Gainsbourg)
I was recently on a show where a kid asked me, “Does being famous make you happy?” The answer is no. It’s quite the opposite. If we attach ourselves to this success, we constantly have the feeling that it is a bird in a cage and that it will take flight if we are not careful. The fact of no longer being completely anonymous is not what I like the most. When I find myself with my child (editor’s note: her son was born on September 18, 2023) in the street, I want to be his mother and nothing else. People don’t always understand that there is something cumbersome about popularity.
“Writing is painful because you are constantly confronted with yourself.” (Francoise Hardy)
I am convinced that we always write about ourselves, even when we do not speak in the first person. Writing is a solitary activity, where you are locked in with yourself, it’s a bit like looking at yourself in a mirror for hours. There’s something very uncomfortable about that. I wouldn’t talk about suffering, but as with any exercise in introspection, it’s complicated. I love writing, but it has to go quickly. When I was little, I was convinced that I would become a writer. But I realize that I lack rigor, patience and imagination.
“Time is love, living is celebration.” (Jacques Demy)
It’s a bit of my philosophy of life. I’m a fairly melancholic person, but still, not a day goes by without me laughing out loud. I devour life, I never get bored and yes, my life is a party. Since the birth of my son, I find myself lighter, because I am no longer the most important element in my life. It gives a special flavor to existence, to zoom out a little.
The single “Tout pour moi”, taken from his new album “Mon sang”, is addressed to his son born in September 2023.
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“We must not dwell on dreams and forget to live.” (Harry Potter)
I don’t really agree. It was because I dwelled on my dreams that they came true. When I was younger, it seemed to me that becoming a singer was not a career that was allowed to me. I come from a family where the life of an artist was a luxury we couldn’t afford. My mother, very quickly, told me: “You have to have a real job and earn your living.” But I couldn’t resist the call of music, I took the risk anyway. And I’m so glad I did!
“Everyone is a star, so no one is a star.” (Catherine Deneuve)
It’s easy to say when you’re Catherine Deneuve… I think she lives in an altered reality, anyway, because she’s immense, she’s truly an icon. For me, Deneuve is a star, although I will never be one. It’s not a question of popularity or how many records we’ve sold, but of aura, of attitude. There is something very glamorous and inaccessible about the star. I’m a little too natural and without mystery for that.
“I am on Earth to do something useful.” (Stéphane Bern)
I too have this taste for the useful and for a long time, I was afraid that my music would be of no use. It was a complex situation, especially since my mother was a caregiver and therefore very useful. Until I received lots of messages, especially after the release of my title “La grenade”, who said: “This song did me so much good!” We often have the impression that music is air, wind, and then I thought: hey, maybe I’m not that useless…
