Louane: “I learned to love solitude”

She arrives all stressed, apologizing profusely for being almost an hour late for our appointment. Her TGV was not on time, and she had to change hotels in a hurry, because the room that had been reserved for her was damaged by previous occupants who were too party-loving. “I’ve never done that!” Louane is a wise girl, for whom music is not a weapon, but a confidante. As her fifth album, released at the end of October, is entitled “Solo”, we submitted to the 27-year-old singer quotes from authors evoking loneliness. Through them, Louane tells her story.

“I’m no longer afraid of being alone, I like myself by myself” (Louane)

Ah, I know this author well… (laugh) Learning to be alone has been a long journey in my life. I had a lot of trouble being alone, even when I was little, perhaps because it was rare: there are six children in my family. Outside of home, I didn’t really have any friends; I was bullied at school, then in middle school and high school, so I built myself up by being afraid of loneliness. But I learned to love it and need it. Today, it’s absolutely inconceivable for me not to have moments just for myself.

“You miss only one being, and everything is depopulated” (Alphonse de Lamartine)

It’s a phrase that has resonated a lot in my life, at many different times and for many different reasons. I think that a being can leave an immense void and it is not only linked to love in the passionate sense of the term. In my case, it could be my parents (Editor’s note: they died when Louane was a teenager), but today, when I hear a sentence like that, I think of my daughter. When I travel and she stays in Paris, a piece of my heart is with her.

“Nothing can give you peace except yourself” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

I agree 100% with that. That said, we can be helped. In my opinion, there is nothing better than therapy to gain perspective. It’s the greatest luxury I can afford. But despite support, no one can find peace for someone else. Not even a child, especially not a child! To be a good parent, you have to know how to take care of yourself properly. And it’s not easy.

“Living free often means living alone, it may hurt your stomach, but it’s good for your face” (Renaud)

Do freedom and solitude go hand in hand? Yes and no. Obviously, solitude offers great freedom since we have no accountability or duty to anyone. On the other hand, I’m not sure that we can’t find freedom by being accompanied. It is only in my duty as a mother that I am not free. I have to be there for my daughter and give her everything she needs. But it is a choice that I made in full conscience. And quite honestly, it’s the greatest happiness of my life.

“There is no worse solitude than that which we experience when there are two of us” (Marc Lévy)

When you are alone with yourself, you are faced with what you feel and it can be very, very complicated. It seems to me that it is more difficult to find yourself alone with your thoughts than alone with the anxiety of being surrounded. The times I was confronted with people who didn’t understand me, they weren’t people who mattered enough for it to really affect me. The feeling of feeling alone in the presence of someone, I have never experienced it. It’s a chance. The times when I felt misunderstood due to ADHD (Editor’s note: she has attention deficit disorder diagnosed in childhood), at least I had the feeling of being supported. It’s huge.

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