It’s not often that a medium-sized Montreal venue plays host to a star who’s already blossomed in Europe, and this was the case at the SAT on Wednesday night: the inferno in the square for Theodora. A huge buzz for the Franco-Congolese singer, not yet in Montreal, but in France, in Africa and in all the Afro-descendant communities of the world’s capitals. Montreal will be no exception! As big a buzz as Aya Nakamura or Yzeult? It’s okay to bet on that.
This summer in Paris, Theodora is filling a pair of Zéniths (the equivalent of Place Bell in terms of capacity), and it’s only just begun.
And why is that?
The recent success of this 21-year-old singer is based on a family bond comparable to that of Billie Eilish, i.e. sister-brother.
Under the pseudonym Jeez Suave, her elder brother composes most of her songs and beats, and is also her producer and even her manager. And he’s on stage before and during his sister’s performance. An excellent DJ, he heats things up with his often-accelerated Afrobeats, a process of unprecedented and inclusive crossbreeding, right down to Haitian konpa (a nod to Montreal!).
Pumped up after an hour-long DJ set, Theodora’s new fans go wild when she takes to the stage with her dancers. Believe me, this fervor is attributable to global megastars, a status Theodora could reach in the very near future.
Dressed in the same sexy outfits as her colleagues, she seems perfectly at ease in her luscious body, which has nothing of the supermodel about it, and maintains a very solid contact with her audience, who (already!!) know the lyrics and repartee of her hits by heart.
Theodora followed up with a series of incendiary hits: FNG, BIG BOSS LADY, Boss babies , (requested in advance by the audience), I wanna, PAPA, GO, BAD BOY LACKED, Ils me rient tous au nez (en formule minimaliste), Les oiseaux rares, Juliette, Mon casque, 243km/h, MASSOKO NA MABELE, Do u wanna, MON BEBE, ZOU BISOU, PAY! FASHION DESIGNA , KONGOLESE SOUS BBL.
Almost an hour and a half, frantic rhythms in afro-electro mode (mostly afrobeats), interspersed with a few hyperpop or soul-pop songs with less African connotations, more French variety. Tourists of my kind and generation may not understand everything she says and sings (French language, suburban slang, Lingala, etc.), but they take her word for it!
SURPRISE! THEODORA WILL BE ON THE BIG DESJARDINS SCENE AT THE FRANCOS, JUNE 21, 10:30 P.M.
Photo : Frédérique Ménard-Aubin
