- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
- Israel-Hamas war causes 86-percent dive in Gaza GDP: IMF
- Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- Relief in Brazil, Asia over delay to EU deforestation rules
- Oil prices jump, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Biden says 'discussing' possible Israeli strikes on Iran oil facilities
- Oil prices rise, stocks fall on Middle East tensions
- Oil rallies, stocks mostly retreat on Middle East tensions
- Phasing out teen smoking could save 1.2 mn lives: study
- 'Welcome relief': Asia producers hail EU deforestation law delay
- Japan PM slated to announce plans for 'happiness index'
- Turkish inflation falls less than expected in September at 49.4%
- Easing inflation lifts profit at UK supermarket Tesco
CMSC | -0.02% | 24.695 | $ | |
SCS | -1.35% | 12.797 | $ | |
BTI | -0.23% | 35.21 | $ | |
GSK | 0.51% | 39.02 | $ | |
RIO | -0.07% | 69.65 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.11% | 24.785 | $ | |
NGG | -0.96% | 65.87 | $ | |
BP | 0.9% | 33.18 | $ | |
AZN | -0.16% | 77.35 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0% | 6.98 | $ | |
BCE | 0.04% | 33.725 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.16% | 60.1 | $ | |
BCC | -1.58% | 136.738 | $ | |
RELX | -0.9% | 45.875 | $ | |
JRI | -0.15% | 13.26 | $ | |
VOD | 0.22% | 9.681 | $ |
French star Christine and the Queens back with new name, gender
One of France's biggest breakthrough musicians of recent years, best-known as Christine and the Queens, returns this week with not just a new album but a new name: Redcar.
Many artists have changed their names over the years for different commercial or personal reasons, from Prince and Cat Stevens to Snoop Dogg and Kanye West.
But the 34-year-old singer-songwriter, known for international hits such as "Tilted", "Girlfriend" and "People, I've Been Sad", has shifted moniker more than most.
Born Heloise Letissier, but now using male pronouns, the names have reflected a journey through different gender identities.
The character Christine and the Queens was born from his time among drag queens in London in the early 2010s, and was later shortened to just Chris.
"Redcar, like all my poetic and philosophical constructions, is a way of helping me realise myself," he said in a TikTok video in August, in which he announced he had embraced a fully male identity a year earlier.
The new character followed the sudden death of his mother in 2019. At the time, he kept seeing red cars in the street that he took as a symbol of her passing, he told The Guardian in a rare interview.
The first musical manifestation is "Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles", an album out Friday.
- Love symbol -
Name changes are common in music, not always for philosophical reasons.
The most famous was Prince, who changed his name to an unpronounceable "love symbol" in the 1990s as part of a long-running battle with his record label over control of his music.
Another famous case was 1970s folk star Cat Stevens, who changed his name to Yusuf Islam after becoming a Muslim.
Some have failed to stick: Snoop Dogg briefly went by the name of Snoop Lion after converting to Rastafarianism in 2012, but quickly returned to his familiar 1990s handle.
In recent Netflix documentary, "Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy", the pre-fame rapper jokes about one day being famous enough to shorten his name first to Kanye and then just Ye -- and sure enough, that happened, with a legal name-change last year.
Sinead O'Connor has changed her name twice -- first to Magda Davitt in 2017 in a bid to cut ties with her abusive childhood, and then to Shuhada Sadaqat after converting to Islam a year later -- though she continues to perform under her birth name.
Closer to Redcar's example is British poet-musician Kae Tempest, who dropped the 't' from Kate when they came out as non-gender.
It's a move that can cause commercial confusion, and Redcar is still labelled as Christine and the Queens on streaming services and shops.
For them, it is just a natural part of artistic expression.
"It's not about marketing, or a smooth image, or a lie -- I'm an artist," he said on TikTok.
A.Mykhailo--CPN