Racine carrée by Stromae

Racine carrée (French for "square root", stylised √) is the second studio album by Belgian musician Stromae. It was released digitally on 16 August 2013 and three days later physically in France and Belgium. Stromae expressed his desire to incorporate Caribbean and African musical influences along with his signature 1990s-inspired dance beats. The album, recorded in an attic, explores themes as diverse as alienation from social networks, relationship issues, discrimination, cigarettes and lung cancer, AIDS and absent father figures. Prior to its official release and afterwards, Racine carrée received critical acclaim for its thoughtful lyrics and gained comparisons to fellow Belgian recording artist Jacques Brel. The album was a commercial success across Western Europe, including non-francophone countries. Racine carrée topped the charts in France, Belgium, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy, as well as reaching the top ten in Canada, and the top forty in Germany. In his native Belgium, it remained at the top the charts for multiple weeks and been certified twelve times platinum by the BEA. In France, the album has been certified quadruple diamond by the SNEP and become one of the highest-selling albums in recent years after amassing over one million copies sold four months after its release. Racine carrée yielded three chart-topping singles: "Papaoutai", "Formidable" and "Tous les mêmes".