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in collaboration with
Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical Psychologist)
Were you moved to tears by Slimane’s latest song? While this track addresses a frequently explored theme – romantic breakups – it nevertheless revives many emotions buried within us. Analysis.
With 1.83 million listens, Slimane’s song “Mon amour” – written and composed by the singer – has become the most listened to song in the world in 24 hours on Spotify. How can we explain such success and especially why does this song – which tells the story of a difficult breakup – touch us so much? Answer.
A “cry from the heart”
In less than a day, the song broke a record by becoming the most streamed French song of all time, surpassing the previous record held by rap group PNL with their title “Au DD”.
“Written as a love letter to all the people who want to receive it“, this song speaks of love, but also of pain, sorrow and post-love mourning.
“I was with Yaacov and Meihr Salah, the guys with whom I write most of my songs. We started to conceive it. I really wrote it as a love letter, that’s the right word.“, confides the singer in the columns of 20 minutes.
This text, he continues, “came out as a cry from the heart, as something that needed to be expressed“: “It was very instinctive, animal, almost. It was the desire for the loved one to hear you more than anything..”
An interpretation that immediately won over the audience, captivated by the voice – and the words – of the artist.
Feelings that resonate within each of us
Faced with this success, a question must be asked: why does this title resonate (so much) with us?
According to Amélie Boukhobza, psychologist, if breakup songs affect us deeply and have done so since the dawn of time, it is “because they evoke feelings of sadness, loss and pain that we have all (or almost all) felt at some point.”
“They allow easy identification, as if the song had been written for us, talking about us, telling our life story…”, explains the expert.
Breakup songs also feed a whole imaginary world. “A world of imaginary world about love, both universal and timeless…”.
“They thus offer a form of catharsis, allowing us to express and experience the vagaries of romantic relationships. And by putting the right words to our complex emotions, they also help us understand what we are going through.“, adds the specialist.
“Listening to breakup songs is also a reminder that we are not alone in our suffering. Others have also experienced and felt similar things…“
Songs that help you get over a breakup?
Like the song “Mon Amour”, some songs can be a great support to overcome a breakup. They often offer comforting lyrics that reflect multiple feelings (loss, resilience, hope…).
“These songs can obviously be part of the healing process. They accompany the different stages of mourning, from the initial sadness to the final acceptance. By listening to them on repeat, by making the lyrics your own, by allowing yourself to crywe often find a way to overcome, to surmount difficulties and to move forward“, reveals Amélie Boukhobza, before concluding “Not to mention that beyond the content of the text, the music itself does not leave you intact.”
Slideshow: 20 Quotes to Get Over a Breakup