Hubert Lenoir (CA)

Hello, my name is Noémie, I’ve been Hubert’s best friend forever, and I thought this might interest you:

Hubert [Lenoir] is a singer, songwriter, producer, actor, dog-walker, and florist whom people here love to call polarizing—and soon, maybe, where you are too 😉—perhaps because he refuses labels, prefers to operate beyond the rules, dances very suggestively, or maybe simply because he does things his own way and doesn’t really care (he doesn’t give a sh****t – talk to the hand LOLOLOLOL). Oh, maybe some people just don’t like his mug, but he sings amazingly well, has big green eyes, and never has anything stuck in his teeth… anyway.

Hubert was born in 1994 in a blue-siding split-level house in the suburbs of Quebec City, just a few steps from my place. We went to the same summer camp and wasted our time in the same schoolyard at night; he knew who I was, but I didn’t know him—and I think that perfectly describes the kind of person he was: sitting on the sidewalk, quiet, funny but in a subtle way, different, pale, shy, impolite, but really, really kind. He grew up like me with the internet (Myspace – YouTube – www.sex.com – Limewire – Miniclip – MSN), cable TV, Top 40 radio, and we loved it. Around the age of 16, Hubert discovered Prince, Brian Eno, and Elton John thanks to a friend’s father who collected vinyl. Music became his goddess, his religion, so he learned guitar and started composing. It wasn’t that great at first, but now it’s freakin’ amazing (no cap, 15-year-old me would have downloaded this big time on Limewire). Honestly, I think he’s a hit-making machine.

In 2018, we released a multidisciplinary project together (my novel, his album, and illustrations) called Darlène, a postmodern opera. The album received absurdly good reviews and mainstream success, launching Hubert onto magazine covers, stages, and festivals across Canada and Europe. He was called everything from “enfant terrible” to “nightmare” because of his public appearances and subversive performances 😉. It brought both praise and controversy, but above all, it gave him the experience and serenity needed to become a counterculture figure and an example for all the freaks in the world. Staying true to oneself ultimately paid off, and here’s the proof:

Darlène made the shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize, the first mostly French-language album to do so in 8 years. It was also ranked by Exclaim! as one of the 50 best Canadian albums of the decade, alongside Drake, The Weeknd, and Arcade Fire—the only French-language album in the list. Hubert has received 5 Félix Awards and 6 Juno Award nominations. He has been praised by both francophone and anglophone press worldwide, a rare feat for a Quebec artist who sings almost exclusively in French. FADER even described him as “a pop star in any language” ;-))

After voluntarily going into “do not disturb” mode for almost two years, Hubert released a short film titled uber lenoir, c’est confirmé—which I directed 😉—featuring a 10-second musical piece of the same name from the album. In it, a radio host insults him and confirms to the world that Hubert is an idiot of the national league of idiots.

Two days later, the first single SECRET announced the release of his much-anticipated second album, Musique directe. Accompanied by a music video – also directed by me 😉 – it has already drawn massive praise [storms, tempests, hurricanes of praise]. The song depicts the feeling of unrequited love, of an emotional exchange impossible due to difference and exclusion; it’s about social rejection and keeping your feelings secret because you have no chance. It tells the story of a stinky beast aspiring to more, as a tribute to those who often feel inadequate, unworthy, or repulsive, but remain kind and humble, and sometimes, in a flash of courage, proud of who they are. It’s also a thank-you to all the cool kids in the world, beautiful and charming, who have it easy and naturally use it to reach out, open minds, and build bridges. Kirin J Callinan appears on guitar, and Mac DeMarco on drums.

Musique directe, set for release on September 15, represents thousands of hours of work across Los Angeles, Tokyo, Laval, and Quebec City. It is an extremely personal and honest work, a sonic portrait of himself, with proof to back it up. Inspired by the direct cinema movement – a Quebecois cinematic style from the late 1950s aiming to capture reality directly and convey an intimate truth unattainable when scripted, with full fictional freedom in editing, and the invention of the “handheld camera” concept—Musique directe was crafted over two years of changes, successes, chaos, controversies, and dizzying experiences.