​          Karim Ouellet is a Canadian pop singer-songwriter; his music is folk-pop, with reggae and African music influences. All these different influences blend into a unique and fun sound. Originally from Senegal, he was adopted by Canadian diplomats and lived in France, Rwanda and Tunisia before returning to Quebec City, Canada. His album Fox won the Juno Award for Francophone Album of the Year in 2014. He has toured around in Canada and France, and is particularly popular in Mexico. His catchy and calming melodies are irresistible.
          He explained in an Indie Music interview that his songs are “above all love stories,” even though they are not all true to life events. He wants to entertain and inspire people, “I try to make good songs that other people can love.”

Héloïse Letissier, otherwise known as Christine and the Queens, is a French singer and songwriter from Nantes. She was inspired by drag queen musicians such as Russella, who took her in while she was in London after a devastating break up. She has described her genre as “freakpop”, with her music and lyrics questioning feminism, gender and queer culture.
          Christine and the Queens has slowly built up a following, and began to chart after the release of her third EP. She even has A-List fans such as Madonna, Mark Ronson and Lorde. She’s been awarded Best Female Artist in 2015, and was nominated for the IMPALA Album of the Year Award 2015 for her album “Chaleur Humaine”.
          Dazed says that her newest album “Chaleur Humaine” “combines fractured, glitch-ridden electro-pop production with Letissier’s distinctively fluid, ice-clear voice.” We can't stop listening to her fantastic album, and her music videos are just as amazing with their fluid and contemporary choreography. Take a look at her video for her single "Christine"!
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​L'Élégance du Hérisson is by Muriel Barbery, a French novelist and professor of philosophy. The popular book follows the life events of a concierge, Renée Michel, whose deliberately concealed intelligence is uncovered by an unstable but intellectually precocious girl named Paloma Josse, who lives in the Parisian apartment building where Renée works.
            The New York Times explains that both narrators “create eloquent little essays on time, beauty and the meaning of life, Renée with erudition and Paloma with adolescent brio.” The novel does consist of many essays on philosophy but the New York Times explains that “even when the novel is most essayistic, the narrators’ kinetic minds and engaging voices propel us ahead.” Barbery's fantastic novel won many prizes, including the Prix du Rotary International in France.
           In 2009 the novel was adapted into a film called Le ​Hérisson, which was greatly received by critics. ​L'Élégance du Hérisson is an enjoyable and accessible read that will prove to be impossible to put down!