With the “Lifetime Achievement Award,” VRT and VI.BE honour an artist who has not only left a lasting mark on music history, but also embodies the unifying power of music.
For more than 30 years, Axelle Red has proven that a great song transcends borders and creates deep emotional connections. Her impressive career includes international hits, millions of albums sold, and a voice that has moved generations.
It’s a wonderful start to what promises to be a truly special year for Axelle Red. A new album will be released at the end of the year, and she will take the stage at AB on 29 November. Tickets are still available.
She developed into an artist who not only made pop history but also commanded respect from musical icons worldwide. Her timeless songs are now being covered by a new generation of French artists, such as Vianney, Clara Luciani, Juliette Armanet and Julien Doré and recently even by Dua Lipa, during her concert at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp.
In addition to her musical successes, Axelle developed further as an activist. She campaigned for human rights, worked together with UNICEF, was an ambassador for Handicap International and spoke out about the position of women worldwide long before #MeToo.
This commitment took on a powerful form on her album Sisters & Empathy (2009), entirely devoted to injustice towards women, child marriage and female genital mutilation: issues she was directly confronted with during her humanitarian work. Whereas she sang on Sans plus attendre: “Le monde tourne mal… Let’s dance”, after Sisters & Empathy she felt the need to do more to use her music as a voice for change.
This combination of passion, sensitivity and altruism is a running theme throughout her career: “It’s about all of us being able to seize our opportunities and pursue our happiness, but we have to ask ourselves to what extent we make others pay the price for this.”
Her approach to performing has also evolved: “In the past it was veni, vidi, vici, see what I can do. Now I mainly seek ways to share something with an audience, to make real contact.” And that is exactly what makes her concerts so unique. Today, Axelle Red is stronger than ever on stage. Few artists know how to build such a consistent career while remaining innovative at the same time.
