I think 'Chris' is way more about that, about living desire as a force of chaos and about reveling in that chaos.

Christine and the Queens is born out of a particular moment in my life where I was quite low.

The core of all the music I love is a good bass line and a good rhythm.

There are lots of ways to be a feminist. Beyonce, for example, is a beautiful example of feminine sensuality and is still really powerful. My character and my inner essence is more like an awkward 15-year-old boy, like a teenager backstage, like, 'Yeah, what's up?' That's what I'm trying to channel.

I always knew I wanted to be a woman in men's clothing because I just feel good like that. I feel like I'm taking a different space: I move differently; I'm more at ease.

I think I used Christine, who is my stage character, as an excuse to finally be myself, as if I needed to say, 'Oh this character is going to be the woman I wanted to be.'

Typically, in France, someone in my position should keep their mouth shut. I'm an entertainer, operating in the realm of pop, and it's often looked down upon for a pop artist to take a stand, to have convictions or opinions. But I don't think the two are incompatible or mutually exclusive.

That's pretty much how I feel on stage, like I can let go of all kinds of baggage, or even disappear and change outfits. I want to remind people that they can grant themselves the license to do the same.

I've always been obsessed with being on stage and putting shows together.

When I have to take phone calls, I start to sweat and panic. Being on the phone is so weird - hearing a voice without seeing the face so you can't really know the intention behind the voice.

I'm terrified of dying because of everything being too unfinished. I would be happy being a ghost.

I love funny women.

I have Googled so many things related to possible diseases, and it's always ridiculous. Like, 'My toe is hurting. Do I have cancer?' 'I have a scratch in my eye. Am I going to die soon?' 'Is eating a soup going to make me die?'

No matter what you eventually become - free, empowered - the lingering feeling of 'once an outsider, always an outsider' is very vivid for me.

When you write, you don't really think of how honest you are being - it's only when you record that you understand how much of yourself you're giving.

I wanted 'Comme si' to immediately indicate that something changed in my life, mainly because I became the hero of my own desires instead of just dreaming about them.

I invented Christine as a survival technique. I was inspired by the idea that everyone could have a Christine inside to wake.

That's part of what made me interested in theater as a kid. It made it acceptable to be a man for an hour onstage.

Male rock stars are sexy because they desire you first. I want to be like that.

In real life, I feel tiny and quite embarrassed all the time. But when people come up to me in France and want to talk to Christine, it's okay. It's cool. Because they're really talking about themselves, their own Christines.

The gender question has always obsessed me.

When the image that I built around the first album was crumbling, it was scary: the risk pays off, but the resonances of that risk are not always easy to deal with.

The success of the first album was almost an anomaly, and it could remain a fantastic anomaly. It was not crafted for commercial success. I remember meetings with my label saying it had no radio singles. For me, the second album was a gesture of independence.

I'm kind of an obsessive person, and touring is repetitive in the best way.