She was the voice of L’Impératrice for over nine years, alongside five musicians. Last September, Flore Benguigui surprised the music scene by announcing that she was leaving the French pop and nu-disco group in the middle of promoting their third opus, Pulsar . Why did she do this? The singer accused the other members of pressure and humiliation, and denounced sexism in the art industry.
Flore Benguigui headlined L’Impératrice for almost a decade. Nine years of scouring concert halls and festivals (including Coachella, which raised their profile in the USA), driven by electro pop and hit singles such as Me Da Igual, Vanille Fraise, Agitations Tropicales and Sonate Pacifique. L’Impératrice’s Eps and three albums – Matahari, Tako Tsubo and the latest, Pulsar, released in June 2024 – have made their fans, who are very present abroad, dance to their music.
However, the group’s success story has not been so idyllic internally. The group with three million listens a month on Spotify lost its singer last September, replaced by artist Louve. Flore Benguigui has since explained the reasons for her departure.
A departure against a backdrop of bad behavior
In an Instagram post, Flore Benguigui had announced her departure from the group, which was about to embark on an international tour for their latest album Pulsar. At the time, she said it was “physically and psychologically impossible for me to keep up”, and that she wished to protect her “physical and mental health, which has taken a heavy toll in recent years ”. Although she gave no further details at the time, Flore Benguigui nonetheless called into question a music industry that is “toxic and unfair to women, to victims, to mental health, to those she deems ‘too fragile for this profession’”. She did, however, pay tribute to L’Impératrice, and said she was very proud of how far we’d all come together.
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Featured Photo: © Youtube – L’Impératrice Anomalie bleue
