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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But the extent of the malaise seemed deeper. A few weeks ago, the singer confided in Médiapart. In addition to the ordinary sexism in the music industry, she denounced the psychological violence, humiliation and various pressures suffered alongside the five musicians who make up the band. They include Charles Dugros de Boisseguin (keyboards), Hagni Gwon (keyboards), David Gaugué (bass guitar), Achille Trocellier (electric guitar) and Tom Daveau (drums).
“I was always told I was a bad singer, that I sang out of tune, not loud enough,” describes the artist, who indicates that vocal performances always came last within L’Impératrice. “I lost all confidence in myself in all the areas that are supposed to be part of my job”.
“Under control
“They could yell at me in front of the other band members (…) Once, one of the band members was physically threatening towards me and it almost went quite far,” recounts the singer. Flore Benguigui manages to put her condition into words, describing herself as “completely under the spell” and torn between demonstrations of love and gifts, and inappropriate, demeaning behavior.
“I got to the point where I said to myself that I didn’t deserve to be here, that I didn’t deserve the success of L’Impératrice, that I didn’t deserve to do all these tours around the world, and that on the contrary, I deserved to be treated like that. I deserved to be treated like that, to be put down. For me, it was normal to be mistreated, to be unhappy. […] I’ve already been asked to delete things on my social networks. Even the things I said on stage were tightly controlled.
“I was depressed, on anti-anxiety medication, and I was trying to save face because I didn’t want anyone to know,” continues the artist and composer, pointing out that the group did not question its actions, even though some of Flore’s lyrics were quite explicit. So much so, in fact, that the former singer of L’Impératrice lost her voice for a year and a half, hiding behind recorded vocals for her concerts. “ If I didn’t leave before the end of the summer, I don’t know how I could have survived,” she concludes.
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In response to these comments, the members of the group defended themselves, stating that “the situations described by Flore do not correspond to the reality of the facts”. “If the investment and attention we gave her were not enough, we can only regret it”. Even so, the five musicians said they were “saddened by the situation” and aware of “what the band owes her ”. The band has not stopped touring, however, and is currently in the midst of an extensive French and international tour that will run until summer 2025.
Now alone aboard her own ship, Flore Benguigui wishes to continue writing and singing songs “always having the choice to do projects” that are close to her heart, she described on Instagram. Her testimony is seen as invaluable, for many women in music and particularly in bands numerically dominated by men. Revelations that could encourage other female singers to speak out and, more broadly, advance the general well-being of women in the music business.
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Featured Photo: © Youtube – L’Impératrice Anomalie bleue03
