Victorella on tuning to language

The artist finds her beat through linguistic bounds of English and French

Fringe ArtsfeatureKira Minall — Published April 1, 2025 6 minutes

“I bought myself a ukulele and learned ‘City of Stars’ in one afternoon,” she said. “A month later, I was at my friend’s house and there was a guitar, so I started playing the last four strings, because you can play them like a ukulele, and I said to myself, ‘OK, I have to get in on the guitar.’”

But it wasn’t until 2023 that Victorella—whose stage name is inspired by her late great-grandmother, Victorine—started piercing into the music scene.

After participating in Cégeps en spectacle, a competition aimed at helping talented CEGEP students gain exposure, she gained the confidence to begin publishing music content on her social media platforms.

Victorella quickly realized that music was a medium through which she could express herself in ways she hadn’t dared before.

“It’s like a door that opens, and you manage to talk to the audience without necessarily saying everything,” she said. “You can hide what you want to say behind metaphors, but in reality, the whole truth is there.”

Victorella, who now performs live with her band, said Cégeps en spectacle also helped her meet some of her bandmates. Louna Cartier Denis, who plays the keyboard and sings backup vocals, is one of them. 

“When [Victorella] reached out to me, I was really happy,” Cartier Denis said. “I thought it was cool because I love what she does. I have my own solo project, but it isn’t the same to play a show all by myself. So when she asked me to join her band, I thought, ‘Why not?’”

Before Cartier Denis joined, Victorella was the only woman in the band. She says the new dynamic shift was refreshing.

“I think [it’s] cool, and it’s fun to be able to wear matching dresses and have fun with it,” Victorella said. “The main word that comes to my mind is ‘sisterhood.’”

Victorella composes her music and writes her lyrics on her own, but the musical arrangement is often done in collaboration with her band.

Often writing about her relationships and her personal life, she is heavily inspired by artists like The Cure, PJ Harvey and The Strokes.

“I used to read and analyze different The Cure songs to try and replicate their lyrical style a bit,” Victorella said.

Although she is introverted in her day-to-day life, the artist feels as though she can express herself fearlessly in her songs.

“When I work on music, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time. I feel like I’m doing the right thing.” — Victorella

“There’s no better feeling than singing a lyric that you wrote about someone right to their face without them knowing it,” she said.

Victorella also strives to remain authentic to herself while navigating musicianship.

“I like to show people that you can be timid and reserved, but also make cool music,” she added.

Although she writes songs in both French and English, the bilingual artist initially began writing songs in English to learn the language. 

“I think it’s cool to speak two languages, and I think it’s boring to limit yourself to only one,” Victorella explained.

When writing her songs, she often chooses the language depending on what her music explores. For deeper, more complex concepts, she prefers to write in French, as she feels there are more ways to convey what she wants to say.

When it comes to happy-go-lucky songs with a more “pop” vibe, however, she likes writing in English, because she considers it leaves “more room to breathe.”

Other times, the singer chooses the language based on the title of her song. For instance, she wrote her song “Crush(ed)”—which explores the fear of rejection related to liking someone romantically—in English, as there was no way for her to replicate the concept in French. 

On the other hand, her song “La Femme Invisible” was written in French because it is a more personal, intimate piece.

According to Victorella, being a bilingual artist in Quebec comes with certain challenges due to the separation between French and English within the music industry. 

“It’s really two separate worlds,” she said.

She often finds herself having to choose one language over the other. For example, when requesting a music grant, she must define herself as either a French artist or an English artist.

“I think it sucks that we can’t just appreciate both languages and want to create art that combines them,” Victorella explained.

Helping her overcome the obstacles she faces in the industry, Victorella’s dedicated team spends a lot of time and energy behind the scenes of her success. Cloé Chartrand—one of Victorella’s friends—is one of her photographers and her merch designer, and helps the artist with just about anything she can.

“She has ambitious projects, and she has a lot of talent,” Chartrand said. “And it’s fun to help talented people.”

Chartrand has also been making dresses from scratch for Victorella since her Cégeps en spectacle days in 2023. Now, she makes dresses for Cartier Denis as well. 

The process is straightforward: Victorella sends inspiration pictures to Chartrand, and from there, she designs a dress and sends it back to her. They then discuss what to tweak, and Chartrand starts making it.

Making a dress requires a lot of time and effort on Chartrand’s part, usually taking her around two weeks to complete, all while attending both school and work.

“It’s not something I do for money; I just really like making cool dresses,” Chartrand said.

The project she finds most rewarding, however, is helping design Victorella merchandise. 

“I feel a bigger sense of accomplishment when I see people wearing her merch than making the dresses, because the dresses are simple and I don’t have to outdo myself,” Chartrand explained.

For Cartier Denis, working with Victorella is inspiring due to the determination the artist has when it comes to fulfilling her aspirations.

“She seems very reserved, but in reality, she knows what she wants,” Cartier Denis said. “She won’t stop until she completes her projects. That’s what’s cool and motivating about her.”

One of Victorella’s favourite parts of making music is how it has helped her cope with her fear of the passing of time, which she touches on in her upcoming single, “Birthday.” She said she hopes people will relate to her music and that she’ll help people feel understood through her art.

Victorella will release “Birthday” on April 18 and hopes to release her first album in February 2026. 

“As years have passed, I’ve been trying to manage my time more,” Victorella said. “When I work on music, I don’t feel like I’m wasting time. I feel like I’m doing the right thing.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 12, published April 1, 2025.