Orelsan Rushes Forward: La Fuite En Avant Unleashes a Global, Multi-Dimensional Era

Orelsan launches a new chapter of his career with La Fuite En Avant, a multi-dimensional project that ties together music, cinema, and an ambitious new tour into one sweeping narrative about upheaval, transformation, and growing up without losing yourself. The multi‑diamond‑certified French rapper, already a defining voice of the past two decades with over three million albums sold and landmark projects like La fête est finie and Civilisation, now turns the page with his fifth studio album and its cinematic counterpart, Yoroï, pushing his storytelling further than ever.

La Fuite En Avant (translated as “The Headlong Rush”) is a dense, deeply personal body of work crafted with longtime collaborators Phazz, Eddie Purple, and Grammy‑winning producer Skread. Across its 17 tracks, Orelsan confronts the kind of life shifts that redraw your entire map: friendship under pressure, burnout, relationships stretched thin, pregnancy, and the emotional whiplash of becoming a father. The album is built like a continuation of the story explored in Yoroï—not just a soundtrack, but an extension of its emotional universe, where music and visuals mirror and amplify each other. Each song feels like a chapter in a larger narrative, blurring the lines between confessional diary entry and cinematic monologue.

That ambition is mirrored in the album’s collaborations, which bridge cultures and genres without ever losing Orelsan’s signature voice. On “Plus rien,” he invites Lilas—also known as ikura from the acclaimed J‑pop duo YOASOBI—into his world, fulfilling what he describes as a dream partnership with one of his favorite vocalists. He praises her as his favorite singer in the world, admiring not only her tone but her flow and versatility, whether she’s performing as ikura or as Lilas the singer‑songwriter. For her part, Lilas describes being “truly overjoyed” by his heartfelt invitation, accepting immediately and expressing how honored she feels that her voice can live alongside his story in this song. This cross‑border collaboration is designed not as a one‑off novelty, but as a genuine artistic meeting point meant to resonate across languages and borders.

On “Oulalalala,” Orelsan further expands that global reach by teaming up with South Korean group FIFTY FIFTY, whose hit “Cupid – Twin Version” has amassed over 900 million streams and become one of the most‑played K‑pop girl group songs on Spotify. The collaboration emerged at a moment of serendipity: Orelsan had their track “Pookie” on repeat just as he and his team were searching for a feature to integrate into the Yoroï film for the Rokurokubi yōkai scene. When Sony Music brought up FIFTY FIFTY as a possibility, it felt less like business and more like fate. The group, in turn, describes feeling truly honored to be part of Orelsan’s soundtrack, emphasizing how his artistry and storytelling inspired them and how this project allowed them to explore new sonic colors while delivering a different layer of FIFTY FIFTY’s sound to a global audience.

The international scope doesn’t stop there. La Fuite En Avant also includes an unprecedented collaboration with Thomas Bangalter, the legendary producer best known as one half of Daft Punk, on the track “Yoroï.” Local heavyweights complete the cast: Yamê—one of France’s breakout artists of the year with tens of millions of streams—joins on “Encore une fois,” while SDM, a major figure in French rap boasting over a million albums sold, appears on “Soleil levant.” These features sit alongside a career‑long list of high‑caliber collaborations, with Orelsan’s past work including Pharrell Williams, The Neptunes, Dizzee Rascal, Cordae, Stromae, Gims, Angèle, and Ibeyi, underscoring his status as one of France’s most creatively connected artists on the world stage.

Orelsan’s deep connection to Japanese pop culture runs like a spine through this entire era. A long‑time fan of manga, anime, and video games, he even lends his voice to Saitama in the French dub of One Punch Man, and his stage name itself nods to Japanese influences. With Yoroï—Japanese for “armor”—he pushes that love into new territory. Co‑written with David Tomaszewski and released in theaters across France, Belgium, and Switzerland, the film follows Aurélien (Orelsan) at the height of his career as he leaves France for Japan with his pregnant wife, Nanako. In their new home, he discovers an ancient suit of armor. Once he puts it on, he can’t remove it, and the armor forces him into direct confrontation with his fears, which manifest as powerful yōkai, mystical beings drawn from Japanese folklore. This journey—part supernatural trial, part psychological odyssey—guides him toward becoming a wiser man and embracing fatherhood.

The tracklist of La Fuite En Avant reflects that narrative arc, moving from pacts and distance to monsters and epiphanies:

• Le pacte

• Plus rien feat. Lilas

• Ailleurs

• Boss

• Deux et demi

• Osaka

• Encore une fois feat. Yamê

• Internet

• Dans quelques mois

• Oulalalala feat. FIFTY FIFTY

• Tellement d'amis

• La petite voix

• SAMA

• Soleil levant feat. SDM

• Les monstres

• Epiphanie

• Yoroï with Thomas Bangalter

Each title hints at a different facet of the journey—geographic and emotional distance (“Ailleurs,” “Osaka”), digital noise and isolation (“Internet”), anticipation and uncertainty (“Dans quelques mois”), inner demons (“Les monstres”), and hard‑won realization (“Epiphanie”). Together, they map out the “headlong rush” of a life in motion, sprinting forward while still haunted by questions that can’t be outrun.

This universe doesn’t end with the album and the film. It extends onto the stage as the third act of the project. With 300,000 tickets sold in just 24 hours, more than 40 dates already announced, and a staggering 10 consecutive shows booked at Accor Arena in Paris for December 2026, Orelsan’s upcoming tour is set to transform La Fuite En Avant and Yoroï into a full‑scale live experience. For fans, it promises not just a concert, but immersion into a world where armor, monsters, love, and self‑reinvention collide—proof that even at the peak of success, Orelsan is still willing to take risks, confront himself, and rush headlong into the unknown.