Despite plenty of warnings from friends and family, Clara Luciani had not anticipated being so flustered by a mere seven-minute delay. "Forgive me!" she said, confused. Explaining that her baby woke up at dawn and the morning flew by, she apologized again, breathless. The interview took place at the Hôtel du Temps, a stone's throw from her home in northern Paris. Time was in short supply for the singer, whose busy fall schedule was in full swing. Her eagerly-awaited third album, Mon sang, was released on November 15. This Christmas marked her acting debut with the cinema release of French director Diastème's musical Joli Joli. Luciani has been a sponsor of the French TV talent show Star Academy since October 12. She also embarked on an extensive tour across France starting December 17, with two sold-out shows at Paris's Olympia and one at Accor Arena already on the itinerary.

Time has always been a big deal for chorus-makers – it's their raw material but also their greatest adversary. In an industry fueled by novelty, enduring over time is no easy feat. Now, it's Luciani's turn to measure up to the challenge that every star of her stature faces once the first successes have faded: At 32, what can she build her longevity on? On her knowledge of the Bescherelle, a French grammar book, first of all. To ward off the ravage of time, it's best to know how to conjugate it. Some singers have made a specialty of it: Nobody masters the conditional tense better than William Sheller, the infinitive better than Christophe Miossec or the imperfect better than Charles Aznavour. Luciani, on the other hand, makes marvelous use of the imperative.

It's in this mode that she's managed to meet her era, to tell its story. "Prends garde/ Sous mon sein, la grenade" ("Beware/ Under my breast, the grenade"), she warns on her first hit, "La Grenade" (2018), which was played in all feminist marches, following the #MeToo detonation. "Allez, respire encore" ("Come on, breathe again"), she continues on "Respire Encore" (2021), which became the festive anthem of the end of lockdown.

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