Santa inaugurated the extension of Disneyland Paris on March 28. This was an opportunity to exchange with the successful author-composer and performer, who revealed her aspirations for the future.
Her mini-concert at Disneyland Paris was kept a secret until the last moment. Clad in a long white cape with a blond braid cascading down her shoulder, Santa embodied the character of Elsa from the animated film Frozen on March 28. Against the backdrop of the new Scandinavian setting representing the fictional village of Arendelle, Santa performed several songs from the Disney movie. Following her performance, the artist took the time to speak with TIME France. This was an opportunity to learn more about her upcoming projects.
In a few days, on April 2, you will be on stage at the Accor Arena. What does this milestone represent in your career? “This represents the end of the tour. It’s also the end of a chapter, and I go from surprise to surprise, from magic to magic, and from dreams to dreams. It’s true that it’s a major milestone to fill such a large venue. The tour has been wonderful because I had the chance to put on the show I wanted to, with all the magical moments, and to see it come to an end. There is, I believe, a small part of nostalgia. But we must fight against nostalgia: I already have the next album in mind.”
Your trademark is aerial acrobatics. You often take to the stage in the air, whether for your Popcorn video or your zip line jump for the Telethon 2025. What lies behind this taste for risk? “Firstly, amusement. There is also the total artistic gesture of enhancing the songs, because I enjoy staging. In the same way that I arrange a song with all its instruments — because I am shy — I believe that I stage the songs to bring a form of aesthetic coherence around this project, and around me. I don’t say ‘this project’; in fact, I am the project. It is also a way to have fun because I believe that we need beautiful images at the moment, to bring a touch of fantasy and dreams around music and entertainment. Many children come to see me, and I find it very joyful to see them smile and marvel when the piano flies, for example.”
You particularly stood out in December 2025, when you served as the godmother of the Telethon with a donation of 99,999 euros. The 9 is your favorite number, the ‘number of hope,’ according to you. “It is a number that represents hope. Even if it is a naivety that I cultivate, I want to believe in it, over and over again. The Telethon is about that: it’s about not giving up and believing in it. Because 40 years ago, it was still intangible, and because they believed in it, we are now on the verge of immense scientific advances. It is also a French pride, because we were pioneers in this genetic research. So there is in me this desire to continue to believe in this ‘9’ of hope, because it has become a discipline to try to advance within it.”
What hopes drive you when you think about the future? “It would be a response far too long. I will try to continue to find beautiful melodies and to make chaos harmonious. This is what I humbly try to do, because behind a piano, you can’t change the world. But you can help.”
Today, everything seems to be going well for you. Popcorn is certified diamond, you participated in the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Paris, appeared on The Voice Kids and Star Academy, Disneyland Paris for its opening, nothing seems to resist you. “Oh my my! It’s funny, because it’s often in interviews that I realize I’ve done quite a lot of things. I feel like I’m opening the window to the highway and taking all the information in my face! It’s true that these have been very joy-filled stages.”
“I try to make sure that each event tells my story so that I can tell something that leaves a mark. You have to live up to the memory of a sort of French iconography. All these stages have marked my life.”
At last year’s Victoires de la Musique, you won the Album of the Year award for ‘Recommence-moi’ and dedicated this victory to your deceased parents. “It is really the victory I wanted most in the world. I wouldn’t say it’s about ‘paying homage’ because those are big words that we try to put on melancholy, and often, I do it better in song than in an interview. It is a paraphrase of Marguerite Yourcenar that I borrowed, because when I lose my words, I like to use those of others. It is a way to continue and celebrate life.”
What would you say to the young Santa, the one you were as a child in Nice? “I allowed myself to stop school because I was very — maybe too — advanced and too sensitive for this educational system. It allowed me, precisely, to take the time to be behind my piano and read a lot. I would absolutely not say anything to her, because I think that at no moment would I want to disturb the naivety and purity of childhood.”
How do emotions impact your life? “The emotion I forbid myself is nostalgia because it often becomes pathetic for me. And the one that guides me is love. Honestly, it is the only emotion that can save us all.”
What is your next dream to accomplish? “I have a lot of projects! The next one is the second album. I would like it to live up to my ambitions with, again, a grand spectacle accompanying it. But all in music. I think the basis of all this starts with a song, brand new. I would like to continue the beautiful story. We’ll see if they come. I am only doubt.”
