In “Formidable” (2013), a man who's just been dumped stumbles around drunk, telling everyone he meets — a young couple, a passer-by — what's going to happen to them: they think love is wonderful now, but just wait. He and his ex were “formidable” once; now he's pathetic.
Stromae filmed the video by acting drunk at a Brussels tram stop with hidden cameras, and the real reactions of passers-by (and the police) made it a sensation. The song, from Racine carrée, is a lesson in bitterness disguised as advice.
The verses are almost spoken, in clear, everyday Belgian French. Notice the pair formidable / minable — wonderful / pathetic — and the slurred, informal speech of someone who's had too much.