15 Upbeat French songs for teens they’ll love!

I love listening to music in class! It’s a great way to get kids engaged, and students love hearing new music. Today, I’m sharing some of my favorite French songs for teens, plus a few that have been recommended by other French teachers.

I avoid songs with bad words or mentions of alcohol, kissing, and other stuff, because…teenagers. That said, make sure you watch the video and check to see if it is appropriate for your students.

I try to include a lot of diversity in the styles of music I share with kids, because they all have different tastes. One of my main objectives when introducing music is to expose them to different cultures, but it’s also a great way to help them retain grammatical structures. Music just makes sentence structure stick in their heads, so recalling it is that much easier!

Below, you’ll find some great francophone artists and some of my favorite French songs for teens. There are some obvious favorites, like Stromae, that are not included, because I’ve already listed other French songs for teens in these French songs for secondary or here in this list of French music we love. 

Here are some more of my favorite French songs for teens. Click on any title to see the song on YouTube.

Dommage -Bigflo & Oli

This song is one that I think tons of teens will love! It’s got an amazing message about going after what you want (and also has the conditional antérieur to help kids with that one!) Merci, Stephanie! I didn’t know about this song until you shared it with me. 🙂

Watch the video and listen to this one to make sure you are comfortable sharing it!

Je te le donne – Vitaa & Slimane

I really like their songs they do together. I find the mix of their voices really beautiful. I’ve not listened to this one with students, but if I had older high schoolers, I would play it for them.

A coup de rêves – Ben L’oncle Soul

I ❤️ this one! His voice is just amazing! Again, the message is super-positive, and his style is quite different from the other singers listed here. I think it’s not only important to present kids with a diverse variety of singers, but also of styles.

La Parisienne – Christophe Maé

I like this one, because he makes a lot of references to the cultural differences between Paris and his hometown in southern France. It’s a fun way to look at regional differences. Merci to Liz for recommending this one! 🙂

On savait -La grande Sophie

This is one of my favorite French songs for teens when studying the imparfait. I used to make a cloze activity with some of the verbs and have students fill in the missing words. This is a great French song for teens, because it talks a lot about being younger using the imparfait using a lot of different verbs.

Tout le bonheur du monde – Kids United

Just love this one! It’s so positive and uplifting! My son plays this one all the time, and we are always singing it around the house. While it’s on my list of French songs for teens, this is great for younger students, too!

Je cours – Marie Mai

This is another one of my favorite French songs for teens, and you can use this when you are teaching the passé composé. It’s got a nice mix of past participles, present tense, and futur simple, and the refrain has some direct object pronouns. The repetition is great for helping students retain new grammar structures.

Un coup sur mon cœur – Marc Dupré

I just like this song a lot. It’s great for exposing kids to some new vocabulary and analyzing the lyrics. I’d listen to this with intermediate to advanced kids who have the proficiency to discuss it in French.

In the video, they go swimming in swimsuits, so give it a watch to see if it is appropriate for your students. You can always listen without showing the video.

Ça ira – Joyce Jonathan

I like this one, because it’s got a lot of commonly used irregular verbs used in several tenses, making it great for those advanced classes who could use some in-context review.

C Okay – Le Groupe Swing

When you need a pick-me-up, this is a go-to song! It’s catchy, easy for even beginners to pick up a bit, and it’s got a super-positive message. 

Sur ma route – Black M

Kids just totally love this song. It’s catchy, fun, and they love to sing along. It’s a favorite French songs for teens but when I taught upper elementary, they loved it, too!

Crier tout bas – Cœur de Pirate

I just particularly love Cœur de Pirate, so her songs will always make my lists. This one is particularly beautiful. She’s one of my favorites. ❤️

Donnez-moi – Les Frangines

I am currently so obsessed with Les Frangines! If you don’t know them, give them a listen! This song is fun and catchy, and their voices are really beautiful.

Anja – Amir

I particularly love this one, because it tells such a strong story. For any classes studying a bigger theme of human’s rights, particularly children’s rights, this is a great song to introduce. You can read an interview with Amir at the Unicef site.

Une seule vie – Gérald de Palmas

This one is a little older, but I love it! I get overwhelmed with things, and I think it’s okay to have this conversation with kids. It’s on my list of French songs for teens because teens need to remember that it’s okay to feel stressed, okay to slow down, and okay to ask for help.

I hope this helps you find some new French songs for teens to use in your French class!