Ça Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand
99 Luftballons by Nena
Both songs were massive hits in Australia when I was a kid and they both are still in high rotation on my playlist.
Interestingly, the English version of 99 Luftballons hardly charted here at all.
Plastic Bertrand's song was huge due to appearing on the soundtrack of the National Lampoon's European Vacation movie starring Chevy Chase and Beverley D'Angelo.
The intro to Ghost in the Shell
Can't pick a favorite, so here's Miki Matsubara's Stay With Me
Of course!
Plastic love by Mariya Takeuchi, or covers of modern songs in dead languages like running up that hill in old english
Tout là-haut - ZAZ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2uxifMlIcs Beautiful French song!
I have a couple Rammstein songs on my playlist, does that count? Namely Du Hast and Deutschland.
2 of my favourite songs in my native language are ba. - tai ne žmogus and Rokas Yan, Monika Liu, Vaidas Baumila - gegužis :3
Years ago there was a song that always played for the ads on the Chinese phones. I tracked it down and the English translation of the title is "I caught a cold in that corner" by Fiona Fung. I don't really consider it foreign language since it sounds mostly non-lexical.
I also have to give Cruel Angel Thesis an honorable mention.
I speak Spanish and French. La Femme and Thievery Corporation both have a lot of easily accessible songs in various other languages.
For French music specifically, I love L'Impératrice and Vendredi Sur Mer. Always a fan of the classics like Edith Piaf or Marie LaForêt . A recent discovery was Camille Yembe who is my new obsession.
MI favorita canción enteramente en español es la versión de La Llorona por Natalia LaFourcade.
This fun song by The Limiñanas uses both
99 Luftballons
A Terrorista Visszatér by HétköznaPICSAlódások
Mandinka (Guinea) - Yeke Yeke by Mory Kante, either the Afro Acid mix or the Hardfloor remix
French - Here I Am (Rutabaga mix) - Lexicon Avenue
Spanish - Llorando - Rebeka del Rio. Spanish language cover of Roy Orbison's 'Crying'. Video includes minor spoiler for Mulholland Drive.
Greek - Efige Efige - Stelios Kazantzidis
Malawi (sorry, I don't know exactly what language this is in - EDIT: possibly Chichewa) - A Bale Ndikuwuzeni - Gasper Nali
Songhai (Mali) - Soubour - Songhoy Blues
French (Burkina Faso) - Taximen - Amadou Balake
Cancion Bonita by El Micha
Hasta que salga el sol by Don Omar
Limbo by Daddy Yankee
Bota niña by Bad Gyal
I like a lot of Brazilian music, so I'd pick something Portuguese. 'Tropicalia', by Caetano Veloso, 'Parabolicamara' by Gilberto Gil, or 'Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser', by Milton Nascimento are all fantastic.
Did not expect to see 2 Belgian artists listed here, nice!
As for me: Khaled - Aisha
I really like Su!cide by Ren, as my non native language song /s
In all seriousness, "Zeinen ederra izango den" from ZETAK, a current Basque group. It was made during covid, to remember the activities we did before, and what pleasure will be to again go out and enjoy it together. I don't expect you to take upon yourself learning Basque, but I hope you can enjoy the song at least haha.
Ca plane pour moi by Plastic Bertrand.
And
Negro y Azul: The Ballad of Heisenberg, by Los Cuates de Sinaloa.
Wodka by Pidzama Porno. It’s in polish, I love it!
Marieke by Jaques Brel. https://youtu.be/faMV_drSouA
Mon Cheri by Sofi Tukker x Amadou & Marian
Mundo paralelo!
Song - Artist Kung i baren - Magnus Uggla Come give me love - Ted Gärdestad (yes, the song is Swedish but the title is English) Anything that angine de poitrine makes. But alien language might not be what you meant. Neuer wind - Van Canto
It's not my favorite music, but a friend of mine recently passed away and I can't get this music out of my head because we played it at his goodbye party when he went to live in another city. It's in Portuguese and a music about goodbyes: Matanza - Tempo Ruim some rough translation below for those who don't speak Portuguese:
Raise up your glasses for those about to leave
Long will be the road to follow
Nothing will be like it used to be, nothing will be easy for you
Don't do the same that your father did
Don't bring weapons where you're going
So many I've seen paying to see, they didn't had time to regret it.
Nothing you shouldn't already know, there's nothing you can't have.
I wish the road always comes to you, and that the wind be ever in your favor. I wish you always have a beer on your hand and that you have your great love by your side.
I say goodbye to all of you, many here I will not see again.
Besides the winter and bad weather I don't know what awaits me
But it doesn't matter what it might be if some day I have someone to say:
I wish the road always comes to you, and that the wind be ever in your favor. I wish you always have a beer on your hand and that you have your great love by your side.
1934 by Xera
They are from Asturias, and it is from this free CC album
Paktofonika - Mechaniczna pomarańcza
Japanese: Olivia Lufkin - Stars Shining Out
Spanish: Bruthal 6 - Todo en mis Manos
Manel — Teresa Rampell
Right now it's Sheena Ringo - Rush Job
Skandal im Sperrbezirk by The Spider Murphy Gang and Du Bist Gut Genug by Kitschkrieg, Blumengarten and Shirin David just to give everyone a horrible earworm.
Ana Maradun (warning: DARE propaganda) and Daani Shauqun by Mosa Alomairah (couldn't find English lyrics for the latter, which is a shame because they're really pretty). This guy in general is really talented, though as with all Arabic acapella the choice of songs can be pretty bad sometimes. This is also his post-reset persona; he also has some bangers from his radical Islamist phase.
Here are some Spanish ones I enjoy:
Sólstafir - Fjara Reading the lyrics in my native tongue only makes this song even more beautiful.
Atari Teenage Riot - Hetzjagd auf Nazis!
Benny Lava.
It has great energy, and a jetpack operation!
There have been some pretty great songs in the now ending anime season. Cant wait to hear whats coming next week for the new season of shows.
La Rage by Keny Arkana
This is pretty much the only song in my collection which has vocals and which's vocals don't happen to be in English (don't ask me why; my mother tongue is German), but anyways, it's this ballad in some slavic language: https://open.audio/library/tracks/102128/
I have no idea what the song is about, so if they sing of pee and poop, I do apologize.
Gasper Nali - A Bale Ndikuwuzeni
Not just my favorite foreign language song, but also a top 10.
Not foreign language (per se for an English speaker), but somewhat also ironically on my top 10 list is Brushy One String - Chicken in the Corn.
I speak a little French, not fluent, but love Jacques Brel.
The Book of Love sounds so beautiful in Italian. https://youtu.be/iWrIjN27w_M
La Gata Bajo la Lluvia by Rocio Dúrcal
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