The song peaked at number one in Belgium and France and became the best selling single of 2013 in Belgium.
The music video accompanying the release of "Papaoutai" was directed by Raf Reyntjens and released on YouTube on 6 June 2013.
The song and video refers to the absence of Stromae's father - who had little presence in Stromae's life even before being killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide - and to Stromae's fear of being unable to be an effective father with no memory of ever having a father of his own.
-The video has received over 600 million views on YouTube.
American A cappella group Pentatonix and violinist Lindsey Stirling covered the song on Pentatonix's album PTX Vol. 3, released on 23 September 2014.