Before they headline the hippest musical highlight of the Gallic gala, The Teenagers’ Quentin Delafon swears that his foul-mouthed days are behind him. Kind of. By Mark Tjhung

On the phone from Paris, swimming through his own laconic French drawl and grammatical awkwardness, Quentin Delafon is surprisingly subdued. It’s something, given The Teenagers’ portfolio of F-bomb laden, C*** spouting, cheerleader-objectifying songs, that’s a little surprising. Maybe it has something to do with his recent return to his homeland. “I had lots of fun in London – maybe a little too much. It’s more quiet here,” he says, with a touch of relief in his voice.

About a year ago, Delafon and the rest of The Teenagers (Michael Szpiner and Dorian Dumont) decided to trade in their English existence for the refined sophistication of Paris – a much-welcomed change for the quirky French synth-pop trio, who have enjoyed a whirlwind few years, since breaking through in a barrage of expletives.

The Teenagers’ story is one in the MySpace mould, plucked from obscurity on the basis the controversial pop tracks Fuck Nicole and Homecoming, and sent on the fast track to their first album, 2008’s Reality Check. “People started to contact us, random people and then labels and then lawyers. We were like, what’s happening,” he says. “It happened really fast, so just enough time to leave my day job. And just like that, we’re touring.”

So after a couple of intense years of touring, having a hit song featuring the chorus “I fucked my American cunt,” and NME voting one of their tracks fourth best of 2007, The Teenagers are getting in a bit of down time. And as happens with many bands, an evolutionary process is taking place. As Delafon chats about some of their new material, a new outlook oozes through – one that suggests a more varied approach (only two or three sex-focused songs will be on the next album) touching on more probing issues – depression, jealousy, superficiality amongst them.

“We’re trying to widen the things we talk about. So it’s not just about songs that have ‘fuck’ or ‘bitch’ inside,” he says, with smirking laughter. “We just didn’t want to serve the same dish a second time. It would be a bit like re-heated chilli from yesterday, so we are trying to just broaden our horizons.” We get that: it would still have been hot, but maybe just a little old.

But while they’re starting to drift into slightly different musical waters – we could probably call them the early twenties – they’re also conscious of where they’ve come from and what their fans were lured in by: Delafon’s nonchalant monotone verses, whimsical pop culture references, catchy electro-rock choruses and that light-hearted controversial twist. “It’s difficult. We have to balance between what we want to talk about and what people are expecting as well. It’s trying to balance that,” he says.

They’ll bring a live version of this balancing act to Le French May’s Musical Showdown this fortnight – along with compatriots Wax Tailor and Cocoon as well as our own Chochukmo and Noughts and Exes – promising to play their classics (“if that doesn’t contradict itself,” he laughs) as well as “two or maybe three” of their new tracks.

They’ll probably also encourage a stage invasion – a regular The Teenagers live gimmick that has recently gone unisex. “[It used to be just girls] but then we thought that it was a bit sexist,” says Delafon. “Now we’re sort of being more open, and that means anyone can come and play. You have male cheerleaders as well now.”

It’s refreshing to know that, even if these Teenagers are growing up, in the end it’s still all about the cheerleaders.

Le French May Musical Showdown is at Queen Elizabeth Stadium on June 5. Tickets: www.urbtix.hk; 2734 9009. Their track Streets of Paris is featured on Episode 18 of the Time Out Podcast.