http://www.lyricsmania.com/aurelie_lyrics_colonel_reyel.html
(The lyrics in French. Sorry, but I couldn't find a good English tranlsation!)

Another song that I think is a prime example of civic engagement it Colonel Reyel’s “Aurélie” which highlights abortion and teen pregnancy.  I realize that since Colonel Reyel is a French artist, it is unlikely that his songs would be chart-toppers in the U.S., but his content in this song is universal. To summarize the song, he talks about a sixteen-year-old girl, Aurélie, who becomes pregnant, wants to have her baby, but is pressured by family and friends to get an abortion.  They look down upon her and make her feel like an outcast though she sees things differently, wanting to be a mother. Colonel Reyel voices his opinion saying that “we have all known a girl in Aurélie’s case/a girl for whom pregnancy is a crime/rejected by her friends and especially her family who don’t accept her wish to have the baby…to bring a baby into the would should not be punished/it is the most beautiful thing and if you deny it/ you haven’t understood anything…”

            Rhetorically, presenting this issue through a song with a story and character helps audiences relate to it.  Even for non-French-speaking listeners, it is easy to get the jist of the song from the music video where we can see the emotions of the situation through the actors.  Additionally, when he presents his stance on the issue, he avoids completely bashing people.  This way, the song remains a song and does not turn into a great debate.  The fact that it is a song presents some constraints in the sense that there cannot be a live verbal exchange between opposing viewpoints, it is not presented as a heated topic, and the rhythm can distract people from the emotion behind their stances/beliefs, keeping the argument under control. 

            The civic engagement factor comes in when he decides to present his stance on the issue.  I think it is effective near the end of the song because the listener has already been familiarized and acquainted with the story of Aurélie and the fact that he/she probably knows someone who experienced a similar situation.  That being said, even the listener is persuaded to agree with Colonel Reyel because it is difficult to condemn and hate a friend or loved one.  Merely throwing his opinion into the song invites people to consider their own, casting the issue into a public spectrum.