Arriving at the premises of France Télévisions, on the evening of Saturday May 14, 2016, Elodie Gossuin is far from imagining that she is about to become a cult figure of Eurovision. In a few hours, a satellite link will relink her to Stockholm (Sweden), where the competition is taking place that year, and she will appear in front of hundreds of millions of television viewers to announce the points of the French jury.
While waiting to accomplish her mission, she waits with the technical teams, watches the performances of the twenty-six finalists, including that of the French Amir, one of the favorites of this edition with his song I sought. The chorus in English is accessible to the widest possible audience, which picks up the emblematic “You-ou-ou-ou-ou”. The kind of gimmick that instantly sticks in your head. So much so that, when the time comes to go live on a green screen, Elodie Gossuin does not greet the Swedish presenter Petra Mede with an agreed “Good evening”. No: the immaculately dressed French host lets out a “You-ou-ou-ou-ou” as playful as it is full of false notes.
In their cabin, the commentators are incredulous. Stéphane Bern is hilarious. Marianne James asks “But why? “The ex-Miss France will ensure later that she had not prepared anything, that her “You” sung was most spontaneous. Moreover, at the time, she was not aware of passing on to posterity. While in Sweden the Ukrainian Jamala wins Eurovision, she salutes the France 2 teams who accompanied her for this evening. She returns to her car and goes straight home.
“The next day when I woke up, I had a headache”
“That’s when my phone didn’t stop ringing and I realized the impact, the buzz effect,” Elodie Gossuin tells 20 minutes. There was a surge of very contrasting reactions between “Congratulations, you’re fresh” and “My god, you’re the shame of France”. It was quite violent in its suddenness. The next day when I woke up, I had a headache. We can’t prepare for this kind of comeback, at this intensity. »
“An embarrassing sequence”, “a big moment of embarrassment”, “Elodie Gossuin makes a fool of herself”… If, now, this moment makes you smile, at the time, in certain media and on social networks, the main concerned is vilified. “If I had been aware that a “you-ou-ou” could generate such reactions, I might have abstained, that’s for sure! My luck was to be supported by several people who took it to the second degree, she relates today. The following Monday on the radio, I had Amir as a guest, he gave me a singing lesson, we laughed about it. Since then, we have had a very strong bond. Daphné Bürki called me to have a good laugh about it on her show The New Edition [sur Canal+]. This helped defuse things. They gave me their support and that they manage to joke about it encouraged me to be self-deprecating. »
If the Europeans quickly forgot that the French jury awarded its 12 points to Italy in 2016, many of them have kept excellent memories of the spokesperson. France Télévisions also asked him to re-enlist for the 2017 and 2018 editions of Eurovision. “They contacted me again because all the delegations wanted the “you-ou-ou girl”, the “French you-ou-ou miss”, advances Elodie Gossuin who especially became aware of her popularity in the sphere of the competition the last fall, during the Eurovision Junior press conference organized in Paris: “I attended as the mistress of ceremonies for the event, but the ‘you-ou-ou-ou-ou’ came up in the questions of all foreign journalists! »
“It brings lightness to the most tense moment of the evening”
When, in mid-April, it was announced that she would once again be the spokesperson for the French jury for Eurovision 2022, the news delighted fans of the competition, for whom she is now a figure in her own right, a member of the competition family. “I feel like I won Eurovision at some point, without me remembering the year,” she laughs.
Why so much love? “She has personality, she brings levity to the most tense moment of the evening and she is a very competent facilitator. Many spokespersons don’t have a natural gift for expressing themselves on television, which is probably why Elodie stands out,” replies Briton Nathan Waddell, editor-in-chief of the ESCXtra site.
“With hindsight, I am proud of this sequence, assures Elodie Gossuin. All things considered, of course, because it’s not a particular achievement that I’m supposed to be able to brag about, but today I think we need you-or-or-or-or, cheerful, festive, entertainment. If, as I try to do in the morning on the radio on RFM, it brings smiles, it’s not too bad. »
“There is an anxiety to manage”
This Saturday, she will therefore be there to reveal the points of the French jury. Should we expect her to hum Fulenn or say a few words in Breton in a nod to Alvan and Ahez, the French representatives? “I will not prepare anything,” she warns. Apart from what will be imposed on me on the technique, the repetitions, the language to be used, I will come without anticipating anything. »
Elodie Gossuin specifies that, contrary to appearances, this exercise is not a formality. “It may seem very long, there is an anxiety to manage. From one second to another, we go from loneliness to being seen by millions of viewers. We are not in the party atmosphere since we are not in the room to experience the event. Many think that a sentence can be enough, but even with the teleprompter, on a green screen, it is very complex to manage. Professionally, it’s very formative. And it can even make you worship.