Who will succeed Barbara Pravi? Last year, the singer of here had offered France a second place at Eurovision – a podium that the French representatives had not reached for thirty years. On March 5, at 9:10 p.m. on France 2, It’s up to youpresented by Stéphane Bern and Laurence Boccolini, will allow a jury (see box) and you, viewers, to designate the song that will defend France’s chances in Turin (Italy) where Eurovision 2022 will take place. this French selection: ten solo artists, a duo and a quartet.
Singers and singers jostled at the gate. If, last year, France Télévisions received 685 applications in total, it received more than 3,000 for this edition. In the lot, only 40 suitors were invited to audition live in January in Paris. “There was a Pravi effect. She reconciled Eurovision with the artists who were a little afraid of it, notes Alexandra Redde-Amiel, director of entertainment at France Télévisions and head of the tricolor delegation. We had very different repertoires, even metal proposals. The rock is ultimately not there but the twelve songs selected brew wide. Their common point: all were written or co-written by their interpreters. Let’s review them.
Joanna – “Navigator”
In 2021, Joanna made a remarkable appearance at the Vieilles Charrues festival. It was a few months after the release of his album Serotonin on which appears in particular demons, a song sung with Leylow and whose clip is approaching 2 million views on YouTube. The 23-year-old artist who is used to mixing r’n’b, trap and electro will offer Browseran up-tempo song, a hymn to personal emancipation.
Listen to the song here.
Elliott – “The Tempest”
It’s been several years that Elliott, 24, passed by the conservatory where he learned the piano and the lyrical song, rolls his hump. Originally from Alsace, he participated in season 3 of The Voice — his journey ended just before live broadcasts — then joined Cover Garden, a collective that posted cover videos on YouTube. He also excelled in dubbing. His song, Stormis a mid-tempo ballad with an epic and restless chorus evoking resistance in the face of adversity.
SOA – “Alone”
Nathan and Ludysoa are brother and sister, grew up in Madagascar and come from Toulouse. Pascal Obispo, their coach in The Voice season 9 – they went all the way to knockouts – continues to support them. They have signed with the Jo & Co label (Hoshi, Claudio Capéo, Le Motif…) and are digging a furrow between pop and rap. Only carries a comforting message – “If you feel excluded from the world, don’t worry the Earth is round. You will manage to find your place and even the way to leave your mark” – on sounds radio friendly.
Listen to the song here.
Joan – “Madame”
Joan, alias Johanna Serrano, starred in the musical a few years ago Emily Jolie. At 25, with a lot of charisma, she tries her luck with Mrs, a song of which she is the author and which evokes in an assumed way a cabaret atmosphere of the 1950s. She spins, spins, spins, to forget her,” she sings, telling the story of a woman who gets drunk on dancing to overcome heartache.
Listen to the song here.
Marius – “Love Songs”
It is the emotion card of this selection. Marius co-wrote his ballad with Igit – who was also the co-writer of here – and his asset is his sensitivity which is expressed in his embodied performances. The artist from Lyon sings: “I didn’t like love songs. They all sing the same thing, they all talk about you and me and this love that is leaving…” Words that seem to echo Fanny Ardant’s famous line in The woman next door “I only listen to the songs, because they tell the truth. (…) They say: “Don’t leave me… Your absence has broken my life…” or “I am an empty house without you… Let me become the shadow of your shadow…” or “Without love, we are Nothing at all…” “
Elia – “Telephone”
Elia, a 23-year-old Parisian, is produced by Booba, who invited her last year to sing featuring his song Grain of sand. The twenty-something, passed by hypokhâgne and khâgne at the prestigious Henri-IV high school, wants to make her place on the musical scene. With her dancing song, she is the voice of the “telephone generation” which “expects nothing from anyone”.
Listen to the song here.
Hélène in Paris – “Paris my love”
Musical revelations do not wait for the number of years. Helene is 66 years old. Born in Casablanca (Morocco), she made a career as an interior designer in the United States, before returning to settle in Paris a handful of years ago. She started singing… during the first confinement. Paris my love is his declaration of affection for the French capital, to a jazzy tune.
Listen to the song here.
Alvan and Ahez – “Fulenn”
In Breton, “fulenn” means “sparks” and “young girl”. Alvan, 29 years old from Rennes, specialized in electro music, collaborated with the group Ahez, made up of three traditional Breton singers, Marine, Sterenn D. and Sterenn L. Their meeting made… sparks. The song is inspired by a Breton legend: a young woman who spent her nights dancing in the forest without worrying about outside looks… The effective electro melody combined with the folk accents of the song, entirely in Breton, make this title the most singular and intriguing selection. As a reminder, France has already been represented by a song in Breton at Eurovision: in 1996, Dan Ar Braz and L’Héritage des Celtes performed Diwanit Bugale (“How children are born”).
Cyprien – “My family”
Cyprien Zeni was a finalist of The Voice last year. This 22-year-old father, who lives in Toulouse, celebrates his loved ones while paying homage to his Reunionese roots, hinting at a few Creole words in the lyrics. “Wherever I go you remain my family, in my sorrows, in my joys, my delusions, far from the body, close to the heart whatever I say”, sings, on a dancing rhythm, the one who left Reunion three years ago.
Listen to the song here.
Julia – “Hush”
“I’m not a baby doll,” sings Julia, 20, who was once the protege of Mylène Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat. She wrote her song with Alban Lico (who notably composed Versus, the album of Slimane and Vitaa) which is reminiscent of the Vanessa Paradis of the beginnings, Gainsbour’s time. With one big difference: it takes the opposite view of objectification. “I don’t make myself pretty to look pretty, darling. It’s for me, it’s for whoever understands me, ”insists the singer.
Listen to the song here.
Saam – “Where is he? »
Last year, Saam released a promising first self-titled EP. He also opened for Hoshi and Les Frangines. This 33-year-old from Lille has dental training – a background which is reminiscent of that of Amir, who represented France at Eurovision 2016. With his song Where is he ?it calls for rediscovering a smile by reconnecting with childlike candor.
Listen to the song here.
Pauline Chagne – “Pauline Night”
At 27, Pauline Chagne accompanies herself on the electric harp – an uncommon instrument in France. His song transports us, with its eighties sounds that haunt our 2020s, several decades back. So much so that we can imagine wiggling our hips in a boom between What a Feeling and Your states of mind Ericeven if we did not know this period. Pauline Night is not for all that a dated piece: navigating from bass to treble, the artist with a natural charisma is resolutely in tune with the times. Like a little sister of Juliette Armanet or Clara Luciani.