 France only missed two years in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest. From the early days in 1956 France played a major role in the ESC. Five times France has won the contest, the last victory has been made by Marie Myriam with “L’Oiseau et l’enfant” in 1977. The enthusiasm in France changes from year to year. There were also weak years, but France is always surprising with new styles. In the 90’s France took many singers from over sea departments like the French Caribbean or from North Africa. The songs were quite extraordinary and special, not the typical French ballad. Big stars have been singing for France, lately Patricia Kaas, who made a respectable 8th place in 2009 with “Et S'il Fallait Le Faire”, furthermore Amina, Patrick Fiori, Gérard Lenorman, Anne-Marie David and Serga Lama. Sometimes also big French names have composed French entries like Patric Bruel or Serge Gainsbourg. France belongs to the Big 5 countries, which do not have to qualify in the semi finals; they have a granted place in the final. Due to the fact that one of the Big 5 countries has won the ESC last year, it had a positive impact for this year; all Big 5 countries have good entries which realistic winning chances. This year’s French entry is already handled as the great favourite. Probably, this is the most outstanding contribution of the year. “Sognu” sounds like a song from an opera. The beginning reminds of the “Bolero” by Ravel, similar to Andrea Bocelli’s style. The young and charismatic singer Amaury Vassili is from Corsica, he is also singing in the Corsican language. This would not be the first time that a song is sung in Corsican; Patrick Fiori has made a good 4th rank in 1993. The video clip has been produced in sunny Corsica and the whole arrangement has a class of its own. Of course, it all depends on his live singing qualities, especially in the big arena with nearly 40.000 people. The 11th starting position in the final is probably not the best, but it’s interesting to see that Italy is one position after. Will the 12 points from Italy go to France this year? When Amaury, with his baritone voice will perform this song in front of an audience of more than 120 million, there is a 100% goose bumps guarantee. Well done France! |
Participant(s): Amaury Vassili
