Alma - Requiem
ENTM 2017: France’s Alma

Oh là là! Alma, the French representative at Eurovision 2017, revealed today that she is going to sing a bilingual version of her entry “Requiem” in Kyiv.

Interviewed by Italian Eurovision source Eurofestival News, the 28-year-old artist born in Lille talked about the time she spent in Italy, her beginnings as a musician and how she landed at Eurovision.

First of all, she immediately declares her intentions to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor Amir: “Me and my team are working on a version of the song in French and in English”.

Wiwibloggs has confirmed with the French delegation that Alma will add juste un petit peu d’anglais. The song will not be 50% English and 50% French. Instead a part of the chorus will contain English lyrics.

Will the decision bring her luck? Last year the bilingual entry “J’ai Cherché” reached 6th place with 257 points.

Alma‘s got a great connection with Italy, where she enjoyed the dolce vita.

Speaking to Eurofestival News she said: “I lived for a year in Milan. I went there to work in a clothing agency as an assistant manager. I have many memories of Italy in my heart. First of all, I learned the language, then… well, I got to enjoy Italian culture, their way of life. I remember the apéritifs, the kindness of the people, the great opportunity that I had to share experiences and moments.”

The internet has helped her to take flight as a musician, but it was the meeting with Nazim Khaled — the writer and composer she shares with the already mentioned Amir — that changed her life forever.

“I had some songs written by me, but it was difficult for a newcomer to find someone who would invest in the project. For this reason I approached a crowdfunding platform. Slowly, thanks to the web, I’ve been able to produce two songs. Then I met Nazim Khaled and we started working together: he introduced me to the French branch of Warner Music: they liked my project, so I released the single “La chute est lente“. And now here I am, ready for Eurovision!”

She admitted that her new adventure started in December when Edoardo Grassi, French Head of Delegation, approached her.

“He called me with the proposal to represent my nation,” she said. “I accepted without thinking twice.”

How is she preparing for the musical extravaganza? With the help of a special friend and colleague!

“I spoke with Amir, and he advised me to make the most of this opportunity. He said I’m going to live ten very intense days in which I’ll have the chance to get to know so many people. Also, during the grand final, people from all over the world will see me. It’s a unique occasion to share experiences. Personally, I expect a lot from this participation, but above all I want to make France proud of me: there will be so many people in my country in front of the TV, I want them to be proud of me. I’m super excited for this great opportunity.”

At the end of the interview, she gives her answer to the drama that erupted a few days ago. On February 17 a video clip emerged of a 2015 live performance of the song. This potentially makes the song in breach of the 1 September 2016 cutoff date, and could lead to the EBU disqualifying it.

Anyway, Alma is very chill about it: “I’ve never recorded the song before now and the rules state that the entries must have been recorded from September 1 onwards. From this point of view we should be fine. Also, that was just a voice and guitar performance”.

What do you think? Should “Requiem” remain in French? Or is it a good decision to add a part in English? Sound off below!

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valendil
valendil
7 years ago

Here you will find an overview of the French and English chorus version 58’30 ” !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5wVXdCsjno

James
James
7 years ago

Gilles Marini is actually one French actor who has done exceptionally well in the United States.

Escs
7 years ago

I wonder if the english part will be in one of the two chorus. Or maybe it could be both ? In my opinion, it could be great if there was a chorus in French AND a chorus in English.

Robbert
Robbert
7 years ago

A bit naive to assume that Europe would massively vote for this song only as there are a few superficial lines in English language in it. For me the English is a turn-off after having heard the whole song in French. The atmosphere is suddenly being broken. It sounds so artificial and made-up. Unity of form, please!!!

Keybenn
Keybenn
7 years ago

Nooo Alma please!!!! keep the whole song in French! elle est très tel qu’elle est, j’ai peur que ça gache tout 🙁

Racal
Racal
7 years ago

@Celeste: Two sentences in French? Two? Well, that’ll be usefull, haha… 😀

Seriously, what is the freaking use of two sentences in English? I’m only hoping that Alma does well but I stand by my original comment: this is a useless move.

Racal
Racal
7 years ago

@Celeste: 1. I didn’t say that no French people were working at Disneyland, I said that (copy-paste) “Disneyland Paris has to recruit their staff in Belgium”: http://www.7sur7.be/7s7/fr/1536/Economie/article/detail/2407340/2015/07/29/Disneyland-Paris-recrute-a-Bruxelles.dhtml. “Les Belges sont connus pour manier au moins deux langues, voire davantage encore, dont le néerlandais. C’est une qualité que nous recherchons et qui explique notre déplacement jusqu’à Bruxelles”. Understood? Now please explain why a company would set up camp in another country, if they could presumably find what they’re looking for in their country… 2. You have absolutely no argument (I’m still waiting for the links to these forums where “the majority… Read more »

Dom
Dom
7 years ago

Do it for your lover, second song more reproduced in Spotify of the chosen ones for Kiev, do not put this news?

Celeste
Celeste
7 years ago

Confirmed by Edoardo Grassi, it will have Two sentences, TWO in english so now stop all this dramatic comments.
And english feet more french than italy, because they are related, make comparison with the italien entnry from last year is ridiculous, the staging was the problem for francesca not the english

an esc fan
an esc fan
7 years ago

@ Celeste

Both Jean Dujardin and Marion Cotillard still have french accent and this is the only thing related with this topic.
I’m sure nobody wanted to say anything offensive, all the opinions here seem to be well intended.

Celeste
Celeste
7 years ago

And english work better in an french song, because of the relation between the languages, than with italian or spanish.
Now stop the false critics and wait to the final version.

Celeste
Celeste
7 years ago

@Racal: Another stupidity from you, I work in disneyland paris (in merchandising) and the majority of the staff is from France, there are of course peoples from all others europeean countries, even american, brazilian, japanese etc but 65% are from France, and after Spain and Italy, pauvre naze. @an esc fan For Dujardin is not because his accent but because his hollywood movies was flop (last one co-starring with clooney) and never hearn about Marion Cotillard ?? by the way the big problems for french actors in Hollywood is not the accend but the fact big majors propose them only… Read more »

Charli Cheer Up
Charli Cheer Up
7 years ago

@Racal I beg to differ. The problem with Francesca Michielin’s(Italy 2016) was that her song had to be trimmed. Its not the English parts that affected the song but the removal of the bridge which was suppose to provide an emotional build up. When they removed it in place of the English, the song lost some of the spark from the original version.

Charli Cheer Up
Charli Cheer Up
7 years ago

This might actually be a good idea. It worked well for Amir afterall and the song is already 3 minutes long unlike Italy’s San Remo entries which had to be trimmed aswl. Just hoping that the English parts won’t change the quality of the song because its so good!

Voxtaylor
Voxtaylor
7 years ago

I take it back, I love this song now ._.’

Voxtaylor
Voxtaylor
7 years ago

Eh, I was extremely adamant that “Occidentali’s Karma” stay in Italian, but this song isn’t near as perfect as that one. Thus, I feel like this one could do with a change. If that change comes in the form of English, so be it. It may help or hurt the song, but it’s worth the risk to aim for improvement.

ESC84
ESC84
7 years ago

Grande Amore won televote with Italian only.

an esc fan
an esc fan
7 years ago

Jean Dujardin won an Oscar, but we don’t see him in Hollywood movies because he can’t escape the french accent.
Let the song in french.

mad-professor
mad-professor
7 years ago

Never mind English lyrics – it needs a hook!

Nicolas Lefebvre
Nicolas Lefebvre
7 years ago

She is from Lyon, not Lille 😉

Lolek
Lolek
7 years ago

As long as she keeps most of it in french, I’m happy – though I’d personally prefer it if the entire song was exclusively in french. So few non-english songs in eurovision these days 🙁

James
James
7 years ago

@Racal: If the quality of English language training for non-native speakers is not up to standard, then their hold of the language will no doubt be poor, and that is not certainly exclusive to French people but to anyone who doesn’t have English as their first, second or other language.

Racal
Racal
7 years ago

@WKBII: Indeed, she sounds quite good in English. My bad, totally! 😉 However, that doesn’t change my initial comment: I don’t like it when countries treat their songs like a piece of Ikea furniture, take one French block and replace it with an English one. Supposedly to have more people understand the song… Yeah, right. It’s a useless gimmick and it never works (see Francesca Michielin’s song last year, just to name one). @James: “Anyone who is not a native/fluent speaker of a language that is foreign to them will naturally suck at it”… Sorry, but I don’t agree. 🙂… Read more »

Frank
Frank
7 years ago

I am not at all amused about that this very nice French song will be sung partly in English. I hope it will NOT come true. Why must everyone sing a few English lyrics in a song??? We have too many English songs, this is not a Eurovision Song Contest anymore but an English Song Contest. Alma, please don’t sing in English, thanks! Alma, ne chante pas en anglais, merci beaucoup!

James
James
7 years ago

Chillax and calm your wiwi-nerves people. @Racal: Anyone who is not a native/fluent speaker of a language that is foreign to them will naturally suck at it. But there’s a reason why the world has bilingual/multilingual speakers. And yet another observation: Some people find the former only-Portuguese language rule in Festival da Cancao cruel but when France goes bilingual with their song, they immediately raise their forks and torches because they want the song to stay completely French. If you guys don’t wanna hear all competing songs to be sung in English except for those from Anglophone countries, why won’t… Read more »

Adam
Adam
7 years ago

Wow. Wiwibloggs is such an incredible website and is probably the most reliable and relevant in the Eurovision community. Who can beat it? That being said it’s just amazing how a website as great as this can have some of the worst commenters on the web. In almost every article there are fights and insults thrown at random people just for disagreeing with you and more than that, the sheer overreacting nature of most commenters here and the overdramatic-ness are so annoying. I just feel embarrassed and get sad for the editors here. Working on all this content to give… Read more »

AngieP
AngieP
7 years ago

@Polegend Godgarina, about the results of the non-english songs last year (although you speak about the juries), Austria did extremely well, especially with the televote. Sometimes, the language doesn’t matter that much. @davve, I’m an ESC fan and I love France, their culture and their language. So I’m always interested on what they have to offer to the contest each year. I don’t think France had amazing songs that could win all these years. The last time I liked a French entry was in 2013 and then back in 2009. But I hadn’t found a potential winner in any song… Read more »

DG Pottogue
DG Pottogue
7 years ago

Wait and see. I will judge the Song when she’ll comes out. Bonne chance Alma ! La France est avec toi !! And this song is exactly what french people hear those days. Typicaly what we ear on radio.

Leaf
Leaf
7 years ago

I think the French team is quite smart about it, I don’t think of it as a massive language change but a nice touch of English somewhere in the song…. They sent an amazing song last year, they surprised everyone out of nowhere this year and I think they are starting to get the game BIG TIME. Good luck Alma, and good luck France.

nn
nn
7 years ago

In 2001 they ruined their song with one part of song in english. Italy ruin song wiht some english lyricks in 2016. Iceland did in 2007 and 2012 when they change the language of song. Sweden in 2004 and Albania in 2014,2016.

WKBII
WKBII
7 years ago

@Rascal Go on YouTube and type ‘alexandra maquet mad world’. You’ll hear how she sounds in English.

Colin
Colin
7 years ago

Ok, I might have overreacted a bit. If it’s more like Francesca Michelin bilingual and less like Poli Genova bilingual, I’m okaywith this… that is, if Alma has a good accent and if the translated lyrics accurately reflect the spirit of the song.

Marc
Marc
7 years ago

@Polegend Godgarina

Please don’t. You smell like an old woman’s fart.

Eyal
Eyal
7 years ago

Please! NOOOO!!!!!!!

Stephanie
7 years ago

What’s wrong with a little English put into the French entry? That’s not “selling out”, that’s helping more people outside the Eurofan bubble understand the message of the song. I do like the all-French version of Alma’s song, so now I can’t wait to hear what the bilingual version will be like

Mar
Mar
7 years ago

But is the english really needed? There are some aspects of the song that need work, but the language ain’t one of them. This isn’t just a song in French, rather it is a very French song, so English lyrics may not work oragnically and without akwardness.
I love me a good bilingual entry (mostly beacause I’ll take bilingual over full English any day of the week), but most often than not songs that are written in a language and then translated end up being a hot mess (see Albania every year).
Anyway, we won’t know until we hear It.

Aaaaa
Aaaaa
7 years ago

Lets be real. This song is doomed no matter what… It is not contemporary or even a nice song to listen to. So just get over it.

WKBII
WKBII
7 years ago

For those who are wondering if Alma can sing in English:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D9OYpCXjTk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV99Zh8-Etc

Catherine
Catherine
7 years ago

Please, NOBODY send bilingual songs. What for need to make great song worse?

#FrenchIsFrench
#FrenchIsFrench
7 years ago

As a non-french speaker, i would like to hear this in french. It’s so great and sounds more mystical. I love her song. Don’t change anything!

Racal
Racal
7 years ago

@Celeste: Hey Médor, faut se calmer… You’re right about one thing: I haven’t heard Alma sing in English, and yet I presume she won’t be good at it. Maybe I’m judging too fast, but you have to be honest here: most people in France really do suck at foreign languages (it’s a fact, look at international rankings or even just wander in Paris). Just listen to Essaï Altounian, that French guy who sang for Armenia as part of Genealogy in 2015: his accent when he sang “Face the Shadow” was simply ridiculous… Maybe Alma won’t sound that bad, at least… Read more »

Alex
Alex
7 years ago

i agree that a little bit of english will not harm the entry at all, it will boost its chances actually like Amir.

Well done FR! Now please give us an awesome and dreamy stage performance!

WKBII
WKBII
7 years ago

You guys need to understand that the vast majority of people who vote during the grand finale are not eurofans, therefore they often hear the songs for the first time. Most voters haven’t spent the previous months scrutinizing every song and getting to know the singers like we do. The live shows are the only opportunity for each act to convey a clear message of what the song is about, so the most understandable the message, the better. We eurofans are so involved in the show that we know the meaning/message of every song no matter the language, but it’s… Read more »

Celeste
Celeste
7 years ago

And for finish, as this article say, only a part of the chrous will be english, so hater shut up, and wait for the final version around the 13th of march.

Senegal
Senegal
7 years ago

Amm i the only person ever who supports this decition and thinks it’d be better in full english? I’d also like Francesco’s song in english at ESC

ninasublatti
ninasublatti
7 years ago

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Bapak Lurah
Bapak Lurah
7 years ago

Well. I can’t say anything before I hear the bilingual version. I already love the full-french version tho, and looking forward for the bilingual ver.
What’s funny is almost everyone being so judgemental, saying that adding english would harm the song or it wouldn’t reach top 10.

Celeste
Celeste
7 years ago

@racal, all your post are really stupid, first your use stereotype about french peoples sucking in english without fact!!! Alma lived in USA, Belgium and Italy, and she is fluant in 4 language, french, english, italian and portuguese. Say she suck is insulting her, based of nothing. Secondly, no one EVER bitched Alma’song ?yeah sure, read again the comments on wiwibloggs, when she was rumoured then confirmed, the comments on her video clips and other forums no just the one esc related, you will see, the majority proclaims she will not win because it’s in french, ask to have some… Read more »

Richard Hochuli
Richard Hochuli
7 years ago

No no no

Paule
Paule
7 years ago

I don’t think, this songs needs any English. But if they don’t overdo this, it might be not too much damage to the atmosphere of this beautiful chanson. Still, I don’t think it’s necessary at all.