After two explosive semi finals, the grand final of Destination Eurovision 2019 opened with an ode to 2014 Eurovision winner Conchita and with much gusto. Chimène brought back her beautiful box. Doutson brought back his dancing mini-me. But in the end, it was Bilal Hassani who is taking his crown all the way to Tel Aviv, with his song “Roi”.
Although he struggled in 5th place after the international jury votes, Bilal accumulated 200 total points and won the televote in a landslide with 150 points, beating Seemone on 156 points. This should come as no surprise, as he topped the leaderboard in our Destination Eurovision 2019 poll with a whopping 55% of all votes.
Jury results
Televote results
- Bilal Hassani – “Roi” 150
- Chimène Badi – “Là-haut” 63
- Seemone – “Tous les deux” 62
- Emmanuel Moire – “La promesse” 51
- The Divaz – “La voix d’Aretha” 48
- Silvàn Areg – “Allez leur dire” 26
- Aysat – “Comme une grande” 12
- Doutson – “Sois un bon fils” 8
Final results
Chimène Badi – “Là-haut”
Opening with an ode to Eurovision 1988 winner Celine Dion, Chimène’s La Haut saw the talented singer bring her iconic back on stage, joined by an interpretive dancer who knew exactly how to work Chimène’s box. A consummate professional, she opened the show with strength and confidence, setting the tone for a dramatic grand final. Faultless and flawless.
What's in @chimeneofficiel's box? ?#DestinationEurovision @EurovisionF2 pic.twitter.com/Bbp89Xp3Ue
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Silvàn Areg – “Allez Leur Dire”
Like the transformation of television from black and white in the 1960’s, Silvan’s song went from monochrome in the semi-final to a performance full of bright, neon colours in the grand final. And despite the song’s name change, Silvan’s performance was a confident step up from two weeks ago. His camera angles were still on point, his moves were just as flawless and considered, and his smiley persona brought life to the stage. Some might say it’s visually a gimmick – but we say it’s show-stopping.
Monochrome in the semi final, @silvanaregoff brought colour, flair and life to the grand final of #DestinationEurovision ? @EurovisionF2 pic.twitter.com/LENLbnqqka
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
The Divaz – “La voix d’Aretha”
Out are the drag queen inspired red dresses, in are a fusion of rock-chic feathered numbers which brought the performance from the 1940’s to the 1980’s. Vocally, it was still a beautiful ménage à trois of voices which had grown even stronger from the semi final in its harmonies. Staging was more or less the same, but the women were accompanied by bursts of water in the background reminiscent of the movie Flashdance. The Divaz went from a tribute act, to a trio who owned it.
They may have had an outfit change, but The Divaz brought back those flawless harmonies. #DestinationEurovision @EurovisionF2 pic.twitter.com/hTS38dQaA3
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Emmanuel Moire – “La promesse”
Sensual, sensitive, sleeveless. @EmoireOff kept it raw in the grand final. @EurovisionF2 #DestinationEurovision pic.twitter.com/NyfM8hDvzi
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Opening with an acoustic cover of Loreen‘s “Euphoria”, Emmanuel was out to show he’s just as good as the best. “La promesse” was more or less the same as his semi-final performance – and with a televote win last week, there was no need to change much. The dancers were more sensual, his inner turmoil was more prominent, and his emotions were raw and on show. Vocally stronger than last week, Emmanuel showed that he’s confident on stage and has earned his reputation as one of France’s best singers.
Avec "La Promesse", @EmoireOff aimerait faire évoluer les mentalités ! ?#DestinationEurovision pic.twitter.com/DeoGdytOwV
— Eurovision France ?? (@EurovisionF2) January 26, 2019
Doutson – “Sois un bon fils”
Doutson brought more of his unique flavour and appeal to the grand final. Almost a direct cut-copy from last week’s performance, his exuberant mini-me dancer was joined by a troupe of dancers who joined Doutson in the chorus, giving the performance more movement and flow. It’s a fun three minutes which brings a reggaeton beat to a typically French-sounding show – giving Doutson appeal and helping him stand out.
Aww! @Doutsonartist and his inner child sharing a touching moment on #DestinationEurovision @EurovisionF2 pic.twitter.com/aRkqB6lBaL
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Seemone – “Tous les deux”
Her flawless and stunning performance of the 1977 French entry “L’oiseau et l’enfant” showed just how serious Seemone is to win this national final. What was lacking in staging last week was heightened exponentially by the simple addition of smoke. Her performance was emotional and intimate, despite being flanked by a pianist, a trumpet player and a giant motif of Seemone herself. It has French chanteuse written all over it, and was a definite contender for the win.
@seemonemusic was joined by Seemone in a touching and moving performance at #DestinationEurovision. Who thinks it's a winner? @EurovisionF2 pic.twitter.com/MWF0R1DaYC
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Bilal Hassani – “Roi”
He was the outright favourite in the first semi-final and with good reason. After a stunning acoustic performance of Eleni Foureira‘s “Fuego”, Bilal transformed his performance of “Roi” from pop-tastic but slightly meaningless performance in the first semi-final, to a stripped-back piece of art in the grand final. Bilal was joined on stage by a collection of photos and videos of his past, showcasing his childhood and his transformation to the Bilal of today. With this performance, “Roi” became an anthem about accepting and embracing change, but staying true to yourself. Take your crown, Bilal. You earned it.
@iambilalhassani stripped "Roi" back, showing his transformation from childhood to today. Take your crown, Bilal. You earned it. ? pic.twitter.com/Fw9kaywcBc
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Aysat – “Comme une grande”
She’s the urban queen who brought it popping and locking. Opening with her own take of Alexander Rybak‘s “Fairytale” brought into 2019, Aysat’s performance of “Comme une grande” was a stronger and more confident mirror image of her semi-final performance. Physically, very little was changed, but rather tightened to deliver a more impactful performance. And all the audio issues that persisted in the first semi final were out the door, leaving Aysat the room necessary to deliver. The perfect way to close out Destination Eurovision 2019.
What a way to finish the show! @aysatofficiel brought urban attitude to #DestinationEurovision @EurovisionF2 pic.twitter.com/rfpoQRqwVQ
— wiwibloggs (@wiwibloggs) January 26, 2019
Was Bilal your favourite to win Destination Eurovision 2019? How do you think he will go in Tel Aviv? Let us know in the comments box down below!
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Do not listen to the pests. Follow your dream Bilal.
😉
Although, I do not “hate” the winning song, this really feels like one or two steps back for France. The structure and melody of the song is okeyish, but what really stand out negatively is first of all his vocals especially in the high pitch notes, and second of all the fact that this does not feel authentic at all. Also, it kind of lacks identity as a song: is it a uptempo ballad or is it a slow bop?… However, some apeal it must have for the public to vote so massively for it, so my guess is that… Read more »
Based on the live performance…. Well the juries should vote this down. The singing technique is all heavy breaths and it sounds awful. France will be bottom of the table this year.
Horrible, just a conchita wurst low cost version. Not voice, not talent … Conchita had the whole package. Not him.
You need more than a good message and a wig….you need a good song and good vocals. Désolé but no.
Honestly, I’m french and I was rooting for Seemone. But what negativity in that comment section ! Listening everyone, we’ll be 26th, eurofans, ahhhh… I’m very disappointed but I still think we can be in the left part of the board. Bilal as a huge room fro improvement, bigger than Seemone’s, I must admit it, even if I would’ve prefer Seemone for this year. Moreover, our new head of delegation Steven Clerima will finally show us what he’ll be able to give for adult ESC after Angelina’s 2nd place in the JESC. I’m sure he can bring us a good… Read more »
If true, I’m hopeful. But first, he has to tame his base. They are ruining the whole thing for a lot of fans abroad.
I’m gonna be polite: If you think you could be on the left hand on the scoreboard, I strongly recommend reconsidering. You have a right to an opinion, but this song is bad. Not just not good, but actively bad.
hmmmm I am french and I really don’t understand all the negative reactions. Really, it is not what we want about eurovision, just don’t blame France for this choice please, when Austria send Conchita everybody talk about an amazing choice. Ok Bilal is not Conchita but I really feel a big hate from a lot of people. Just to you could understand what happened, Bilal has won because of his big fanbase incorporated by a majority of ignorant about eurovision and they just thought they could vote for him in ESC Anyway I think your comments are disproportionate because we… Read more »
Would be great to have Bilal in Tel Aviv… with the Divaz as back-up singers, on stage, all dressed up as Drag Beauties… Just popping up the idea…
That’s a terrible idea.
If I am a part of The Divaz, I’ll be insulted for reading this.
Watched the grand final yesterday. Overall, a nice variety of musical styles to pick from, and some decent entries. What strikes me the most is how Aysat got so royally ignored by both the juries and the televote. Once again, people tend to vote for their favorite performer, rather than performance. There is one thing I’d like to point out, though : it is said that the winner is selected on the 50-50 ratio between the juries and the televote. I’ve looked into it and yes, both the juries and the televote had 420 points to give, however, it’s pretty… Read more »
I remember a fellow commentator mentioned the rules about having the jury and televote scores converted to points from maybe 1-12 so the jury and televote has the same weight and set of points, nobody will get overrated by either one side.
uhhh also i can’t get over how blasé i felt about this entire selection whereas last year we had masterpiece after masterpiece sent by Ehla, Emmy Liyana, Madame Monsieur, Malo’, Nassi, Noée, Sweem, among many others!!!! what happened to that quality 🙁
Good luck France, you’ll do well…if the other countries send much more horrible songs. This novelty & tribute act will not go far. Try again next year 2020, this is currently out of my books. Bilal, you are cancelled
Doutson and Aysat criminally underrated
If France had decided to choose Seemone, it would have even won in May.
As my dad says, Eurovision isn’t a contest where the best singing wins.
With very notable exceptions, such as 2017
Since Amir Haddad in 2016, France has been bringing their A-game and really turning into one of my favorites ever since.
That ended in 2019.
Such a bad decision. What have you done France? Such better options then Bilal. I’m so disappointed. This will crash and burn in Tel Aviv. Having an eccentric performer such as Bilal won’t save it. He’s trying to give Conchita vibes, but they don’t get me.
Not a fan of Roi, but can you please explain the “Conchita vibes”? Is it just because he’s wearing a wig, and in your book wig = drag queen? There’s nothing in common between Bilal and Conchita. Genre is different, staging is different, vocals are different, one was a bearded drag queen and the other is a feminine man… EVERYTHING is different, stop the dumb comparisons please. I didn’t see people comparing Madame Monsieur to all the other duos who entered Eurovision, or Alma to all the solo female acts. Why do you feel the need to compare two gay… Read more »
Before you go calling the comparison dumb, please allow me to respond to your quite defensive reply. Genre may be different but the whole “gender bending” imagery and the lyrics of their songs are quite similar also.
Also, Bella, you know nothing about me, so your only showing your own narrow-mindedness with that “brain dead” statement. I’m actually gay myself, so don’t even dare jump down my throat with your one sided mind.
Calm yourself down petal, your looking just as brain dead as you believed me to be.
Fake victory in January, real loss in May.
Thanks fans for your votes.
We may be experiencing a car crash in May when it comes to watching France.
France, you really should be ashamed.
R.I.P. France
I’ll be yet another comment saying Seemone was brilliant, captivating, and absolutely top tier quality… and Roi most definitely was not. Bilal has a great look, a mediocre song, and a bad voice. Quelle domage, France.
Reading the comment section and I see a lot of unreasonable hate and negativity in it. Please, just stop it cause it won’t change what has happened. Let’s just be happy that someone one.
Look, Silvan is my winner of DE but I can live with the fact that Bilal will represent France (given that Roi was my second favorite). I mean, Bilal representing France doesn’t it’s causing the end of the world.
So, yeah, pretty much congratulations to Bilal and I hope he does well in Tel Aviv.
I was watching yt live relation of jury voting and reading the live commens and each jury member who gave bilal less than 12 points was called homophobe ;p they, i mean his french fans do not hear that the song is just a crap and think bilal should be given only 12s for the image and personality 😀 I want May right now! The biggest flop of 21st century on the horizon.
I didn’t like Bilal, but in the end it doesn’t really matter who won, they ALL would end up 20-25 including all the songs from semi-final. Not a single entry had potential to go far. You think Seemone had potential to be Top 10? Look at Alma or Madame Monsieur.
Bilal on esc stage … I go to WC
Good song, but not a winner, or even a Top 10. Bilal seems a good guy and he to feel the song and its message but he still doesn’t have that stage strength or figure, you know, he doesn’t impose his way while performing as for example previous winners did (You can think whatever you want about Conchita or Netta, but they definitely owned the stage.)
This is really really bad. Sorry, France!
“In the Shadow” was an amazing song. What have you done France !!
Not live it wasn’t! Did you listen? Florina flopped… hard.
Still better than Bilal’s live
Last night, a very nice tribute was paid to Michel Legrand. great French composer who received 3 oscard. I’m surprised that wiwibloggs does not talk about it anymore.
Enjoy 😉
Can we talk about how the jury, which gave Bilal the win in the first semifinal, scored him so much lower in the final (including placing him behind two of his semifinal 1 colleagues) despite the fact that his vocal and his staging got better? This to me is a perfect example of the jury being suspect. Depending on whether you like Bilal or not, the semifinal jury was either inappropriately kind to him because of the buzz around his entry or the final jury was inappropriately harsh after being empowered by some of the backlash mounting against Bilal online.… Read more »
But then, in the final you had a different set of juries, from different countries that voted in semi-finals.
Yes, but “a jury of music professionals” theoretically should be responding to the basics — melody, lyrics, vocal — which stayed the same. Moreover, they balanced the two juries regionally so there’s no reason to think that they should have had such different tastes.
Think about it like this: In semifinal 1, four out of five jury members gave Bilal 12 points. In the final, not a single jury member gave him 12 points. Only two jury members placed him in the top three. Statistically, that would not have happened if the jury were standardized.
Well, juries have different standards in determining their scores. It can be their tastes, too. The final juries would expectedly have higher standard since most of them are HoDs (plus the amazing Rona N), so they would have to score these entries carefully to maintain their legibility as an HoD. They would also have bias by their geography, since their vote ‘represented’ the taste of their country. Belarus and Russia wouldn’t put Roi higher since that would violate the image of their countries. I would not immediately think they would have listened to public opinions before scoring since they would… Read more »
You think Armenia and Serbia, who voted in the first semifinal and gave Bilal 12s, are so much more friendlier to genderqueer folks than Russia and Belarus? That seems unlikely, almost as unlikely as the notion that the jury went into the contest completely unaware of public opinion.
As an aside, I find it so interesting that people are downvoting my comment. My point was just to highlight what I thought was obvious: juries are easily swayed. Bilal had no business winning that semifinal 1 jury vote.
Armenia can be left out of the situation because of the good relations they have with France, so there can be a bit of liberation towards the thing–and probably David just thought ‘Roi’ was good. Serbia was more friendly towards LGBT since they protect the community from discrimination against sexual orientation and other things amazing (I’m writing this on a quick Wikipedia read, and let this aside).
For what it’s worth, since we seem to be downvoting people who are sympathetic to Bilal, my opinion is that the Semifinal 1 jury was responding to hype when they gave him the win. It was only when the backlash started online that the jurors in the final felt empowered enough to say, “actually, Bilal’s live performance isn’t as good as his studio version.”
the jury is composed of one person for each country.. it doesn’t represent anything!
Oh my comment from yesterday has been deleted. I said “don’t say “french voters”, please, rather say “Bilal’s fangirls”, lol”.
+ Some of his fans said him on twitter “we’re gonna make you win in may”, lmao. We can finally say goodbye to the left part of the board.
It is a bit scary to see how angry and frustated people are here in the comment section. I don’t have the time to write negative comments because I am enjoying my life. I would not waste my time with complaining. And now I am listening to Chimène and dancing 😀
” The song is utter garbage” or how extreme fans of eurovision give us their opinion. it’s really constructive. and it does not fly high.
Bilal : Dare dream and be authentic with your song !
Eurovision is not a personality contest. Hope French people learn this in May.
Most of Bilal’s fanbase doesn’t even care about that fact. They can’t grasp how Eurovision work nor do they even understand its history. Oh well. Next year.
The same old “inspirational” and “motivational” story of someone, who is SO brave for being gender non-conforming, because that’s TOTALLY a voice we didn’t hear enough yet in the last 5 years. Let’s be real: It just seems to pretentious to me how he sings about how he’s confronted with so much negativity and hate even though he has a huge social media following and is pretty much loved by every teen (and no, pointing this out is something I wouldn’t consider “hate”). I already said this, but the reason why I have a problem with this is that it… Read more »
Before I get downvoted for expressing any support for him, let me say: Bilal was not my pick. I’d have placed him fourth *at best*. (#TheDivaz4Ever) I also agree with you that he’s nothing particularly new for Eurovision. That said, it seems a little unfair to suggest that this androgynous guy hasn’t had a tough time in the past. You don’t know his history (nor do I), but it doesn’t take much of an imagination to to suspect that an androgynous kid like him was probably picked on… Also, having a gazillion Instagram followers doesn’t mean you don’t face negativity… Read more »
Well, it’s normal if public figures have negative comments in their comment section, so that’s nothing new. But looking at Bilal’s background it’s something hard to have a gender and sexual identity issue, especially descending from a country like Morocco.
Everybody want’s to minority because it has become fashionable to be “individual” and minority.
I do not understand your resentment. Would you like a return to the “good old days” when people like Bilal had to stay in the shadows? Unfortunately for you, this is the 21st Century and there is no turning back the clock. Like Conchita said, “we are unstoppable”.
my top 3
Albania 10/10
Spain 7/10
France 0.1/10?
Destination Eurovision is a competition and the fact its result causes happiness or disappointment is quite normal.But what I don’t get is the reason why it creates so much resentment.Bilal wasn’t my favourite and there were other acts which could have represented France, but the French audience (certainly young voters) have made their choice and we have to respect it, wether we like it or not. And when we see he came 5th with the international jury, we can make some predictions about the place France will get at Eurovision in May. Does he deserve the violence of some comments?… Read more »
Well let’s go through the show again.
1. He can’t sing on tune, doesn’t know how to project his voice and lacks power or nuances.
2. His stage presence. Oh he doesn’t have any.
3. His crazy fan base fan voted and can’t hear the sound of crashing comind down his way.
IMO the whole show was a non starter.
We had that false Conchita (without the pipes) winning, a coming out, a false Sobral (not even close honey).
Only Chimène delivered the vocals, but that song? Really?
No surprise winner, then. The song does nothing for me and his vocals leave me unimpressed. I don’t see France doing very well, this year, but good luck to him anyway.
Some day we should discuss how social media can destroy a person OR a country…?
I’ve wrote a similar comment, but disappeared. Is not the voice of the people anymore, now are only the followers, subscribers, the army of fans.
Mierde
I didn’t like his performance – I enjoyed it even less then in the semifinal, even though his vocals improved slightly. He wasn’t the worst, not by far, and at least the song itself is ok. Still I would be happier if the winner was Chimène Badi, Silvàn Areg or Aysat. But none of them won – it was Bilal who did and I’m at least hoping that he’ll work on those vocals and in May he’ll improve by 200%.
I’m so happy to read such bad comments about Billal !! With those we have a chance to finish in the top 5 Hahaha !!!
Congratulations France for this choice! A cheap, bad, ridiculous and offensive copy of previous entries. Use human rights and diversity to promote and market our rights in this bad way.
So far
1. Spain (10/10)
2. France (0/10)
3. Albania (0/10)
Spain 10/10 hahahahahhaha
10/10 and 0/10s?? I’m sorry but that’s the most ridiculous ranking I’ve ever seen.
That’s way too generous for France!
I sometimes think some people in LGBT are annoying as hell. Your favorite didn’t win and you blamed it on the winner’s sexuality or message of the song related to LGBT. People have every right to vocal their opinion through their songs. I’m indifferent with Bilal’s song but I’ll never bash him by saying he is a disgrace to LGBT.
STOP french public bashing. Try to understand.
The message is beautiful. The artist is so spécial. He is very young (19) and he learn quickly. Good luck bilal.
This is not a contest about “message” or about being “special”. This is a song contest and the song is abismal and he can’t sing for his life. This is France throwing their streak of doing well at Eurovision in the garbage. The song is utter garbage.
Not about message or special? Jamala and Netta enter the chat!!!!
>>comparing Jamala’s voice, or even Netta’s, to this dude’s
one problem…Bilal isn’t a singer! Everybody can hear that, maybe she is a performer but not a singer.
I’m french, and I’m not bashing the general eurovision public who understand and love that contest. But I’m bashing the crazy fanbase who thinks they’ll be able to vote come May to make their hero win.
Let’s hope their dellusion doesn’t sink their hero too far down because it’s gonna sting.
Unless in the time he has, he makes a complete 180 on all that was his song : staging, learning to sing, projecting. About everything.
Guys seriously! If Seemone would have been chosen, she would have finished like Norma Jones in 2017 with Blackbird, except that France is already on the final. Bilal was not my favorite for the win but he will not do as bad as everyone is saying… So good luck to him!
Place 20-25
Good night,france
Those juries tried it but the French televoters did what they had to do and picked the right act. The song might be meh but he sells it well.
In your alternative reality, sure… “the rigt act”… “he sells it well”… ok
Sometimes I appreciated your snappy comments but as of this comment, you have lost all authority lol Like, forever. Nobody has ever been more wrong.
Are you that Alfred5 (or something like that) from last year, that kept talking about bets? The same arrogance for sure.
I am always the same person and always in the present. I would encourage you to do the same and get a life, honey. 🙂
Now you can’t be serious, George. Lmao.
Can you be consistent with youe words? Weren’t you the one who hated this song to guts? Give me a break!
The way I see it is as if he is auditioning for The Voice again
Bilal could have sung the phone book and he still would have won. The problem is, his actual song is only slightly more interesting. His vocals did improve though, a little.
Luckily we didn’t have to look that far into this year to find the last place ?
Last place will likely be Latvia (if they pick Awe or Tautasdziesma) or Moldova (if they pick any among their 20 bad songs). But if the right songs qualify, I can see both France and The UK (if they pick the wrong version of the wrong song) to end-up near the bottom in the finals.
We already have sPAIN’s song!
Okay, Polegend, okay.
Spain might not win, those who state it will come last can just keep dreaming
France, I am so disappointed in you! You could have send Seemone and her touching ballad or Emmanuel Moire with his great song or even Chimene with her awesome vocals. And instead you chose the most mediocre bad sung and forgettable pop song that ever existed!
The song is fine. My whole disappointment comes from the fact that there were several significantly better ones. But come on, people! Back off with so much anger. Sure, he’ll place nowhere near my top 10, but he won fair and square. The song is not great, but it’s certainly not terrible. There will be far worse ones. Speaking of, Latvia just ditched Liga Ridere to vote for Awe, one of the worst NF songs (if we don’t count Moldova). And again, if that is what they want, I can disagree, but…