As he said in his Eurovision 2019 entry for France, you can’t remove his crown. Bilal Hassani has undoubtedly had a great year — from winning the Breakthrough of the Year Award in the NRJ Music Awards to landing a cameo in the Eurovision movie. Now this dazzling pop sensation — who delivered a meaningful performance of “Roi” in Tel Aviv — continues that theme with his newest single “Tom”.
Clocking in at 3 minutes and 30 seconds, the song teases something danceable, but it’s not exactly a bop — it’s a bit slower and comes with a lot more meaning than the standard banger at the club.
Lyrically, it’s about a kid named Tom. Bilal acts as a narrator telling the story of the boy’s life: Tom is shy, quiet, and tries to blend in with others. Throughout the song, Bilal encourages the boy to open up, break out of his shell, and stop worrying, because he’ll be there to make sure his voice is heard. At times it takes on an autobiographical tone. As he sings: “I would like to open my arms to you, cry out to you: ‘It will be fine’ / I think back to that little boy whose name no one knew.”
“Tom” music video — Bilal Hassani
The instrumentation and production create a sense of urgency to match the inner turmoil in the lyrics: the bullying, the struggle for acceptance, and an ongoing fight against personal demons. Tom’s journey comes together with a brilliant guitar solo at the end.
The music video premiered on Bilal’s 21st birthday — 9 September. We see Bilal at the beach, in a forest, and in a house full of pictures and notes blowing everywhere. It also stars the titular boy Tom, whose birthday is coincidentally on the same day as Bilal’s, exactly ten years apart. During the final 30 seconds of the song, Tom is seen dancing freely by the beach.
Bilal keeps giving people what they want. In April “Fais le vide” hit the market, and the music video followed three months later. It melds an 80s aesthetic with a little bit of modernity rather well, and features a great deal of choreography and style. Not so long after that, Bilal dropped the intriguingly titled “Dead Bae”. It came with an eye-catching video of Bilal rocking multiple coloured wigs in a span of around three minutes. We approve!
“Tom” will appear on Bilal Hassani’s second album, Contre soirée, which will also include the already released singles “Dead Bae” and “Fais le vide”. It’s set to come out on 6 November.
What do you think about Tom? Are you looking forward to listening to Bilal’s new album? Let us know in the comments below!
Probably his best song and best video yet. Bold and emotional 🙂
By any chance is ‘Tom’ referring to Tom Neuwirth, better known as Conchita?
I don’t think so. The way I see it, Bilal meant Tom to be an imaginary character
Yey for the electro guitar solo at the end. 🙂
A “Sad honesty” I get from the song, overall.
J’aime beaucoup ce que fait bilal, le message qu’il essaie de faire passer. Continu comme ça !
Sorry, he’s probably a nice person
But his music is such a cliche.
Bilal keeps growing and he has only 21 years, his voice is getting better and better, his songs are iconic and inspirational for so many people, then I hope he comes back in the Eurovision. During his Eurovision’s year he got so many new fans from all around the world and his eurovision journey is not finished I’m sure.
Sorry for my english, “he is only 21 years old”.
I don’t think he would like to make it again, not si early, at least. Maybe in a few years but I don’t think so.
Of course, not the next year, but with more maturity in 5 or 6 years I can see him again in the Esc.
This is hands down the best song from Bilal. And this is not a bilal stan who says that.