It’s been one of the most successful countries at Junior Eurovision in recent years, but victory still eludes France. Hoping to take home a win on the nation’s fourth attempt in the contest is Valentina Tronel with “J’imagine” (I Imagine).
Scroll down for “J’imagine” lyrics
France in Junior Eurovision 2020: Valentina “J’imagine”
France withdrew from Junior Eurovision between 2005 and 2017. But the country has enjoyed two successive top five finishes since returning in 2018. As with both Angélina and Carla, broadcaster France Télévision has opted to go internal again, selecting 11-year-old Valentina Tronel.
In an interview with 20Minutes.fr, French Head of Delegation and FTV Programmes Manager Alexandra Redde-Amiel says: “We received about twenty proposals, either songs alone or songs carried by an artist. But Valentina arrived with her little bright eyes and her optimistic message. We fell in love, it was obvious”.
Alexandra adds that “J’imagine” fits Valentina’s personality, describing it as a positive sparkling track that will allow us to imagine ourselves in a world of tomorrow full of joy and life.
Valentina is not unknown to the French audience. In 2016, aged just seven, she participated on The Voice Kids. She was the youngest participant but none of the judges chose her.
She’s been part of the children’s music collective Kids United Nouvelle Génération (formerly Kids United) since 2018. The musical project began in 2015 and is composed of five children. It supports UNICEF campaigns. Kids United is followed by over 300,000 fans on Instagram and has sold 1.7 million albums.
What do the “J’imagine” lyrics mean?
The “J’imagine” lyrics are very much of today, touching upon the separation and isolation caused by the ongoing lockdowns and quarantines throughout the world. They call on us to imagine a better world.
Valentina sings that a better time will come, where people will be able to see each other again, not just through a computer or phone screen.
I dreamt we were a lot
To repaint the walls of our cities
And leave our handprints
Not just on our touch screens
In the meantime, Valentina tells us to envision a dream where nothing can stop and to pass on the message.
Speaking to the official Junior Eurovision website, Valentina reveals her favourite lyrics from the entry.
“My favourite part in my song is “So it’s true, it’s not always joyful, in our hearts it’s a bit like a fight, and you, tomorrow, what do you do? Imagine with me.” Because it reflects reality – life is not always easy and fun – but yet has a strong hopeful message at the end: imagining together a brighter future!
And I also love singing it because it’s a mellow moment of the song that contrasts with the rest of the track, and it finishes with a high note that I really like to reach!”
“J’imagine” lyrics — Valentina (France JESC 2020)
Written and composed by: Igit and Barbara Pravi.
Both Igit and Barbara composed Carla’s “Bim Bam Toi”, the song that took France to fifth place at Junior Eurovision 2019.
French textNa-na-na, na-na-na Oups, y’a plus de fleurs au balcon À repeindre les murs de nos villes Tout commence par un “j’imagine” Moi Je suis prête Lalalalalalalalala Moi demain j’imagine Imagine avec moi Oh, moi demain j’imagine |
English translationNa-na-na, na-na-na Oops, there are no more flowers on the balcony To repaint the walls of our cities Everything starts with an “I imagine” Me, I’m ready Lalalalalalalalala Tomorrow I imagine Imagine with me Oh tomorrow, I imagine |
What do you think of France’s JESC 2020 entry? Let us know in the comments below.
People saying Poland will win again are toxic. 2017 begs to differ. Give another country the victory in 2020. Germany, Spain, Ukraine, or dare I say France.
Out of all JESC songs this year, this one seems to be the most downright adorable one. It totally has that carefree childhood magic in it. 🙂
Another great entry from France at JESC. I think I prefer this one to «Jamais sans toi», but «Bim Bam toi» remains supreme to me. Still «J’imagine» should get a top5 (or top3?) easily. Igit and Barbara are really talented!
I like this entry from France very much. Valentina is a very sweet girl and she looks as a little sister of Angelina (2018)
Another great Junior ESC entry by Igit and Barbara. They really know how to write music for kids, which is not as easy as it may seem.
Also! Eurovision Again has gone back to 1976, and the restoration is incredible! The sound quality is unbelievable.
Spain, France and Poland look like this year’s Top 3.
EscPlus+ confirmed that Junior Eurovision 2020 is being shown in the Americas, so technically, a lot more people will vote for Spain than Poland.
Also Turkvision is back apparently!
There are some strong ballads this year (I’m very conflicted that two of the best entries come from Belarus and Kazakhstan), but I think it’s time a bop wins again, and France and Spain have very good ones.
France or Spain should win!
Congratulations Oranie for the translation, because as a French, I can attest that some lyrics aren’t so easy to turn into English lol. But that’s a good thing because the lyrics are one of the main component in it and breathe life into the song. We can say thank you to Barbara Pravi and Igit who always deliver poetry! Just remember Lisboa Jerusalem in DE 2018.
Barbara Pravi also wrote “L’un près de l’autre” from Noée, in DE2018. And with Igit, they also composed “Maman me dit” from Angélina who got huge on Tiktok in 2019 (42 millions of viens on youtube).
Can they PLEASE write a French entry for the adult contest?
Plus Barbara is an amazing artist and singer you should check her solo work! I wish she would participate in the adult contest.