The beginning of the year marks France’s return to the national selection process for Eurovision 2021. But it comes with a completely new format: Eurovision France: C’est vous qui décidez.
And today French head of delegation Alexandra Redde-Amiel and her team at France Télévisions held a press conference in Paris to clarify all the details of the show. Due to current health restrictions and the developing situation with the pandemic, the broadcast date has not been decided.
To convey their seriousness of purpose, the team held the press conference at the mythical Apollo Theatre in Paris. Mindful of the pandemic, they gathered only a select group of journalists and the 12 finalists who it hopes the French public will discover throughout the month. Redde-Amiel was accompanied by presenters Stéphane Berne and Laurence Boccolini. Among other things, we learned that the new format was inspired by Melodifestivalen and that Duncan Laurence will be part of the jury.
Eurovision France producers originally wanted to stage the show outside of Paris and in a provincial town to help spread the love. But the entertainment director of France Télévisions said that this will not be possible this year because of the pandemic, which is still hitting France hard.
So, to avoid any possible transmission during a train or plane trip, the production teams will stay in the capital. Alexandra was heartened to say that it is still too early to know whether the public will be allowed to attend the event. Of course, France Télévision hopes for a return to normalcy by the time the show airs, but remain cautious and realistic.
And what of the entries? “We wanted each artist to correspond to a universe. These 12 titles and musical styles are the artistic face of France today.”
- 21 Juin Le Duo – “Peux-tu me dire?”
- Ali – “Paris me dit”
- Amui – “Maeva”
- Andriamad – “Alléluia”
- Barbara Pravi – “Voilà”
- Casanova – “Tutti”
- Cephaz – “On a mangé le soleil”
- Juliette Moraine – “Pourvu qu’on m’aime
- LMK – “Magique”
- Philippine – “Bah non”
- Pony X – “Amour fou”
- Terence James – “Je t’emmènerai danser”
Eurovision France, C’est vous qui décidez: The voting process and jury members
Eurovision France’s new voting system will be divided into two stages. The first stage will be the qualification phase: the 7 songs that came first in the public vote will be selected for a final vote. An eighth song can be picked by the jury — a so-called “euro-ticket” — and will be eligible for the final vote. The vote will then be reset to zero. The public and the jury will then vote 50/50 for the song that will represent France at Eurovision 2021.
For this first edition, an exceptional jury chaired by Amir – France’s Eurovision 2016 singer – consists of 10 personalities. The jury is made up of former Eurovision participants, but also actors and the fashion designer Jean-Paul Gautier, who will design the stage costume for the French representative. The winner of the last Eurovision Song Contest, Duncan Laurence, will also be part of the jury:
- Amir, president of the jury (France’s representative at Eurovision 2016)
- Marie Myriam (last French winner at Eurovision 1977)
- Jean-Paul Gaultier (French fashion designer)
- Michele Bernier (French actress)
- Elodie Gossuin (Miss France 2001, who gave the points for France at Eurovision 2016)
- Agustin Galiana (French singer and actor)
- Natasha St Pier (France’s representative at Eurovision 2001)
- André Manoukian (French classical musician)
- Chimène Badi (French singer)
- Duncan Laurence
The Eurovision France stage design
During this press conference, France Télévision’s entertainment director also revealed the first elements of the stage. It will be composed of a central and circular stage
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Finally, Alexandra Redde Amiel said that the return to a national selection process resonated strongly with the people: “People missed Eurovision, Tom Leeb could not participate in Eurovision this year so it was an opportunity to give the public a voice again, especially after Valentina’s victory at the Junior Eurovision.”
What do you think? Does France on the right track with their revamped national final? Who would you like to represent the tricoleur in Rotterdam? Tell us your thoughts below!
Great. Do we know when this show is being transmitted yet?
Last evening, the 12 acts performed a Eurovision medley together during “La Fête de la Chanson Française” where they covered Amir, France Gall, Céline Dion
And it was surprisingly very good? Especially the girls. Barbara, the girl from Andriamad, the girl from Amui, Juliette… So many beautiful voices!!
I agree, I watched it and it was chocked how good “Ne partez pas sans moi”‘s final note was good, harmonies were perfect ! And even in general, everything was excellent. I don’t like multi-artists medley in general but you could see it wasn’t improvised, they really worked on it, it sounded really great, I thought. Everyone did its job perfectly and no one sing badly. For those who want to see it, someone uploaded it :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVW75bzPOto
Don’t get why non musicians are part of the jury….
My guess is that it’s because they want some input on the non-musical part of the show as well, like staging, styling and stage presence. I believe that it’s just 2 out of 10 jury members, right?
Normally it is for TV-related purposes.
Please make an article about the iconic performance of Elena Tsagrinou in the madwalk event. I have never seen such a diverse catwalk and Elena liberally slayed. I am excited now for her performance
Really looking forward to this show and its varied line-up, but I wonder why the producers of the show won’t take into consideration the results of the first round of public votes as a portion of the final score? They could have decided that those votes amount to 5% or 10% of the final score, but are opting instead to reset the scores and start the 8 songs final with a clean slate. I just happen to believe that the first voting round should count for something when tallying up the results of the 2 voting phases. I don’t consider… Read more »
I am not sure why JPG or EG would be included in the jury. The jury should be composed of musical experts. It seems to me that their inspiration was Miss France, rather than Melodifestivalen.
Indeed, TV production has always been about the visuals. Mostly.
i think Amir might like Alléluia, but maybe Voilá too
I think Cephaz could do very very well at juries. And I also saw he has duet with Amir.
I hope that Barbara Pravi will win with her beautiful song “Voilá”.
chimene badi serving bodyyyy <3
andre manoukian athena manoukians dad <3
elodie gossuin aka ms youuuuuuu <3
jean paul gaultier who makes the mens perfume with the bottle in the shape of a bulge <3
I tried to resist but
Chimene Bodyodyody
I’m happy to see Chimene and Amir in the jury and seems like France is going big this year. I would definitely like to see Barbara in Rotterdam and I think she stands a chance in this selection. ‘Voila’ seems to be a fan favorite, but hopefully the jury will see it’s potential to score pretty well in ESC. However, there may be some surprises in the live performances. And yes, we need D A T E S.
Dating is not that easy in times of corona 😉 😉
Glad Michel Barnier can put those silly Brexit negotiations behind him. Will be lovely for him to let his hair down and be a judge on this competition.
Ahahah i thought about it as well
The one that stands out for me is Pony X which is brilliant and makes we want to listen to it again. The rest of them are all pretty dull and forgettable.
The stage looks almost as if they borrowed the same stage as their JESC entry, just added more lights, and maybe took out some LED’s, although I can’t tell.
The only common thing is that it is round lol. There is a LED floor and no LED screen behind. Also these rings of screen / lights that go up and down are new.
I would literally give my soul for a French version of Melodifestivalen
I don’t think it will change much to reduce from 12 to 8 after a first round of voting, but that isn’t a big issue. I hope it happens still in January, but if they haven’t schedule it so far, I guess they’ll leave it to a busier Saturday for us hardcore Eurovision fans.
Pony X or Céphaz must win. I don’t really like Voilà at all, one of the most boring of the selection, would flop terribly at ESC. Tutti is catchy but very oldfashioned, it sounds like a song from 2003.
exactly what im thinking voila is so dull and boring. Allelulia or Magique would be amazing
My favorite 3:
Bah Non
Magique
Voila
Y’all pls don’t kill me 🙂
I don’t mind Voila winning btw
Also I love Amir Duncan and most of all Chimene Badi !!! I loved her song in 2019 it was my fav
Chimène sang with Bilal and Julie Zenatti at new year’s eve party and it was very nice. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) – Bilal Hassani (feat. Chimène Badi, Julie Zenalli) – YouTube
Just switch out magique for alleluja and that’s my top
Bah non for the win!
My favourites are: Paris me dit, Maeva, Alleluia, Bah non and amour fou. Probably none of them will win though. Seems most fans go for Voillá. It’s a nice song. But I would hope France would send something more rhythmic and modern. Good that they are back with a national final! The right way of picking an entry I think
The more I listen to these songs, the more close I think it will be. I still stand by Barbara Pravi being amazing and her song having just the right theatrical touch. Andriamad are very energetic and their message is really cute. I can see people going for that blend of French and Middle Eastern vibe. On a mange le soleil has grown on me *a lot*. I really dig that vibe, paired with lyrics and his voice. 🙂 Bah non is also quite a ”bop” with a cool rhythm. Even though I miss an ”oomph”, I could see people… Read more »
My favorite is Je T’Emmènerai Danser
I like it too! I just wished the chorus had more diversity in the lyrics
Cautiously optimistic but compared to last year this looks way more promising!
I’m all for Barbara myself
Haters will say that the jury gives a small advantage to Barbara, same for the stage full of light with not so much LED. Anyway, french and hyped af. The HoD said that it is inspired by the Melfest and she already said last month that they will give stagings as good as possible. One question : if the 8 songs qualified are performed again, it will be hard to show and very repetitive. I predict a huge audience flop for France 2, sadly. But hyped anyway. It think it will be a very qualitative show, and expect no problem… Read more »
I think a jury 100% French (almost) is a disadvantage for Barbara. International people are appealed by Voilà but French people not so much, they tend to think that only an uptempo or «crazy» song can win. So I expect Andriamad or Pony X to win the jury vote. But I think the televote will go to Barbara. And in the end it will be between those 3 but it will be closer than what people expect!!
Nah there are plenty of old people who will appreciate her for simplicity. Amir and Duncan also know that crazy songs fail at eurovision. And also Barbara has a modern touch to it so she should appeal to all of them in some way, while Andriamad surely won’t.
The thing is that most of the french population think that we need a banger like Amir. But these people don’t vote, and France 2 has a quite old audience. We saw it in Destination Eurovision, when Madame Monsieur and Malo led the vote in 2018, and Seemone, Chimène and Emmanuel got the most amount of points (behind Bilal and his huge fanbase). The jury is quite old as well. Though, Amir could easily give his 12pts to Casanova and Terence and give àpt to LMK, just like he gave his points to Max Cinnamon and Nassi in 2018 and… Read more »
Voilà really grew on me, I wouldn’t be mad if it won. 🙂
However, there are three other songs that could win for me.
“Magique”: I know that most likely, this won’t win, but it’s a a true bop and I just love listening to it. With a decent staging and some dancers, this could do well in Rotterdam, cause LMK has great stage presence.
The other two are “Alléluia” and possibly “Maeva”.
Overall, my TOP 3 would be like this:
1. Magique
2. Voilà/Alléluia
3. Maeva
Finally! Another Maeva lover!
Barbara Pravi she is amazing.
Hyped af! That’s a nice voting system, the juries seems to be good, the staging looks great… I can’t wait until they set a date for their show