Elia – one of the 12 acts competing in Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez 2022 – is what we can call a Hit Girl. Hyper connected and trendy, the young woman nevertheless makes a critical judgment on our century. During an interview with wiwibloggs, the singer shared her thoughts about what she calls the “Phone” generation.
Although she only recently took her first professional steps in the music industry, Elia has been singing and writing songs for most of her life. After dropping out of school, she joined a music label and released her first EP composed of seven tracks, including her Eurovision France 2022 entry “Téléphone”.
Interview: Elia (Eurovision France 2022)
Representing France at Eurovision is a big responsibility. That’s why Elia believes “Téléphone” is a song made to gather the millions of spectators of the contest:
“It’s a real challenge and I love it! I answered yes to the call of Eurovision because it is the opportunity to sing in front of millions of people and ‘Téléphone’ is a song made to gather.”
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Beyond the federative dimension of the song, Elia wants to show how much her generation is aware of the problems our societies are faced with. She emphasises the need for young people to reinvent established codes:
“My generation understood that the world was collapsing, or at least that its foundations were shaking and that we had to reinvent the codes by ourselves: nobody will be in a position to speak, sing, dance for us.”
According to the singer, her song represents the word of a strong youth that fights for what it wants without victimising itself. With its refrain that repeats the universally intelligible word “Telephone”, Elia thinks she can stand out among the 11 other songs of Eurovision France 2022:
“In my opinion, ‘Téléphone’ is the only song to truly represent my generation. It is generational and carries the voice of a youth that fights and does not victimize: We party! It is also the only one to have a universal chorus – the word ‘Telephone’ is international and therefore understandable by everyone who will watch the show.”
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Inspired by characters who have a message to deliver, Elia particularly appreciates the Eurovision song “Rise Like Phoenix” by Conchita Wurst, which evokes a form of rebirth:
“I was marked by Conchita’s performance of ‘Rise like a Phoenix’: to rise from the ashes is also what ‘Téléphone’ is about.”
As a strong woman, the young singer’s chosen mantra expresses all the determination she carries within her:
“Straight ahead!”
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Elia, full of mystery, likes to arouse curiosity. Thus, she’s keeping her future staging a secret. Even so, considering the rhythm of the song, we can imagine a performance full of dynamism. And if she has the opportunity to represent France at Eurovision, the young woman wants to be remarkable and noticed:
“On 5 March, you should expect to be surprised and amazed. […] In Turin I want to break the screen that separates us and give a maximum of joy, to vibrate the freedom and the French language!”
To conclude, Elia would like to send a message to all those who have fallen in love with her song:
“Thank you for your support, and I hope that thanks to you, I will represent France in Turin!”
Are you excited for Elia’s performance at Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez 2022? Can “Téléphone” win the national selection? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below!
Not my hot fav of the selection but I like her song. Now it’s a contest so she puts all her chances on her side and say what she wants, she has nothing to loose to try, and seeing some comments here, yeah some Wiwi readers are really the worst drama queens ever, being offended by nothing, hypersensivity detected here.
Nice job in isolating all other generations in one quick, efficiently arrogant statement
Nice job in categorizing somebody as arrogant isolating a statement from an entire interview.
There’s a thin line that separates confidence from delusion/arrogance, and I think she crossed that line ._.
Possibly the most pretentious statement I’ve heard in like a decade.
My poor where do you live?…. in a golden cage isolated from the world?
It is my fave from the French selection.
I really like her song. It’s catchy, dark yet fun and her voice is really good. There’s a good message behind it too. People are sleeping on this as a potential winner if staged correctly.
“Téléphone is the only song to truly represent my generation”
What an arrogant statement.
is she wrong? Seule sounds like a Sia reject from 2014
I don’t know if she’s listened to the poignant but hopeful message of Seule, I guess not. At least SOA makes me feel a little optimistic about my generation instead of this rather nihilistic message from Telephone.
More like it is representative of a generation that celebrate mediocrity, lack of imagination and victimhood.
And? She is the youngest in this contest and seeing her song it makes sense. Don’t try to search drama when there’s nothing, I know it’s some eurofans passion but it’s ridiculous sorry.
I haven’t even heard any of the songs but that statement is arrogant af
Elia and Angellina from Serbian selection have a similar song, although i prefer Elia
LMK 2.0