The information had been fanatic Friday by Le Parisien . It was confirmed on Tuesday by France 2: Tom Leeb will defend the French chances in the Eurovision final on May 16, in Rotterdam (Netherlands). However, the question mark remains around the song he will be performing.
Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of the tricolor delegation to Eurovision - also director of entertainment for France Televisions - spoke on Tuesday evening to ten media, including 20 Minutes . She said it was the song that was chosen first, after a call for tenders from French and international authors and composers.
"Universality and emotion"
“We received over a hundred songs written for France. We did a lot of listening committees and then, we fell in love with one of them, she said. She gathered what we wanted. In this case, the specifications focused on three points: universality, emotion and the ability of the piece to make the audience "live an experience".
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Xavier Bonnetain, music director at FranceTV Distribution, the commercial subsidiary of the public audiovisual group, said: “When we have a listening committee, we review about thirty titles. It quickly becomes indigestible. And in fact, that song emerged on its own. We are sure of its strength because, when we listened to it, in the midst of all the others, we had forgotten all those from before and [we did not forget it after hearing the] five songs from after. It's a sign. We thought that on the day of the Eurovision final, this song could mark, train people and make people forget the songs around. "
The piece in question was kept out of the ears of journalists, who will therefore have to wait a little longer before making their own opinion. "We are in the process of moving from a model to a song produced", justified Xavier Bonnetain. Besides, Tom Leeb would be in the studio these days to work on the final version. In a short video message presented to the media, the 30-year-old singer said he was "very honored" and "very excited to participate in this great show".
"Tom Leeb is a unique grain of voice"
It was therefore after the song was chosen that the young artist was selected to perform it. “It was pretty quick. In our unit, we follow talents. Among them, there was one that suited what we needed to give the song its full breadth, "said Alexandra Redde-Amiel. So she was talking about Tom Leeb, whose "grain of voice" she praised before listing his qualities: "he is modern, universal, charismatic, authentic, attractive. He has a very interesting pop folk universe which made it possible, when you discover the song, to bring him even more things. "
The head of the French delegation affirms, “the meeting between the song and the artist was magic. The planets have aligned. We are rather very confident on this adventure in Rotterdam. We arrive with a project, an artist, a modern and universal song, and more determined than ever to get closer to the podium. "
Such determination stirs the curiosity around this still confidential song. The France Television teams promise "a nice surprise for the reveal". "We want to create an event on the air," slips Alexandra Redde-Amiel. It suggests an "innovative" device, "something exceptional". And to conclude: “When we are going to speak, we want it to be heard and to be seen. "
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