All entries in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest are known, but the actual contest is still two months away. As a warm-up, we will introduce one of the entries every day in random order. Part one is dedicated to the entry from France.

Basic information

Performer:	Patricia Kaas
Song:	Et s'il fallait le faire (And if it had to be done)
Language:	French
Music:	Fred Blondin, Anse Lazio
Lyrics:	Fred Blondin, Anse Lazio
Draw:	3rd in the final

The song

Et s'il fallait le faire is a classic ballad in French. Unusually for a modern Eurovision Song Contest entry,it is not divided into verses and a chorus. However, early winning songs like the Swiss entry in 1956 were structured like that. Through the lyrics, the singer tells her lover that she would do everything if it had to be done, so that she is still loved by him and the tone seems to be both passionate and desperate:

Je veux bien tout donner, si seulement tu y crois
Mon cœur veut bien saigner, si seulement tu le vois
Jusqu'à n'être plus rien que l'ombre de tes nuits

I really want to give everything if you just believe in it
My heart really wants to bleed if you just see it
Until it is nothing more but the shadow of your nights

The singer

Patricia Kaas is one of the most successful French singers ever. She was discoverd by actor Gérard Depardieu at the age of 19 and released a first single in 1985, but her first major success came in1988 with the release of the album Mademoiselle chante….She has sold more than 15 million records since.

All of her seven studio albums had managed to reach the top ten of the French album charts when she decided to take a major break from the music business in 2005. In 2009, she returned with the release of her eighth studio album Kabaret and the announcement that she will represent France in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.

Patricia Kaas is not onlyfamous in France but has also enjoyed commercial success in Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and even New Zealand. Her style is often described as "chanson" but in fact, it mixes classic French elements with American pop and rock music.

National selection

For the second year in a row, the French entry was selected internally. No big announcement of the entry was made, rumours started to be spread out in the press and theyjust waited to be confirmed. Patricia Kass was often tipped to represent France but she never intended to take part until this year. The Eurovision version of the entry was presented on Belgian television.

France in the Eurovision Song Contest

France was one of the most successful countries in the early days of the Eurovision Song Contest. The country took home the trophy five times to date, namely in 1958 (Dors, mon amour by Andre Claveau), 1960 (Tom Pillibi by Jacqueline Boyer), 1962 (Un premier amour by Isabelle Aubret), 1969 (Un jour, un enfant by Frida Boccara) and 1977 (L'oiseau et l'enfant by Marie Myriam). Another series of successful results came in the early 1990s, when the country would finish in the top ten every year from 1989 to 1995. Since the introduction of televoting and the abolition of the language restriction, France has not been too successful, but manged to finish fourth and fifth in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

Nous souhaitons bonne chance et un bon résultat à la France et àPatricia Kaas!

Videos

The Eurovision version of Et s'il fallait le faire – Patricia Kaas live in Belgium:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t85Uehi1tV0&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

The early album version of the French entry:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro6Ujd4PvcY&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

Mon mec à moi – Patricia Kaas' biggest hit (1988)

Quand j'ai peur de tout (1997), music composed by Diane Warren (lyricist UK 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FZyKyYG8RU&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0

Tomorrow, we will take a look at the Portuguese entry.

• Join the esctoday.com FACEBOOK page here
• Join the esctoday.com FACEBOOK group here