Ortal has won the French national final tonight. Singing Chacun pense à soi she defeated four others hoping to represent France at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest. For the first time in many years, France is sending an up-tempo song.
For the first time since 2000, French broadcaster France 3 organised a national final in order to select a Eurovision Song Contest representative. However, France 3 could not impress with the three hour show, dedicating only half an hour to the five participating songs and too much time went to promotion of non Eurovision related French singers' latest releases.
After one and a half hours and an attempt of female host Elsa Fayer to enter the contest as the sixth finalist with a ruined version of L'oiseau et l'enfant (Marie Myriam, 1977), the essence of the show finally showed up and the five finalists, proposed by five different record companies, presented their song for Kiev.
These are the results of the French national final:
1. Ortal – Chacun pense à soi (Warner)
2. Christophe Héraut – C'est la vie (BG Productions)
3. Lionel Tim – Je m'envole (Universal)
4. Karine Trecy – Laissez-moi rêver (BMG)
5. Marjorie Galluccio – Casting (EMI)
A professional jury and televoting decided that Ortal would succeed the Belgian singer Jonatan Cerrada, who represented France last year in Istanbul.
The 26 year-old Ortal was born in Israel. She doesn't hide her origins and includes them in her music style, which can be characterized as a combination of rhythm and pop. After having performed with several groups in piano bars, Ortal hoped to reach a wider audience by participating in the French national final.
Ortal will be representing France in Kiev, on 21st May, during the final of the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest.
