All songs for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 have been selected. During the weeks between the national final season and the actual Eurovision Song Contest, we will introduce all 43 entries in random order. Part seventeen of the series is dedicated to the French entry.

Basic information

Performer:	Amaury Vassili
Song:	Sognu
Language:	Corsican
Music:	Daniel Moyne, Quentin Bachelet
Lyrics:	Jean-Pierre Marcellesi, Julie Miller
Draw:	11th in the final

The song

Sognu is an operatic ballad. The lyrics are about a separation:

Di a vita c’aspetta(mè)dumane Invinuchjatu,guardu u mare! Spart’u mondu cun tè Ma tu,ti ne vogli’andà! Sognu d’una vittoria

The life that awaits me tomorrow I am knelt down in front of the ocean I was ready to share the world with you But you are no longer here I dream of winning

The performer

Having already competed in a number of music contests, tenor Amaury Vassili released his debut album Vincero in 2009. It reached number nine on the French charts and sold to double platinum. It also reached the charts in Belgium. In 2010, he released Endless love, a duet with Katherine Jenkins. The song was also included on some editions of her successful album Believe. Later that year, he released his second album Canterò, which reached number 19 on the French charts.

In 2011, it was announced that Amaury Vassili would represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with Sognu.

The songwriters

Sognu was written by Daniel Moyne (music), Quentin Bachelet (music), Jean-Pierre Marcellesi (lyrics), and Julie Miller (lyrics). Daniel Moyne is a record producer and occasional songwriter who has worked with acts such as Cécilia Cara and Florent Neuray. He also produced songs for Mélanie Cohl and Nuno Resende, Belgian representatives in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 and 2005 respectively. Quentin Bachelet has produced most of Amaury Vassili's songs but he also worked with Cunnie Williams and Miss Dominique.

The national selection

For the fourth year in a row, singer and song were selected internally.

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, fifth and eighth in 2001, 2002 and 2009 respectively.

Statistics

This will be France's 54th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. It will be the 19th time that the country is represented by a male solo performer. Sognu is the first Eurovision Song Contest entry ever to be performed entirely in Corsican. The first time this language was used was in 1993 when Patrick Fiori sang his entry in French and Corsican.

The song will be performed as the 11th in the final. A notable fact is that Italy follows right after France: Both countries compete with young male singers, who perform songs that are not typical for the Eurovision Song Contest.

Nous souhaitons bonne chance à la France et à Amaury Vassili. Marquez un bon résultat à Düsseldorf!

Videos

Live performance on France 3:

The preview video:

Parla pui piano:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yICKrs3qkwU

In duet with Katherine Jenkins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PdT7zKV5d8

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

Previous parts of the series:

1. Estonia
2. Italy
3. Croatia
4. Slovakia
5. Lithuania
6. Finland
7. Switzerland
   
8. Ukraine
9. Norway
10. Moldova
11. Belgium
12. Azerbaijan
13. Ireland
14. Portugal
    
15. Austria
16. Latvia