Bonsoir Paris! Europe tuned to France tonight for the national final to the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Twelve acts battled on the stage of France Télévisions for the Golden Ticket to Rotterdam. How did the night go? Let’s wrap it up.

The night was on fire in Paris tonight. The show started with the evergreen Waterloo from ABBA and a revival of the last French victory Marie Myriam singing her L’oiseau et l’enfant (France 1977). On stage also performed Natasha St. Pier (Je n’ai que mon ame, France 2001), Duncan Laurence (Arcade, Eurovision 2019), Amir (J’ai cherché, France 2016). Valentina, winner of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 officially opened the night.

The Eurovision season offered Eurofans another great national final. A total of twelve acts were revealed last December to compete. Both the audience and a special jury could have a word on tonight’s performances. The jurors were:

• Amir (France 2016)
• Marie Myriam (France 1977)
• Jean-Paul Gaultier
• Duncan Laurence (Netherlands 2019)
• Natasha St-Pier (France 2001)
• Chimène Badi
• André Manoukian
• Elodie Gossuin
• Agustín Galiana
• Michèle Bernier

And the twelve acts on stage tonight were:

1. Andriamad – Alléluia
2. Juliette Moraine – Pourvu qu’on m’aime
3. Cephaz – On a mangé le soleil
4. Amui – Maeva
5. Philippine – Bah non
6. Terence James – Je t’emmènerai danser
7. Barbara Pravi – Voilà
8. Poney X – Amour fou
9. Casanova – Tutti
10. LMK – Magique
11. Ali – Paris me dit
12. 21 Juin Le Duo – Peux-tu me dire?

The show was hosted by Stephan Bern and Laurence Boccolini.

Round 1: eight in, four out

After a first round of performances, the audience voted for the best acts to advance to the second round. Before Eurofans could discover the qualified acts, Amir went on stage to perform a few of his most notable songs (J’ai cherché, Etats d’amour, Les rues de ma peine, Longtemps, La fête, On dirait, On verra bien) in a catchy medley.

Therefore, Stephan Bern and Laurence Bocconi announced the seven lucky acts (in a random order) :

• Casanova – Tutti
• Juliette Moraine – Pourvu qu’on m’aime
• Cephaz – On a mangé le soleil
• 21 Juin Le Duo – Peux-tu me dire?
• Amui – Maeva
• Barbara Pravi – Voilà
• Poney X – Amour fou

Plus, the jury added an eight act to advance with a special “Euro-ticket”. This was:

• LMK – Magique

Round 2: only one can win!

At the beginning the of second round the young Valentina performed her entry J’imagine, with which she won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Poland last November. This was followed by a sing-along version of Ne partez pas sans moi (Switzerland 1988).

The ultimate vote decided the act that will represent the Hexagone at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in May this year. The results came 50/50 from the audience and the jury.

The jury voted as follows:

1. Barbara Pravi – Voilà – 104 points
2. Juliette Moraine – Pourvu qu’on m’aime – 76 points
3. Poney X – Amour fou – 74 points
4. LMK – Magique – 66 points
5. Cephaz – On a mangé le soleil – 52 points
6. Casanova – Tutti – 22 points
7. 21 Juin Le Duo – Peux-tu me dire? – 18 points
8. Amui – Maeva – 8 points

The audience changed the final vote as follows:

1. Barbara Pravi – Voilà – 204 points
2. Juliette Moraine – Pourvu qu’on m’aime – 136 points
3. Poney X – Amour fou – 124 points
4. Casanova – Tutti – 102 points
5. Cephaz – On a mangé le soleil – 82 points
6. Amui – Maeva – 78 points
7. LMK – Magique – 76 points
8. 21 Juin Le Duo – Peux-tu me dire? – 38 points

Therefore, Barbara Pravi with the song Voilà will represent France on Saturday 22 May 2021 in Rotterdam! It will almost be a comeback for the 27 year-old singer from Paris. She co-wrote J’imagine the French entry that triumphed in the 2020 Junior Eurovision Song Contest with Valentina, giving France the first victory in the contest.

Let’s appreciate tonight’s winning entry once again:

Are you happy with the French choice? Can Barbara bring the victory back to France after more than 40 years? Let us know with a comment below!