Thirty-nine countries are competing with the aim to lift the trophy in Malmö. The eighteenth country to be introduced is France. The country won the Eurovision Song Contest five times and this year Amandine Bourgeois will fly the French flag in Sweden.
Basic information
Performer: Amandine Bourgeois
Song: L’enfer et moi
Language: French
Music: David Salkin
Lyrics: Boris Bergman
The song
This year’s French entry is about a person who is seeking revenge after she got hurt through love.
Tu m’as mise K.O d’entrée
Il faut croire que j’ai bien aimé
Liens de cuir et mains de soie
Qui blesses-tu et dans quel port
Jusqu’à faire rougir l’aurore?
Tu m’as jeté comme un sort
Je vais te faire l’enfer
De là où tu te perds
Regarde bien derrière
Et ce sera moi
The performer
Amandine Bourgeois fell in love with music at an early age, completely in phase with her family’s dominant passion. In 2008, Amandine won La Nouvelle Star (French Pop Idol). In 2009, her debut album 20m² got certified Gold. For her second album Sans Amour Mon Amour in 2012 she recorded in the famous Abbey Road studios in London, with Amy Winehouse and Plan B’s staff. Amongst some of her most beautiful memories were a duet she performed with Scorpions and opening for Johnny Hallyday’s concerts in the historical Royal Albert Hall venue in London.
The songwriters
David Salkin and Boris Bergamn wrote this year’s French entry. David Salkin learned drums and guitar. At 15 years old, he was the drummer for the French singer Pierre Vassiliu during his first tour. He composed for Kadja Nin, Raoul Petite and Pierre Vassiliu, and played on stage and in studios with some of the best French singers. Boris Bergamn is a very famous French writer. In 1968, he created the lyrics of the song Rain and tears, one of the big hits for the Greek band Aphhrodite’s Child. Then, he wrote for a lot of very famous French singers, such as Nana Mouskouri and Juliette Gréco. Bergamn also wrote the Monaco’s 1973 Eurovision entry.
The national selection
Amandine Bourgeois was internally selected to represent France in the forthcoming Eurovision Song Contest.
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 tele-voting and the abolition of the language restriction, France has not been too successful. The country managed to finish fourth, fifth and eighth in 2001, 2002 and 2009 respectively.
Statistics
This will be France’s 56th participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. It will be the 24th time that the country is represented by a female solo performer.
French vote in Eurovision
Throughout its long history in the Eurovision Song Contest France gave it most points to Israel. Switzerland gave it most points to France. Since the introduction of the semi-finals France voted more for Turkey.
The betting odds
According to oddschecker.com, France is currently standing at number 19 to win the Eurovision Song Contest.
Nous souhaitons bonne chance à la France et à Amandine Bourgeois. Marquez un bon résultat à Malmö!
Videos
Preview
Live performance
Incognito
Tomorrow another country will be introduced (hint – last time the country qualified to the final was in 2009!)
Have your say
You can rate the French entry by voting in our poll
[polldaddy poll=7032154]
You can view previous parts of this series by clicking here
