France

Liverpool live: rehearsals on coronation day

Today, king Charles III will be crowned. You can follow the coronation live on YouTube. However, because you visit our site we think you will be more interested in the Eurovision Song Contest. In that case, you are in the right place! Today is the day of the last few rehearsals. We saw the Big 5 and Ukraine today. Also, the decision will be made today which country performs where in the final. photo credits: EBU/Corinne Cumming/Sarah Louise Bennett/Chloe Hashemi Germany As we only get to see some pictures, it is hard to say whether there is any change or improvement. On the current pictures, the triangle structure behind the band is more visible and notable. Furthermore, it gives the same impression. Germany is currently 15th at the bookmakers. Not a top position, but at least much higher than the last few years. France Also for France there are no differences. La Zarra is still standing on a high structure with the long black rug on it. France is currently strongly on the 3rd place in the betting odds. There are even people who talk about the French song as the potential winner. So who knows…. Italy Marco Mengoni has returned to perform on stage and has changed his outfit. He is no longer wearing the silver vest he wore on Thursday. Instead, he is now wearing a longer silver vest that gradually fades from silver to black, giving it an ombre effect. To create a cohesive look, sparkles have been added to one side of his leather trousers. Italy is currently number 8 at the bookmakers. Ukraine According to eurovision.tv, the graphics are working well in the act. Note that this is their opinion, we have to judge for ourselves. Also, they mention something about the timing that goes perfect. Again, let’s wait and see. Not that we don’t trust TVORCHI in this, but we haven’t seen it ourselves. The bookmakers say the Ukrainian entry would end up in 4th place, which would be a great score for the country. Spain No changes whatsoever in the Spanish act. Still she is wearing the white platforms and the stage is almost red during the whole performance. It is said that she vocally does well. All we heard so far is that this is true. Spain has a 5th place at the bookmakers, which would be a wonderful score for Spain for the second year in a row! United Kingdom Also no changes in the act like it was at the first rehearsal is noticed. Still the graphics with the split head. What the people of eurovision.tv noticed, again for what it is worth, is that she had more energy in this performance. The United Kingdom is 10th at the bookmakers. That would be top-10 twice in a row for the UK, and it is quite a high score for a host country. In collaboration with Eurovision Artists

Liverpool Live: rehearsal schedule

On this day of celebration in the United Kingdom, the last 6 countries will have their individual rehearsals. And after that, we have the turquoise carpet on Sunday. This is today’s schedule: 11.00 – 11.15 Germany11.25 – 11.40 France11.50 – 12.05 Italy12.15 – 12.30 Ukraine12.40 – 12.55 Spain13.05 – 13.20 United Kingdom

Liverpool live: Fireworks, LED-screens and a moon

This is the day when we first see the Big 5 and Ukraine to rehearse. Of course Ukraine is added, not as the organizer but as last year’s winner. photo credits: EBU/Corinne Cumming/Sarah Louise Bennett Germany Lord of the Lost is wearing red costumes, like in the national final. Singer Chris ‘Lord’ Harms wears a collar of flames. The band is elevated on a triangular metal structure, adorned with red and black LEDs, and an unrelenting flashing light display that persists throughout the entire three-minute performance. And of course we spot a lot of fireworks in the performance. France La Zarra is standing on a tall, moving column covered in sparkly black fabric that goes all the way to the ground. The column has a mirror-tiled top, and La Zarra is wearing a fitted gown made entirely of black and red sequins. She is singing her heart out on top of the column, and there’s a French flag displayed on the LED wall behind her at the end of her performance. Italy Marco Mengoni sings his ballad while standing alone on stage. Marco is wearing leather trousers and a silver sparkly vest, while a backdrop of swirling clouds on an LED wall. An oversized moon provide a dramatic visual setting. Ukraine TVORCHI-member Jeffrey wears a black suit covered with gold images. Andrii wears black clothes with a silver jacket over it. During their performance, TVORCHI effectively utilize lighting and an LED wall, with four boxes on stage providing a backdrop for their two dancers dressed in black. Their are big flames during the performance. Spain The staging for Blanca Paloma’s performance resembles the setup seen during Benidorm Fest in January. It features two fringed red semi-circular structures at the center of the stage, forming a circle where Blanca and her five dancers perform. The background is set aglow with black, red, and white lighting. There has been some low smoke during the performance. United Kingdom Mae Muller wears a corset jacket and black trousers, and commences her performance on a raised plinth before the LED wall. The wall features pop art-style graphics. At the beginning, there’s a section where Mae’s face splits horizontally, giving the impression that she’s inside her own head, which enhances the pop video quality of the performance. four dancers dressed in black and red accompany Mae, particularly during the second half of the performance, when they join Mae at the front of the stage for a synchronized dance routine. in collaboration with Eurovision Artists

Liverpool live: rehearsal schedule

We already head to day 5: some rehearsals of the 2nd semifinal, and….. the big 5. 11.30 – 11.50 Denmark11.55 – 12.15 Armenia12.20 – 12.40 Romania12.45 – 13.05 Estonia13.10 – 13.30 Belgium 14.40 – 15.10 Germany15.20 – 15.50 France16.00 – 16.30 Italy16.40 – 17.10 Ukraine17.20 – 17.50 Spain18.00 – 18.30 United Kingdom

Road to Liverpool: France

We can not wait for the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool. Therefore, we have a closer look at one of the contestants every day. Today: France. La Zarra France will be represented by La Zarra. French broadcaster France 2 announced this news on 12 January of this year. About a month later, the song “Évidemment” was presented. The song is written and composed by La Zarra herself in collaboration with Ahmed Saghir, and for the music with Yannick Rastogi and Zacharia Raymond. La Zarra is a Canadian singer. She hit the French charts in 2021 with her song “Tu t’en iras“, which was a part of her succesful debut album “Traîtrisse”. Canadian singers in Eurovision La Zarra is not the first Canadian singer participating in the Eurovision Song Contest. Previously, Sherisse Laurence (1986, Luxembourg), Annie Cotton (1993, Switzerland) and Natasha Saint-Pierre (2001, France) reached top scores in Eurovision. Also Rykka (2016, Switzerland) and Katerina Duska (2019, Greece) have Canadian roots. But let’s not forget about the winner of the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest: Céline Dion. This Canadian singer won for Switzerland with her song “Ne partez pas sans moi”. Her career outside the French speaking countries started with her performance in the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in Lausanne. She presented her new single “Where does my heart beat now”. Internal Selection France 2 announced a national final for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The national selection would be called Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez. The song would be chosen in the same way as in 2021 and 2022. However, France 2 internally selected La Zarra. With the announcement of La Zarra as the candidate, it was clear that no national final would be held. France in the Eurovision Song Contest France won the Eurovision Song Contest on 5 occasions. In 1958 (André Claveau with “Dors mon amour”). The second time was in 1960 (Jacqueline Boyer with “Tom Pillibi”). In 1962 (Isabelle Aubret won with “Un premier amour”). We saw Frida Boccara win in 1969 with “Un jour un enfant” and the lat victory was in 1977 (Marie Myriam with “L’oiseau et l’enfant). In fact, a 6th victory was close on several occasions. In 1991, France won along with Sweden. They even had the same amount of twelves, but as Sweden got more times 10, singer Amina had to deal with a 2nd place. Recently, in 2021, France was among the favourites to win with Barbara Pravi. The song “Voila” did not win but is now a Eurovision classic. Bookmakers Currently, France is number 10 at the bookmakers. A 10th place would give them a much better placing than last year, when France became 24th. The song And of course the most important thing of all is the song. Here is “Évidemment”.

La Zarra will sing “Évidemment”

It’s La Zarra who is going to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest. That was announced by French television on January 12th this year. Tonight, her Eurovision song “Évidemment” has been revealed. The song is written and composed by herself, her producer Ben Adam and KNY Factory, the same team that wrote her big hit “Tu t’en iras”. France will automatically perform in the final. You can listen to the song here:

La Zarra

About Quick Facts NameFatima Zahra Hafdi Born25 August 1997 Nationality🇨🇦 Canadian National SelectionInternal selection 2023 In Eurovision2023 Liverpool SongÉvidemment (2023) Biography La Zarra, born in Montréal, is a Canadian-Moroccan singer. She remains very discreet about her origins and career. We know of her that she grew up near the city of Longueuil (in Quebec) and that she has North African origins. In 2016, she became known for an artistic collaboration with Niro on the song “Printemps blanc”. In 2021, the singer increases her notoriety with the title “Tu t’en iras”, which was broadcast regularly on radio and television. The song is certified a platinum single. The song hit the French charts. On 3 December 2021, La Zarra’s debut Album “Traîtrise” was released. The same year, La Zarra was named as a French-speaking revelation at the NRJ Music Awards 2021. On 24 June 2022, La Zarra released a new single: “Sans moi”. On January 12, 2023, France Télévisions announced that La Zarra was going represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. In the contest itself, her song “Évidemment” reached a 16th place. Entries Évidemment Country🇫🇷 France Year2023 LanguageFrench LyricsFatima Zahra HafdiAhmed SaghirYannick RastogiZacharia Raymond MusicFatima Zahra HafdiAhmed Saghir Backings– Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 104Position: 16Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/fOtQJ4o-HoA

Ahez

©EBU/Corinne Cummings About Quick Facts MembersMarine LavigneSterenn DiridolouSterenn Le Gillou Founded2018 Nationality🇫🇷 French National SelectionEurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez! , 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongFulenn (2022, with Alvan) Biography Ahez is a French vocal group from Carhaix, Brittany, consisting of Marine Lavigne, Sterenn Diridollou and Sterenn Le Guillou. The three girls met during their studies in Carhaix, They practised the traditional singing style kan ha diskan. Kan ha diskan is a typical style from Brittany. The singing is combined with a lot of dance. The name “Ahez” is a combination of Ker Ahez, a popular etymology for the Breton name of Carhaix (Karaez), and Ahes, a Breton mythological figure. The group started performing at fest-noz (festival of the night in Brittany) in 2018, and took part in the 2018 edition of the Inter-Celtic Festival of Lorient with the band Eben. In the summer of 2021, they met singer and producer Alvan in a bar in Rennes. Together, they participated in the French national final for the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Fulenn”. They went won the competition, winning both the jury vote and televote. “Fulenn” was the first Eurovision entry to be sung in Breton since 1996. Entries Fulenn (with Alvan) Country🇫🇷 France Year2022 LanguageBreton LyricsMarine Lavigne MusicAlexis Morvan-Rosius DancersSoleila Chaou Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 17Position: 24Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/H1lcGXwOqJI

Alvan

©Instagram Alvan About Quick Facts NameAlexis Morvan-Rosius Born17 March 1993 Nationality🇫🇷 French National SelectionEurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez 2022 In Eurovision2022 Turin SongFulenn (2022, with Ahez) Biography Alexis Morvan-Rosius (born in Lorient) is a Breton electronic music musician, better known as Alvan. Alvan is a trained multi-instrumentalist musician, singer and guitarist. He started making music in 2011. In 2015 he joined Flou and later Inside Records. In 2016 he released his first album, reaching over 100,000 views on Spotify and Soundcloud. That same year he won the BPM Contest, winning a contract with Warner Music Group through it’s record label Elektra Records. Alvan has participated in several festivals, most notably the Rennes Musicales de Rennes, La Nuit de l’Erdre and Le Bal du Marquis. In 2022, he took part in the France national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, in a joint project with the female trio Ahez. Alvan and Ahez won first place in both the jury vote and the televote, winning the contest. This was be the second time that France has participated with a song in Breton, after Dan Ar Braz and L’Héritage des Celtes in the 1996 edition. Entries Fulenn (with Ahez) Country🇫🇷 France Year2022 Language🇫🇷 Fr LyricsMarine Lavigne MusicAlexis Morvan-Rosius DancersSoleila Chaou Results Semi Points: –Position: –Running order: – Results Finals Points: 17Position: 24Running order: 6 https://youtu.be/H1lcGXwOqJI

Day 8: Of good voices and proper acts from the Big Five!

It’s the end of the individual rehearsals every year: those of the Big Five. And every year it is the disappointment of a group of countries that seem to be unable to bring anything good to the stage. Last year there was already a noticeable change in this, but this year the countries really surprise! Rehearsals Big Five FRANCE: For the first time since 1996, the Breton language can be heard at the Eurovision Song Contest. Back then France finished at the bottom. That won’t happen now, but the act made quite a messy impression during rehearsals. The points will really have to come in thanks to the song and enthusiasm of Alvan and Ahez. ITALY: The performance of Italy, now that Blanco is around, is rather disappointing. This is mainly due to the poor vocals of both. Mahmood is dressed in black, Blanco in white and there is a lot of light. But that doesn’t help much if the vocals remain as bad as they are now. However, our friends from songfestivalweblog.nl remember that Mahmood did not excel during the rehearsals in 2019 either, but when it came to the jury final and the final, he really showed his best. Perhaps that will happen again three years later. UNITED KINGDOM: Sam Ryder stands amid scaffolding singing his song. And that is all he needs for this song. His strong voice seems to be enough for a very high score, something for which the British have to go way back. The British will also finally experience that you can end up high with a good song. SPAIN: We remember the act, in which singing and dancing are combined, from the Spanish national final. This usually has an effect on the singer’s voice. Not so with Chanel. Because with this performance she proves that she is more, much more than an average pop singer. Like the British, the Spaniards can look forward to the festival with confidence. GERMANY: With guitar and drum machine Malik Harris manages to show an act that is not bad at all. As far as vocals go, Malik continues to do well. The act is not directly in the top-5 with the bookmakers, and the song is perhaps just a bit too anonymous for that. One thing is certain: Germany is also out of the lower regions this year. Conclusion: unlike in previous years, the Big Five seem to be doing reasonably well this year and there is even a potential winner. Has Måneskin’s win brought new impetus to these five countries? Who’ knows…?