Tim: France was one of the first to choose its entry, so it’s only right that we reward its eagerness with a quick trip there. This lad here won La Voix last year (France’s version of, you guessed it, The Voice, and sadly they don’t have Malena Ernman singing the theme tune), and the song won the jury vote by a fair distance, but wasn’t able to keep the public on side, ending up second.
Tom: Let me guess: it’s in French.
Tim: Hmm…
Tom: It’s bilingual! Good heavens, it’s bilingual. Apparently the French internal selection process requires a minimum of 80% French, which I suppose is a reasonable compromise. Although “she’s just a single mother” appearing out of nowhere is confusing for those of us who don’t know the rest of the song. But yes: second place isn’t bad, but I guess the public didn’t like it?
Tim: Not really, no. And was it the drum & bass breakdown? I think it was the drum & bass breakdown. It doesn’t spoil the song, and once you know what to expect you realise it kind of fits in, but it’s a hell of a jarring cut from a fantastic euphoric chorus to a middle eight that’s verging on hefty dubstep. I can, sadly for him, imagine that turning off enough voters that they head elsewhere.
Tom: Pity, because I think this could have done well. Not a winner, but it would have done well.
Tim: I say the breakdown put them off, could also have been the close-ups of the female judge, who’s either shaking her head, looking confused, or both. Guess we’ll never know.