For our penultimate preview, we hop over the border from where we were yesterday to the land of baguettes, haute couture and the current holders of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It’s France!
History
France was one of the seven countries to take part in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. This year marks their 64th appearance in the contest. They have won the contest on five occasions; in 1958 with “Dors mon amour” by AndrĂ© Claveau, in 1960 with “Tom Pillibi” by Jacqueline Boyer, in 1962 with “Un premier amour” by Isabelle Aubret, in 1969 with “Un jour, un enfant” by Frida Boccara as part of a four-way tie and finally in 1975 with “L’oiseau et l’enfant” by Marie Myriam. At the 2021 contest, Barbara Pravi finished second in the final with “VoilĂ ”, giving France their best result since 1991, when Amina lost a tiebreak for first place.
Selection
The French broadcaster, France Télévisions, used the second edition of Eurovision France: C’est vous qui décidez! (Eurovision France: It’s you who decide!) to select their 2022 entry. A total of twelve songs competed against each other over three rounds of voting. In the first round, the public chose six songs to advance to the final. In the second round, the professional in-studio jury chose one of the songs that did not advance from the first round to advance to the final. In the third and final round, the jury (50%) and public voting (50%) chose the winner. After winning both votes in the third round, Alvan & Ahez were awarded the French ticket to Turin.
Artist
Alexis Morvan-Rosius, better known as Alvan, was born on March 17 1993 in Lorient (An Oriant) in Brittany in northwestern France. He started making music in 2011, while he worked in the health industry. Four years later, he quit his job to fully dedicate himself to music.
Alvan released his first single “Dame de cĹ“ur” (Woman of heart) in 2016 and continued to release more original singles and remixes. Also in 2016, he won the BPM Contest, a contest for unsigned artists, which earned him a record deal. Since then, he has participated in festivals such Trans Musicales in Lorient and has opened for artists such as Ofenbach and Petit Biscuit. His debut studio album “Magma” will be released on May 13.
Ahez is a vocal group from Carhaix (Karaez) in Brittany and is formed of Marine Lavigne, Sterenn Diridollou and Sterenn Le Guillou. The name of the group comes from Ker Ahez, a popular etymology for the Breton name of their home town, and Ahes, a magician and princess present in several Breton myths.
All three members met while studying at a Diwan high school (a Breton-medium school) where they practised the Breton traditional singing style kan ha diskan. They started performing at festoĂą-noz (Breton dance festivals) 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 Alvan in a bar in Rennes and began their collaboration.
The song that Alvan & Ahez will perform in Turin is called “Fulenn” (Spark). It was written by Marine Lavigne and composed by Alvan. This will be the first Eurovision entry in Breton since 1996. This year’s contest will also be the first contest in history not to have an entry in French.
Song Review
We had a Slavic forest rave last year, so it’s only right that we have a Celtic forest rave this year.
As a Celtic language speaker, I feel so proud seeing a Celtic language shining, living and thriving on stage. Our languages are not relics of a forgotten time. They are languages of the present and of the future. And now Alvan and Ahez have the chance to show that to more than 200 million people.
When I listen to this song, I want to run away from modern life and join my people deep in a forest and dance until the sunrise. It has a hypnotising beat that seems almost ritualistic at times. The lyrics also take a Breton myth and put a feminist twist to it, which shows that even languages regarded as “backwards” can be brought up to speed with modern times. There is a magic in this song that transcends language and gets everyone raving. France had an experimental period in the 1990’s, drawing on different styles and its regional languages, which gave them mostly good results. Driven by their recent successes in the junior and adult contests, France understand that authenticity to yourself and the image you want to project to the world, not what others want you to project, gets you far in the contest. I predict another strong result for France in the contest. And thank you France for showing that there are more languages in France than just French and that every single one of them deserve to be spoken and to exist.
(Also, Alvan, if you’re free on Friday, hit me up!)
The One That Got Away
Ever wanted to bring your harp to a club? Pauline Chagne has got you covered.
Singer, songwriter, actor, writer… there isn’t a lot that Pauline can’t do. With her song “Nuit Pauline” (The night of Pauline), she brought the audience into an intergalactic disco with 80’s influences and nostalgia. The audience rewarded her with a second place finish. If we get to discover more songs like this during France’s new experimental period, long may it continue!
Bonne chance Ă la France! Chañs vat da Vro-C’hall!
Will sparks fly for Alvan & Ahez or will they be burnt out? Leave your comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, France Télévisions, YouTube)
Thinking About It 