France: C’est Vous Qui Décidez First Impressions
With the French national final artists and entries out, I gave each a listen to see if anything stood out. The songs can be found here a vpn may be needed for some countries:
So, in the order I heard each:
LMK- Magique A bit all over the place structurally and feels a little long, would benefit from a revamp to enhance a decent, catchy chorus. Should improve with staging.
Casanova- Tutti Not horrible but let down by our old friend, the la la la chorus. Much better options
Ali- Paris Me Dit Another fairly good one, again slightly let down by its chorus, turning what is trying to be interesting into something average. Needs a good stageshow.
Barbara Pravi- Voila Actually good for what it is until the last 30 seconds or so when it goes off the rails a little. Would be destined for a bottom 5 at Eurovision.
Andrimad- Alleluia One that would benefit from the English lyrics being binned. Again, not bad for what it is but needs some work.
Phillipine- Bah Non I quite like this one but it's not a competitive big stage song. Not in the running here.
Cephaz- On A Mange Le Soleil My French isn't great, I'm able to understand the title of "we eat the sun" but can't pick out the lyrics, so I'm a little confused. Anyway it's fine but not a contender here.
Pony X- Amour Fou Another good one, but lacking something. To me it doesn't feel like it gets out second or third gear. Not quite strong or different enough.
Juliette Moraine- Pourvu Qu'on Maime This isn't going anywhere, neither in the national final and certainly not if it somehow won. It's OK, but we've seen many times France do absolutely nothing with this kind of entry.
Terence James--Je T'emmenerai Danser Lacks a little impact and a bit too middle of the road despite a catchy if repetitive chorus. Not a bad attempt.
Amui- Maeva At least in the order I heard these, this was the first I would place in the 'bad' category. Could get some interest due to being a little different, although the next one steps on it a bit.
21 Jun Le Duo- Peux-Tu Me Dire? I know it doesn't mean the same thing but Dire sums this up. After a decent run this is another bad one and has nothing going for it. Making up the numbers.
I'm a little surprised by the extent of love for 'Voila' but then it does harken back to some past French entries, in particular Patricia Kaas' 2009 attempt. A potential winner of France's selection but I fear fans will be let down in May if they're expecting this to do any damage on the scoreboard. I'm not particularly saying there are better options however.
It's a decent standard in France, some good variety and almost all of the entries are an upgrade on last year. There's nothing here however to threaten a top 10.
What are your thoughts on the C’est vous qui décidez songs? Feel free to leave a comment below.