France 2024: Slimane with ‘Mon Amour’
France are neither hanging around nor, in their opinion, playing around this year with the early and out of the blue release of their entry for Malmo:
If France have succeeded at anything it's in getting the comparisons in early with Barbara Pravi, Gjon's Tears and Marco Mengoni all being thrown around frequently.
As (embarrassingly) one of the bigger doubters of ‘Voila’, it would be somewhat hypocritical to say this lacks the je ne sais quoi of that entry but still, this feels somewhat more manufactured and run of the mill. Nor does Slimane quite carry the same widespread appeal or timelessness to ‘Due Vite’.
I’ve not come across this reaction, but to me there is also a touch of the Amaury Vasili to this in a composition that kind of goes through the gears and is performed vocally pretty fine but just doesn't inspire. In fact, the name Vasily and it's variations may be the theme with a certain flamboyant North Macedonian perhaps looking for his vest.
Make no mistake, the official live video is not a blueprint for success in May with it’s overly wrought armography and flat lightshow. Much like last year, this feels rushed, surprisingly so given the artist and how early in the season we still are.
With all that noted, there is still something to work from here with an entry that could find itself in a jury top 5 and there is always the chance this can capture some public imagination although Slimane will need a favourable field to stand out, similar to Mengoni last year. Vocals and experience are present, but I'm not 100% sold on his instant appeal beyond the base Francophone area or those already familiar with him.
This is a hard one to call, particularly so early, but overall a low top 10 might be about right. Odds are heading to around the 30 mark and will serve as a barometer of the quality of the year. Should dissapointments come, that may prove to be a good price for an outsider with at least on big 5 always in the running, but I'm not particularly interested in playing this either way for now and will keep my mind open.
Personal Rating: 7/10
Competitve Rating: 7/10
Early Prediction: 7th-12th in the final