France at Eurovision 2009 was represented by the legendary singer Patricia Kaas , well known in Russia [1] [2] . The French broadcaster France Télévisions chose Kaas as the representative of France by internal selection, the competition song “ Et s'il fallait le faire ” (from French - “And if you had to do this”) was chosen in the same way, the first single from the new Patricia Kaas's album "Kabaret" [3] [4] [5] .
| Eurovision 2009 | |
|---|---|
| A country |  France |
| Broadcaster |  France 3 |
| National selection | |
| Selection process | Interior |
| Date (s) of selection | January 30, 2009 |
| Selected Member | Patricia Kaas |
| Selected song | " Et s'il fallait le faire " |
| Song Author (s) | Anse Lazio, Fred Blondan |
| Performance Summary | |
| Semifinal | Automatic qualification |
| The final | 107 points (8th place) |
Background
France became one of the seven countries performing at the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 . The first victory brought them Andre Clavo in 1958 with the song " Dors, mon amour ". In total, France won five victories, but France won the last victory in 1977 and very rarely reached the Top 5 since the 1980s [6] . At different times, different broadcasters showed a contest and selected a representative from the country: until 1964, the broadcasting company Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (it ceased to exist), from 1965 to 1974 - Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (also ceased to exist), from 1975 to 1982 years - TF1 channel (in 1982, due to lack of funds and a decline in interest in the competition, France refused to participate, as stated by the head of the TV channel Pierre Boutelier) [7] . In 1983, the Antenne 2 television channel resumed showing the contest, and from that moment on, France Télévisions television and radio company began to organize it [6] .
Performer
Patricia Kaas was born on December 5, 1966 in the city of Forbach (Lorraine, France). Father is French, mother is German. From childhood she was fond of music, listened to the songs of Claude Francois. The debut on stage took place at the age of 8: at the Forbach Carnival, Patricia performed the song “Sale Bonhomme” and received the first prize. From 9 to 12 years old she performed at the parades in Stiring Wendel with her sister Karina, later she sang in the band Black Flowers , who performed popular songs in the disco style. From the age of 13, she performed at the Rumpelkammer cabaret club in Saarebruck , singing there for 7 years three times a week. Soon Patricia left school and began a musical career.
In 1983, architect Bernard Schwartz met Patricia Kaas, and then arranged for her to meet with Parisian director Joel Cartini from the Phonogram Studio recording studio. Cartini tried to record a record with Patricia, but the studio management refused him over and over again. Soon he filmed Patricia’s performance at the club on videotape and showed Gerard Depardieu and his wife Elizabeth, who agreed to become producers of Patricia Kaas’s first single, entitled “Jalouse” (authored by Elizabeth Depardieu and composer Francois Burnheim), released in 1985 in France and Germany . With the help of Francois Bernheim and his friend Didier Barbeliven, a new recording was released - a cover version of the 1977 French song "Mademoiselle chante le blue". In early 1987, Bernard Schwartz and Patricia signed a contract with the studio Polydor, which in April of the same year released a new single of the singer.
Since 1988, Patricia has been living in Paris: in November her first album “Mademoiselle chante ...” was released, which acquired the status of first gold, and then platinum in France, Switzerland and Belgium (more than 3 million copies of the album in the world). In April 1989, Patricia gave concerts in Europe and the USSR, and on April 10, 1990, the second album “Scene de vie” was released on the CBC label (the producer was Cyril Prier). In December 1990, the RTL and France 3 television channels awarded Patricia the Voice of the Year Award. By January 1991, Patricia gave 8 concerts in the USSR, 6 in Germany, 11 in Canada and 5 in Japan, receiving the prize of the best French singer of the year World Music Awards in Monaco. On April 6, 1993, Patricia, together with manager Robin Millar, who is known for working with Sade and Fine Young Cannibals, released her third album, Je te dis vous, recorded in London (it was released under the title Tour de charme in English-speaking countries). At the end of September 1993, Patricia Kaas began the second world tour with 150 concerts in 19 countries. In March 1994, the album became diamond, and Patricia became the first French singer, whose first three albums were sold in more than 1 million copies.
From June 1996 to March 1997, Patricia recorded her fourth album with Phil Ramon, and in January 1998 the third world tour, “Rendez-vous”, began in Orleans: 120 concerts in 23 countries and the concert album “Rendez-vous”, released on VHS and DVD. The fifth album “Le mot de passe” (work with Pascal Obispo) was released on May 18, 1999 in 40 countries, which held the 2nd place in sales for a month. In October 1999, the fourth world tour “Ce sera nous”, decorated in an oriental atmosphere, began. Following the results of 120 concerts in the world, on August 29, 2000, the Ce Cera nous / Les chansons commencent concert album was released in the form of a double CD, as well as VHS and DVD. On December 18, 2000, Patricia Kaas auditioned for the film " And Now ... Ladies and Gentlemen, " directed by Claude Lelyush, and received the main role of jazz singer Jane. On October 29, 2001, Patricia Kaas's first collection, "Best Of," was released.
On April 16, 2002, the sixth album “Piano Bar by Patricia Kaas” was released - cover versions of famous French songs of the 20th century. On May 26, the film “ And Now ... Ladies and Gentlemen ” was presented at the Cannes Film Festival in an out-of-competition program and was released on May 29 on French screens. In September 2002, Patricia began a new world tour, “Piano Bar,” and in the fall of 2003, she began recording her seventh album, “Sexe fort”. In June 2004, a world tour of the same name began: until October 2005, Patricia Kaas gave 165 concerts in 25 countries with a total audience of 500 thousand spectators, including more than 20 concerts in Russia and the CIS countries. The concert album “Toute la musique ...” took place on January 31, 2005, and on August 29 there was a big 4-hour concert in Paris Olympia on the 20th anniversary of the touring activities of Patricia Kaas.
In early 2008, Patricia Kaas recorded the song “Do Not Call” with the Russian group Uma2rmaH and the video clip of the same name, and in March became the face of the Russian branch of L'Etoile. In November 2008, the album "Kabaret" was released, for which 25 tracks were recorded. After the release, Patricia Kaas made a big tour of Russia, speaking at the Golden Gramophone music award ceremony.
National Selection
The head of the French delegation Bruno Berbere said that in 2009 France is preparing a surprise for fans of the contest. Last year’s contestant, composer and multi-instrumentalist Sebastien Tellier with the song "Divine", performed in English and French, returned interest in the competition among the stars of the French pop and at the same time became the advertising person of Renault Mégane . Moreover, since 2007, when the rock group Les Fatals Picards performed , participation in the competition has become accessible to representatives of all musical genres and has allowed international companies to offer their candidates. Berbere said that a large company could take on all the costs of participating and promoting a video for a competitive song [8] .
On January 30, 2009, France Télévisions television company announced Patricia Kaas the official participant from France in the Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow [1] [2] . One of the first who made such an assumption was the journalists of the Belgian newspaper La Meuse . [9] [10] but prior to the official announcement, the Kaas press office denied such allegations. Soon, the singer’s manager confirmed that the broadcasters were negotiating with Kaas for participation [11] . On February 8, 2009, Patricia Kaas in the talk show Vivement Dimanche on France 2 officially confirmed the fact of her participation [12] [13] , and on February 1 introduced her song “ Et s'il fallait le faire ”, the first single from her upcoming album "Kabaret" [3] [4] [5] . The song was translated into many European languages (including Russian) by the team of Patricia Kaas.
Contest Preparation
Kaas made a tour of Europe in preparation for the competition: on March 7, 2009, she performed on the First Channel in the final of Russia's national selection with a song [14] , and also performed in a duet with one of the participants in the French show Star Academy [15] . On April 23, she performed at the Riga Arena, where the concert of the representative of Latvia Intars Busulis was held : Intars himself presented flowers to Patricia at the very end of the singer's performance.
Bookmakers included Patricia Kaas among the favorites of the competition, since Patricia was already well-known in Russia, and France could count on high scores in this way. The author of the Eurovision-Kazakhstan project, Andrey Mikheev, hoped that this song, “having some kind of magical attraction”, would help Patricia Kaas at least get around the British Jade Ewan , but poor live performance compared to the studio reduced the chances of success [16] :
- Music: A song that has some kind of magical attraction, introduces into a trance, and this is due to the qualities of the song itself, and not the artist. It is very important to put a point at the peak of voltage, and not spray further. 10/10
- Text: Excellent text, it’s a pity that the competition will remain almost incomprehensible. 9/10
- Vocal: Unexpectedly, but so far it is the performance in the song that is the weakest point. All live videos lack the spark that is in the studio version. 7/10
- Total: Beats the UK. I think this one will already be a success. Alas, viewer friendly does not yet name this song.
The chairman of the Russian OGAE fan club, Anton Kulakov, called the song the most likely winner of the contest [16] :
- Music: The modified version is several times stronger than the landscape one. Cool work. 10/10
- Text: The copy-paste system has been deleted - now the words are not replaced. Wow. 9/10
- Vocals: In the new version, of course, no questions asked. 9/10
- Total: In the three-minute version, it sounds much more interesting. Now the truth is a likely winner. 9/10
Speech
Initially, Patricia Kaas refused to perform, as the final fell on May 16 - the anniversary of the death of Irmgard Kaas, mother of Patricia, and on this day Patricia never gave concerts. However, after persuading France 2, Patricia agreed to make an exception and speak. She refused the services of dancers and backing vocalists, saying that she would perform the song for the audience and for herself. French viewers received the right to vote in the second semi-final on May 14 [17] [18] .
In the final, Patricia performed under the 3rd serial number and took 8th place, gaining 107 points - the best result since 2002, when Sandrine Francois took 5th place. France did not receive the highest marks in the form of 12 points, having received only one highest mark in the form of 10 points, but these points came precisely from Russia. Commented on the finale on the French television channel France 3, television presenter Cyril Hanuna and producer Julien Courbet [19] . France 4 showed the second semifinal, which was commented on by Peggy Olmi and Jan Renaur (herald of France) [20] .
Voting
Semifinal
| Voices of France viewers in the semifinals | |
|---|---|
| Rating | A country |
| 12 | Norway |
| ten | Azerbaijan |
| eight | Estonia |
| 7 | Moldova |
| 6 | Greece |
| five | Albania |
| four | Poland |
| 3 | Norway |
| 2 | Lithuania |
| one | Ireland |
In the finals
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Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Viniker, Barry France TV confirms Patricia Kaas for Eurovision . ESCToday (January 30, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 Siim, Jarmo Now confirmed - Patricia Kaas to represent France! . Eurovision.tv (January 30, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 Demailly, Patrice Patricia Kaas, l'épatant retour (Fr.) . Nord Eclair (1 février 2009). Date of treatment February 1, 2009. Archived July 27, 2011.
- ↑ 1 2 Floras, Stella France Eurovision entry is 'S'il fallait le faire' . ESCToday (February 1, 2009). Date of treatment February 1, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 Sanz Martin, Jorge France: "Et s'il fallait le faire" to Moscow . Oikotimes (February 2, 2009). Date of treatment February 2, 2009. Archived February 5, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 History by Country: France . European Broadcasting Union . Date of treatment January 31, 2009.
- ↑ 1982 Eurovision source in French
- ↑ Floras, Stella France prepares "A lovely surprise for Eurovision 2009"! . ESCToday (December 26, 2008). Date of treatment December 26, 2008.
- ↑ Klier, Marcus France: Patricia Kaas chosen for Eurovision? . ESCToday (January 11, 2009). Date of treatment January 11, 2009.
- ↑ Konstantopoulos, Fotis Patricia Kaas for France, newspaper claims (unavailable link) . Oikotimes (January 10, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2009. Archived January 20, 2009.
- ↑ Murray, Gavin France: Kaas denial preceded participation news . ESCToday (January 17, 2009). Date of treatment January 17, 2009.
- ↑ Viniker, Barry France: Patricia Kaas says YES to Eurovision . ESCToday (January 28, 2009). Date of treatment January 28, 2009.
- ↑ van Tongeren, Mario France: Patricia Kaas confirms participation (link not available) . Oikotimes (January 28, 2009). Date of treatment January 28, 2009. Archived February 6, 2009.
- ↑ Klier, Marcus National final in Russia . ESCToday (March 7, 2009). Date of treatment March 7, 2009.
- ↑ Jiandani, Sanjay France: Watch Patricia perform in a duet . ESCToday (March 15, 2009). Date of treatment March 15, 2009.
- ↑ 1 2 ESCKAZ rating . Eurovision-Kazakhstan. - Evaluation of Eurovision 2009 participants, compilation of the ESCKAZ rating.
- ↑ Bakker, Sietse LIVE: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw . EBU (January 30, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2009.
- ↑ Konstantopolus, Fotis LIVE FROM MOSCOW, THE ALLOCATION DRAW . Oikotimes (January 30, 2009). Date of treatment January 30, 2009. Archived February 2, 2009.
- ↑ Costa, Nelson Eurovision commentators revealed by FR3 . Oikotimes (March 14, 2009). Date of treatment March 14, 2009. Archived March 17, 2009.
- ↑ Program de l'Eurovision 2009 (Fr.) . France 3 . Date of treatment May 10, 2009. Archived April 29, 2009.