France FRANCE 2016 - Amir - J'ai cherché

[SwissKung]

No true, since our last decent entry was in 2009 and we make a top 10.

Thanks to the jury, you were only #17 with televoting... however in 2010 Jessy Matador managed to reach an #8 place with the people so there's still hope.

 

[Carian]

Anggun participated in 2012, not in 2011.

And as much as I love this song, i don't see it making top-10. Most people ignore France even with decent entries, so i have low hopes for this one.

People ignored Netherlands for a decade, yet two years ago they climed to the second position. So, why not France this year?

 

[Vanellus]

I don't like the new version very much, especially not the tempo change, so it has dropped some places at my top :/

 

[voteme]

This should easily go top 10, good luck France.

 

[r3gg13]

The new version is much better, it sounds less repetitive.

 

[Evalngelion]

France, Latvia & Italy, the countries with the Highest percentage of 12's

 

[Oshawott]

The song is in my male trinity with Latvia and Hungary.

 

[VikingTiger]

France, Latvia & Italy, the countries with the Highest percentage of 12's

Check out Ukraine...

 

[VikingTiger]

I have had to improve my points for France... up to 10 points!
I really like the newer version - even though I would prefer they kept more french.

 

[Johnny992]

I really want this to do well! It is my 3rd place in the moment!

 

[tuorem]

I think the revamped version is much better than the original one, it sounds more striking at first listen, which is probably a good thing.

However, I still have two questions marks regarding our act :
1) Will Amir manage to sing the lyrics of the verses properly since they seem to have accelerated the pace? Besides, will he succeed in hitting the high notes during the last minute?
2) How the "You-ou-ou" choir part will sound like live? As it's allegedly the hook the song relies on, if it doesn't come out nicely live, it may have an off-putting effect on viewers. That's tricky because it may sound messy if not performed neatly. Time will tell how France 2 chose between backing vocalists and dancers

The rehearsals will definitely confirm or disprove our actual potential imo.

 

[Carian]

I think the revamped version is much better than the original one, it sounds more striking at first listen, which is probably a good thing.

However, I still have two questions marks regarding our act :
1) Will Amir manage to sing the lyrics of the verses properly since they seem to have accelerated the pace? Besides, will he succeed in hitting the high notes during the last minute?
2) How the "You-ou-ou" choir part will sound like live? As it's allegedly the hook the song relies on, if it doesn't come out nicely live, it may have an off-putting effect on viewers. That's tricky because it may sound messy if not performed neatly. Time will tell how France 2 chose between backing vocalists and dancers

The rehearsals will definitely confirm or disprove our actual potential imo.

Though you seemed very sceptical in the beginning, I am glad to see that you actually care. As for Amir's delivery on the night, let me say only that the last year, that Belgian guy also didn't give his best, but people still liked him. So, I am not as much worried about his performance as I am about the fact that he is a Jew. There is still a lot of anti-semitism in Europe, and if the TV commentators emphasize this information during the live show before voting, I think many people might decide not to vote for him. But hopefully, I am mistaken.

 

[tuorem]

Though you seemed very sceptical in the beginning, I am glad to see that you actually care. As for Amir's delivery on the night, let me say only that the last year, that Belgian guy also didn't give his best, but people still liked him. So, I am not as much worried about his performance as I am about the fact that he is a Jew. There is still a lot of anti-semitism in Europe, and if the TV commentators emphasize this information during the live show before voting, I think many people might decide not to vote for him. But hopefully, I am mistaken.

I understand what you mean but Belgium had three major advantages: they had a modern song that stood out, they went for a peculiar staging that probably helped drawing attention even more, and they had a kickass handful of backing vocalists... You know my opinion about "J'ai Cherché" and I don't believe this is musically as special as "Rhythm Inside", so to make the most of our opportunity to do well this year, we need to be on point both visually and performance-wise. When I look back on last year, I guess France 2 will do a good job for the staging. However, our song is more lively than Loïc Nottet's entry, so it may still fall flat if there's a lack of energy on stage, especially vocally and dance-wise, hence why I look forward to the people who will work with Amir on stage: how many dancers (if there's any)? how many backing vocalists to make sure the "You-ou" part sounds as good as in the studio version? I don't mean they're going to mess things up big time, but they should be careful enough to find a good balance between vocals and visual presentation.

As for Amir's ancestry, I don't think it will influence voters in Europe (but in Israel in a positive way, maybe ). Nadav did well last year, and if we fail, it would be either because something went wrong during our performance or because it's the French entry and we end up being underrated.

 

[Carian]

I understand what you mean but Belgium had three major advantages: they had a modern song that stood out, they went for a peculiar staging that probably helped drawing attention even more, and they had a kickass handful of backing vocalists... You know my opinion about "J'ai Cherché" and I don't believe this is musically as special as "Rhythm Inside", so to make the most of our opportunity to do well this year, we need to be on point both visually and performance-wise. When I look back on last year, I guess France 2 will do a good job for the staging. However, our song is more lively than Loïc Nottet's entry, so it may still fall flat if there's a lack of energy on stage, especially vocally and dance-wise, hence why I look forward to the people who will work with Amir on stage: how many dancers (if there's any)? how many backing vocalists to make sure the "You-ou" part sounds as good as in the studio version? I don't mean they're going to mess things up big time, but they should be careful enough to find a good balance between vocals and visual presentation.

As for Amir's ancestry, I don't think it will influence voters in Europe (but in Israel in a positive way, maybe ). Nadav did well last year, and if we fail, it would be either because something went wrong during our performance or because it's the French entry and we end up being underrated.

Yes, you care - actually a lot I like it. I really hope France/Amir will do well this year, cuz otherwise, I will have to agree with you on your last point: that France (as Slovenia) is really underrated - at least in 95% of your entries But this actually really bothers me, cuz I really liked most of French entries in the last years, however, for reasons unknown to me, they always fall flat in ESC... Definitively, my eyes are on Amir, and I put my faith in him - I don't know why, but I think he will pull it off on the big night.

 

[tuorem]

Yes, you care - actually a lot I like it. I really hope France/Amir will do well this year, cuz otherwise, I will have to agree with you on your last point: that France (as Slovenia) is really underrated - at least in 95% of your entries But this actually really bothers me, cuz I really liked most of French entries in the last years, however, for reasons unknown to me, they always fall flat in ESC... Definitively, my eyes are on Amir, and I put my faith in him - I don't know why, but I think he will pull it off on the big night.

Well, I hope he'll be successful too, because it's been a long time since we've been rather "highly" considered by fans and odds. Our French delegation has made great mistakes in the past (the whole "Echo" and "Moustache" performances, for instance) but sometimes it seems to be bad karma (meh live vocals from Amaury, Amandine's and Lisa's awful starting positions), while some acts were well put together (Patricia Kaas and Jessy Matador). Getting another bottom 5 would be really surprising and disappointing because we can definitely do better this time around, as it's a more ESC-friendly song.

 

[Carian]

Well, I hope he'll be successful too, because it's been a long time since we've been rather "highly" considered by fans and odds. Our French delegation has made great mistakes in the past (the whole "Echo" and "Moustache" performances, for instance) but sometimes it seems to be bad karma (meh live vocals from Amaury, Amandine's and Lisa's awful starting positions), while some acts were well put together (Patricia Kaas and Jessy Matador). Getting another bottom 5 would be really surprising and disappointing because we can definitely do better this time around, as it's a more ESC-friendly song.

Now I am going to say something, and I hope you won't resent me for saying it, but I really didn't like Jessy Matador's entry... It was so... Meh. I know it was a huge hit afterwards, but really not my cup of coffee
However, I hope that France doesn't get starting position between 1-7 this year - then, you are done Most likely. In any case, this year, France is definitively again under pressure. As you could see it, fans here voted it this week as the leading contender to take the win!!!! So, happy for you.

 

[tuorem]

Now I am going to say something, and I hope you won't resent me for saying it, but I really didn't like Jessy Matador's entry... It was so... Meh. I know it was a huge hit afterwards, but really not my cup of coffee
However, I hope that France doesn't get starting position between 1-7 this year - then, you are done Most likely. In any case, this year, France is definitively again under pressure. As you could see it, fans here voted it this week as the leading contender to take the win!!!! So, happy for you.

Don't worry, I didn't like Jessy's song either I think the performance was rather well done considering what the song was (energetic, flashy, summery and "slightly" over the top ), but personally, that's not the type of song I can root for. And those lyrics Too bad I was able to understand them!

Regarding the draw, we'll see. If we could pick the second half of the final, that would better, that's for sure. I'm quite amazed to see there's so much support for France on the forum this year, that's refreshing not to be considered an utter hopeless act for once Even if we can still ruin our chances, I hope we'll get it right in May.

 

[Carian]

Don't worry, I didn't like Jessy's song either I think the performance was rather well done considering what the song was (energetic, flashy, summery and "slightly" over the top ), but personally, that's not the type of song I can root for. And those lyrics Too bad I was able to understand them!

Regarding the draw, we'll see. If we could pick the second half of the final, that would better, that's for sure. I'm quite amazed to see there's so much support for France on the forum this year, that's refreshing not to be considered an utter hopeless act for once Even if we can still ruin our chances, I hope we'll get it right in May.

Well, I think the hype and attention are deserved. I liked the song immediately. And I still do. From time to time I sing it to myself, though I have no ear for music I am sure France will be top 10 regardless of the starting position. But with good position and good presentation & delivery, it could easily reach top 5. Especially since it is such a poor year. You should enjoy the hype, just like I did last year, when Slovenia was all over the place - honestly, even I was annoyed by the fact that it was almost impossible to avoid Maraaya on TV etc.

 

[tuorem]

Well, I think the hype and attention are deserved. I liked the song immediately. And I still do. From time to time I sing it to myself, though I have no ear for music I am sure France will be top 10 regardless of the starting position. But with good position and good presentation & delivery, it could easily reach top 5. Especially since it is such a poor year. You should enjoy the hype, just like I did last year, when Slovenia was all over the place - honestly, even I was annoyed by the fact that it was almost impossible to avoid Maraaya on TV etc.

I'll follow your advice then By the way, you deserved the attention you got last year imo I still remember one of those wiwibloggs reporter sharing his opinion about "Here For You" and saying "wow, I never expected to love an entry from Slovenia". I found that comment quite offensive because he seemed to imply Slovenia could never come up with good music, but somehow it showed that Maraaya succeeded in touching people who usually don't bother giving your country a chance in Eurovision.

 

[Carian]

I'll follow your advice then By the way, you deserved the attention you got last year imo I still remember one of those wiwibloggs reporter sharing his opinion about "Here For You" and saying "wow, I never expected to love an entry from Slovenia". I found that comment quite offensive because he seemed to imply Slovenia could never come up with good music, but somehow it showed that Maraaya succeeded in touching people who usually don't bother giving your country a chance in Eurovision.

Hm, I wonder whether that reporter was that black guy? I wouldn't be surprised if you confirm my suspions, cuz I've noticed that he is actually very "opinionated". On the other hand, I really like that English guy. He is a true fair-player, and looks such an honest and positive person