France FRANCE 2021 - Barbara Pravi - Voilà

[escYOUnited]

Écoutez moi
Moi la chanteuse à demi
Parlez de moi
À vos amours, à vos amis
Parler leur de cette fille aux yeux noirs et de son rêve fou
Moi c'que j'veux c'est écrire des histoires qui arrivent jusqu'à vous
C'est tout

Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà qui je suis
Me voilà même si mise à nue j'ai peur, oui
Me voilà dans le bruit et dans le silence

Regardez moi, ou du moins ce qu'il en reste
Regardez moi, avant que je me déteste
Quoi vous dire, que les lèvres d'une autre ne vous diront pas
C'est peu de chose mais moi tout ce que j'ai je le dépose là, voilà

Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà qui je suis
Me voilà même si mise à nue c'est fini
C'est ma gueule c'est mon cri, me voilà tant pis
Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà juste ici
Moi mon rêve mon envie, comme j'en crève comme j'en ris
Me voilà dans le bruit et dans le silence

Ne partez pas, j'vous en supplie restez longtemps
Ça m'sauvera peut-être pas, non
Mais faire sans vous j'sais pas comment
Aimez moi comme on aime un ami qui s'en va pour toujours
J'veux qu'on m'aime parce que moi je sais pas bien aimer mes contours

Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà qui je suis
Me voilà même si mise à nue c'est fini
Me voilà dans le bruit et dans la fureur aussi
Regardez moi enfin et mes yeux et mes mains
Tout c'que j'ai est ici, c'est ma gueule c'est mon cri
Me voilà, me voilà, me voilà
Voilà, voilà, voilà, voilà
Voilà​

 

[Citelis]

I prefer Cyprus and Italy by a lot compared to France and Switzerland but still i'm ok with a French or Swiss victory if that's the price for stopping Iceland from winning.

 

[A-lister]

I prefer Cyprus and Italy by a lot compared to France and Switzerland but still i'm ok with a French or Swiss victory if that's the price for stopping Iceland from winning.

On paper I would prefer Cyprus since a bop is more my thing than a classical chanson, also I think Cyprus would manage more outside of the contest, but I can't at the fact that Cyprus is so blatantly a copy of a specific artist and style so at least a chanson has proper French elements and thus a better representation of the country, Cyprus not so much, then we have much better bops that aren't such copypaste and still keep some local elements.

But yes an Icelandic victory this year is a big fat no no!

 

[Citelis]

Cyprus is my favorite entry this year but obviously it's not the most original entry out there but it's not the only one. I mean France is openly a copy of Edith Piaf. Is it ok to copy Edith Piaf but not Lady Gaga?

 

[Gera11]

Cyprus is my favorite entry this year but obviously it's not the most original entry out there but it's not the only one. I mean France is openly a copy of Edith Piaf. Is it ok to copy Edith Piaf but not Lady Gaga?

No you see, chansons can do no wrong, despite "Voilà" being such a stereotypical middle of the road theatric performance that I feel like I've seen hundreds of times before. It's all about the "artistic value" that half of the ESC fans are obsessed with ever since Portugal 2017 won.

 

[A-lister]

Cyprus is my favorite entry this year but obviously it's not the most original entry out there but it's not the only one. I mean France is openly a copy of Edith Piaf. Is it ok to copy Edith Piaf but not Lady Gaga?

Chansons are a part of French music culture though, I also don't find this original, but the Cypriot case is borderline parodic. I didn't know Lady Gaga songs from late 00's was part of Cypriot music culture and traditions of some 100 years?

 

[A-lister]

No you see, chansons can do no wrong, despite "Voilà" being such a stereotypical middle of the road theatric performance that I feel like I've seen hundreds of times before. It's all about the "artistic value" that half of the ESC fans are obsessed with ever since Portugal 2017 won.

If you refer to me, then you picked the wrong person, as you can see in the discussions in here you will quickly find out that I am NOT a fan of this winning the contest (nor was I a fan of Portugal 2017 although I find this a bit better).

"Voilá" is stereotypical to the extent you could think it's a soundtrack from an American movie trying to portray France, but it is still very French and rooted in that music culture, the Cypriot entry isn't just a blatant copy it has obviously nothing to do with Cyprus.

 

[Citelis]

Chansons are a part of French music culture though, I also don't find this original, but the Cypriot case is borderline parodic. I didn't know Lady Gaga songs from late 00's was part of Cypriot music culture and traditions of some 100 years?

Instead of copying from your own music industry you just copy from the international music industry.

 

[Gera11]

If you refer to me, then you picked the wrong person, as you can see in the discussions in here you will quickly find out that I am NOT a fan of this winning the contest (nor was I a fan of Portugal 2017 although I find this a bit better).

"Voilá" is stereotypical to the extent you could think it's a soundtrack from an American movie trying to portray France, but it is still very French and rooted in that music culture, the Cypriot entry isn't just a blatant copy it has obviously nothing to do with Cyprus.

No I wasn't referring to you, I was speaking in general :"D

Chansons are a part of French music culture though, I also don't find this original, but the Cypriot case is borderline parodic. I didn't know Lady Gaga songs from late 00's was part of Cypriot music culture and traditions of some 100 years?

Do songs need to represent their local culture though? Sure, it would be interesting for some countries but eventually it would be quite limiting. For us for example a typical traditional song would be "Hora din Moldova" and sure, you can send that two or three years, but there isn't that much variation to the style.

 

[A-lister]

Instead of copying from your own music industry you just copy from the international music industry.

Ok, well it comes down to if you believe in the Eurovision as a concept where songs represent their countries or if it's just a Pop contest where countries purchase entries from abroad

 

[Citelis]

Ok, well it comes down to if you believe in the Eurovision as a concept where songs represent their countries or if it's just a Pop contest where countries purchase entries from abroad

If you watch Eurovision for years you know that it is not a contest to promote your own music industry and culture. You can do it if you want but that's not the purpose of the contest.

 

[A-lister]

Do songs need to represent their local culture though? Sure, it would be interesting for some countries but eventually it would be quite limiting. For us for example a typical traditional song would be "Hora din Moldova" and sure, you can send that two or three years, but there isn't that much variation to the style.

Do all songs need to be radio Pop though?

And I disagree with you, there are many ways you can incorporate influences, it doesn't need to be full-blown chanson... the other page I mentioned Indila as an example of how you can incorporate traditional French elements in a modern original package.

 

[A-lister]

If you watch Eurovision for years you know that it is not a contest to promote your own music industry and culture. You can do it if you want but that's not the purpose of the contest.

I watched it for years, and actually that is the concept, it's just not being followed by most broadcasters unfortunately.

 

[Gera11]

Do all songs need to be radio Pop though?

And I disagree with you, there are many ways you can incorporate influences, it doesn't need to be full-blown chanson... the other page I mentioned Indila as an example of how you can incorporate traditional French elements in a modern original package.

No of course not, but there can be a middle ground. Sure, traditional French elements can be popular, but that's not to true for every country in Eurovision. Just look at how Loco loco is perceived compared to other dance songs.

 

[Citelis]

I watched it for years, and actually that is the concept, it's just not being followed by most broadcasters unfortunately.

No that's not the concept anymore and that's why we don't have language rules. The concept is to bring people together now.

 

[A-lister]

No of course not, but there can be a middle ground. Sure, traditional French elements can be popular, but that's not to true for every country in Eurovision. Just look at how Loco loco is perceived compared to other dance songs.

I am not fully following? "Loco Loco" is a good example of a Bop which is clearly having local elements.

 

[A-lister]

No that's not the concept anymore and that's why we don't have language rules. The concept is to bring people together now.

No one is forced to sing in English? The concept is still entries representing their countries, I mean it's the whole premises of the contest, it's not just about "bringing people together".

 

[Gera11]

I am not fully following? "Loco Loco" is a good example of a Bop which is clearly having local elements.

Yes, and where it is in the odds? Way below the others. I've seen ESC fans on twitter dismissing the song especially because of the local turbofolk elements so to me, as much as I enjoy traditional elements in songs, it is clearly a bit of a risk in Eurovision.

 

[HayashiM]

I might be one of those people @Gera11 thinks of. Barbara is absolutely alluding to Édith Piaf and I won't deny it. But it's still a mere allusion made in the context of chanson being a part of French cultural tradition and Barbara having some similar physical features to Édith. True, Barbara could've dyed her hair blonde and sung some English rap on Mars, but one must still admit a big part of Barbara reminding of Édith is due to Barbara's identity just being similar to the stereotype people have of French female chanson. There surely is some amount of intent, but Barbara is not a copycat from scratch, the question is more about adjusting elements around the core of what Barbara really is and what she naturally does. You could even argue this is more question of paying homage.

For me, El Diablo is a different case, it goes deeper than any other oMgCoPyCaT situation I have seen so far in Eurovision. It borrows from multiple sources and these sources are super easy to identify. It is not anymore question of some legacy of sorts tailored to the singer's personality, it is a patchwork with a music video borrowed from there and the chorus borrowed from elsewhere in a way of direct copycat, where Elena herself doesn't really matter that much - once again, this is not about "subliminal" inspiration anymore, this is something very much intentional.

I don't think Eurovision should be about national elements only, bring on the pop! But still, drawing from one's national legacy to enhance the singers personality just isn't the exact same thing as making a patchwork with little regard to the singer herself. As far as I am concerned, inspire yourself wherever you want from things that work, just add your personal flavour to it. Barbara manages to do that to me, El Diablo's music video doesn't (when I heard it for the first time, it really only made me want to go and listen to Bad Romance). However I can agree Elena sells the hell out of it live (and for me, thus adds something personal as well when performing - she just really doesn't have space for that in the video).

Others can feel differently, of course. Just for the record, I don't hate Elena's guts. Best of luck to her.

 

[A-lister]

Yes, and where it is in the odds? Way below the others. I've seen ESC fans on twitter dismissing the song especially because of the local turbofolk elements so to me, as much as I enjoy traditional elements in songs, it is clearly a bit of a risk in Eurovision.

So what if it's low in the odds? It is still representing Serbia, and it could be low because of other reasons (not necessarily that incorporated local elements).

 

[NemesisNick]

I've produced this video, containing my views on the song representing France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021: Barbara Pravi - "Voilà"
Nemesis Nick Talks Eurovision: France 2021