France Télévisions has already kicked off the race for the selection of its 2018 Eurovision act! Tonight’s show gave us the first finalists, which of them qualified?
4 years have already passed since France last organised a national final and gave the French audience the final say on who they wanted to fly the colours of their flag in Eurovision. Due to the unfortunate outcome in Copenhagen 2014, the broadcaster approached singers, opting for an internal selection for the next 3 years. Now, things have turned out much brighter for the French delegation and Edoardo Grassi who went on to approve the big format of this year’s selection, Destination Eurovision, after big success achieved by Amir and Alma.
The show, which was recorded three days ago, was finished its transmission a few minutes ago and gave us the first set of finalists for the grand final to be held on January 27th. Out of the 9 who performed on stage tonight, only 4 of them have managed to make it to the final stage, check them out below (in bold):
- Lisandro Cuxi – Eva (FINAL)
- Malo – Ciao (FINAL)
- Noée – L’un près de l’autre
- Elha – J’ai cru
- Masoé – Paradis
- Emmy Lyianna – OK ou KO (FINAL)
- Louka – Mamma Mia (FINAL)
- Enea – I’ll Be There
- Pheno Men – Jamais sans toi
- Masoé – Paradis
Three shows, one winner
Three shows hosted by comedian Garou are set to be aired to select the French entrant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018, two pre-recorded semi-finals and a live grand final. Nine acts will compete in each semi-final, while eight candidates will take part in the national final.
The semi-final qualifiers will be determined via 100% vote of the international jury (Nicola Caligiore, Olga Salamakha & Christer Björkman) and national panel in the studio, made up of France’s very own 2016 entrant Amir and singers Isabelle Boulay and Christophe Willem. The overall winner will be selected by a 50/50 combination of votes from ten international judges and audience vote.
You can find the schedule below:
- Semi-Final 1 – 13 January
- Semi-Final 2 – 20 January
- Final – 27 January
Two Jury Panels
Two different jury panels will help the French audience to decide their next representative for the Eurovision Song Contest, three professional singers and a trio of well-known Heads of Delegation.
The national jury panel for the shows will be made up of 2016 representative Amir, French singer Christophe Willem and Canadian performer Isabelle Boulay. Christer Björkman (Swedish HoD) Nicola Caligliore (Italian HoD) and Olga Salamakha (Belarusian HoD) will be the international judges.
All three shows will be broadcast on France 2, on TV5 Monde and on the official Facebook page of Eurovision France.
Are you satisfied with the finalists that emerged from tonight’s round? Have any of them what it takes to reach stardom in the contest and bring it back to France after 40 years? Tell us below or just our social media platforms and start the debate!