We now move on to the entries which have automatic place in the final this year. We begin with France, who returned to a national selection format this year with the catchily-named Eurovision France, c’est vous qui décidez! Following 12 performances, the title was awarded to Barbara Pravi, who will perform Voilà, a classic, emotional chanson song. To hear our opinions on Voilà, have a listen below!
A look into Barbara Pravi’s career so far.
Barbara Pravi’s career has been diverse, with talents ranging from singing, to songwriting, to acting. Born Barbara Piévic, her family crosses continental roots from Iran to Serbia, with her stage name Pravi as a homage to her Serbian grandfather; the word translates as “real” or “authentic”. She has previously released three EPs: Barbara Pravi (2018), Reviens pour l’hiver (2020) and Les prières (2021). Alongside her performing career, she is an activist working to end violence against women
Perhaps most notably to Eurovision fans, Barbara has been one of the songwriters for France’s past two Junior Eurovision entries – fan favourite Bim Bam Toi performed by Carla and 2020 Junior Eurovision winner J’imagine, performed by Valentina.
Our opinions on “Voilà”
Jazzi
Opinion: ‘Volia’ is no doubt performed amazingly by Barbara. This song isn’t really to my personal taste, however that doesn’t stop me thinking that this is a potential winner. I am worried about the prospect of them changing the performance up.
Overall Ranking: 29th
Prediction: Winner, if not top 5 at least.
Rory
Opinion: I have fallen in love with this song and all of its emotions. The sparse and exclusively acoustic arrangement really drives in the personal element Barbara is exuding in her performance – it sounds as if it’s as painful for her to sing as it was for Jamala to sing ‘1944’. This is an iconic performance in the making and the lyrics in this just add to that level of pain and vulnerability. ‘Voilà’ is such a fitting tribute to the chanteuse genre and I would be stunned if this didn’t do as well as Patricia Kaas in 2009, who produced a very similar style. Paris 2022? I wouldn’t rule it out!
Overall Ranking: 5th
Prediction: 1st-10th
Rosie
Opinion: I didn’t quite get the hype for Voilà when the songs for CVQD came out, but watching the performance during the national final, it felt as if Barbara had reached out of the screen, grabbed me, shaken me and begged me to listen to her. She’s a captivating performer, with a song that is lyrically beautiful and utterly heartwrenching. It’s very stylised, and I can understand why people who might not care for chanson might not care for this, but I can’t help but sit up and listen to what she has to say.
(Also, from a singer’s point of view, this song is hard, so props to her for carrying it off perfectly every time I hear her sing it!)
Overall Ranking: 5th
Prediction: I’ll be shocked if this doesn’t get top 10. It would be an incredibly worthy winner.
Let us know your thoughts!
It’s not just about what we think, we want to know what you guys make of France’s entry this year. To voice your opinion on “Voilà” please vote in our poll below:
What do you think of Voilà? Have a more detailed opinion? Let us know in the comments below or at social media. Don’t forget to follow ‘THAT Eurovision Site’ over at Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Photo Credit: David Wolff – Patrick/Redferns
