2023-05-14 08:18:00
Chis year, it was La Zarra, a Quebec artist, who carried the colors of France loud and clear… but who finally found himself ranked in 16e position, far behind Swedish winner Loreen. The 67e edition of the great European song contest was held on Saturday May 13 in Great Britain, in Liverpool, failing to be able to settle in Ukraine, the winning country in 2022.
Revealed in 2021 with her hit “Tu t’en iras”, La Zarra performed a song created for the occasion: “Évidemment”. Powerful voice, magnetic personality, the tricolor candidate was one of the great favorites. According to the bookmakers, the composer and performer from Montreal was ranked 4e on the eve of the grand finale. “What is very strong behind the scenes of Eurovision is that it is very followed, very much in demand, also noted Alexandra Redde-Amiel, the director of entertainment at France Télévisions and head of the France delegation, a few competition hours. All the international televisions want to interview him. He is an icon at Eurovision. »
The pressure was all the stronger since France had not won since 1977. But the young singer remained “very focused and in a very good state of mind”, according to Alexandra Redde-Amiel.
“I want to be happy with my performance. I want it to be vocally impeccable, that there is no fault, that we manage to understand the essence of the song… If I manage to do that, I will have no regrets”, confided La Zarra to 20 Minutes shortly after arriving at Liverpool. Did she want to participate in Eurovision? “Obviously”, would have answered the interested party to the proposal of the head of the French delegation. Like the title of his song. Selection point, or even hesitation, La Zarra was obvious. “She is an artist that we follow at France Télévisions, explains Alexandra Redde-Amiel. I spotted her three years ago. It’s a profile that we don’t have on the French scene, and which is very Eurovision. The director of entertainment even admits having asked him to participate in the competition when the artist was only just starting out.
The first performance in public, Monday, May 8, gave a glimpse of a grandiose spectacle. La Zarra appeared three meters high, then singing its title written in just three days. The melody begins as an aria by Edith Piaf, then turns into a danceable hymn with pop, electro and disco accents. A serious then astonishing and fresh time, a bit like the eclectic artist. “La Zarra is both the great French singer with Barbara-like sounds. The timeless side that Europe adores, notes the head of the French delegation. And at the same time, she is very Lady Gaga, very “eurovisionnesque”. »
READ ALSOEurovision: who is La Zarra, who will represent France in the competition?
An artistic blur
The Zarra. “La” as we would say La Môme. Zarra in reference to her real name, Fatima-Zahra Hafdi. Just like Victor Hugo’s poem, Lazarus. No more no less. The French candidate seems to maintain the mystery around her identity. Even his name had been disclosed late. His age ? 35, or maybe 25. Even her mother doesn’t know, she said on Instagram. His family ? One brother, five sisters, and one daughter. His life before music? We breathe that she worked in a hair salon in Montreal. Pets? Apparently three Sphynx cats and a parrot. Other than that, we don’t know much. His costumes, breathtaking and eccentric, are all ways to hide behind his character, his performances, his voice. Who is really hiding behind La Zarra?
Behind the artist, a woman with her flaws. This vagueness is perhaps a way of protecting oneself, of preserving this life outside of the music precisely. Because the Quebec artist has faced a lot of criticism since the formalization of his candidacy for Eurovision. Her detractors have even called her a “diva” since last April. Due to a “personal problem”, the singer had indeed been forced to cancel two performances in Amsterdam and London. Important meetings for Eurofans, fervent admirers of the European competition. La Zarra had even confided, in the columns of the Parisian, having lost his voice “for six months”. In return, the singer had suffered numerous attacks, so much so that the French delegation had to intervene to denounce the “lynching” and the “fantasies” around its candidate.
Rumors and comments
“We must dispassionate the subject, remarks the head of the French delegation. The Eurovision makes a lot of talk, since it is not a French scene, but an international scene. The largest stage in the world for singing competitions. “An exception that has given rise to a community of fans, very active, who comment and exchange on the slightest actions of the candidates. “From a personal affair, we created something of media interest, continues Alexandra Redde-Amiel. The delegation is there to protect her from this extraordinary media coverage. To the point of keeping him away from social networks, which were useless to him at that time. »
“I take into consideration what people who like me say, it’s pretty concrete in general, she confided to 20 Minutes. They are relevant, they know what they are talking about. I feel protected by them no matter what. It gives me a lot of strength, I don’t feel alone when I’m on stage. But this year again, France will have failed to repeat the feat of 1977 with the coronation of Marie Myriam and her title “The Bird and the Child “. Disappointment ? ” Obviously. »
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