Does France’s candidate have a chance of winning Eurovision?

2023-04-27 18:04:00

ZARRA EUROVISION. For this 2023 edition of the European Eurovision song contest, it is the Canadian-Moroccan singer La Zarra who represents France, in Liverpool, on May 13.

Summary

[Mis à jour le 27 avril 2023 à 18h04] Last week, La Zarra drew criticism from many commentators after canceling his concert during the Eurovision in Concert evening, a preview of the Eurovision final bringing together fans and candidates from different countries. Not enough, obviously, to scare the bookmakers, who, like every year before the competition, deliver their predictions.

For the first time since the announcement of her candidacy, La Zarra climbs into the top 5 of these savvy bettors: the candidate from France is, with her song Obviouslyin fourth place in their predictions, with however only a 5% chance of winning according to them.

But does La Zarra really have a chance of winning Eurovision? It is not too risky to predict a better place for France than last year, an edition won by the Ukrainians of Kalush Orchestra and at the end of which the French of Alvan & Ahez had finished in second to last place. of the rank. However, despite the nod to Barbara Pravi, it’s a safe bet that La Zarra will not repeat the feat of 2021, France having, in recent years, only succeeded too little in climbing to the Top 3 of Eurovision.

As a reminder, in addition to Barbara Pravi, second in 2021, the last Top 10 at Eurovision dates back to 2016 with Amir’s sixth place, best ranking since… 2002. So this year, France Télévisions is betting on Obviously, a song between traditional French variety and electro. We will have to wait to discover what La Zarra offers on stage to really estimate France’s chances at Eurovision 2023. Especially since this artist has a habit of taking care of her looks at each of her appearances.

La Zarra wants to reassure his fans in a video

“Hello France, hello Europe”, begins La Zarra in a short video, posted on social networks to “reassure” on April 26, less than three weeks before the grand final of Eurovision and after having canceled the one of his last appointments before the event, a concert bringing together fans and candidates from the different countries represented. A few weeks before the competition, which will be held on May 13 in Liverpool, such a cancellation had sparked many comments, some accusing the Canadian-Moroccan artist of being a diva.

“I am a few days away from leaving for Liverpool and I absolutely wanted to send you this message of thanks”, explains La Zarra, facing the camera, in his video posted this Wednesday on social networks. “I am more determined than ever to wear the colors of France with pride and love”, assures the singer, thanking her fans for the messages of support received after her abrupt cancellation. And to address his detractors: “So even if we can’t always be unanimous, so many of you have simply told me that you believe in me and in my song. And that’s all I need. I need.”

“We are ready, we are more than ready. We are going to make the Liverpool stage sparkle. We have prepared a dazzling, dangerous and so chic à la française”, concludes La Zarra, who therefore gives an appointment to his fans on May 13th.

Why did La Zarra cancel a concert before Eurovision?

Singer La Zarra was forced to cancel her visit to the “Eurovision in Concert” evening on Saturday April 13 in Amsterdam. This evening brought together, each year, thousands of fans of the ceremony, who came to listen to the candidates from different countries. The absence of France had therefore been noticed. If the Eurovision France Twitter account then advanced “a personal problem”, the tricolor representative in the European singing competition spoke of going through “difficult times”.

In a long message posted on Twitter, La Zarra wrote: “I would have liked so much to be with you all, but sometimes life decides otherwise. So I will need a few days to manage these difficult moments. These moments of intimacy are going to be important to me. Thank you for your kindness.” But what really happened in Amsterdam that caused La Zarra to cancel his performance at the last minute? Le Parisien reported a “personal problem”, a “family event”, without further details.

With less than a month to the grand final of Eurovision, such a last minute cancellation has caused great concern. La Zarra, however, always gives an appointment in Liverpool, on May 13, 2023, for the big day. “See you in Liverpool. I love you,” she concluded her message.

Who is La Zarra, French candidate for Eurovision?

Fatima Zahra Hafdi, known as La Zarra, was born on August 25, 1997 in Montreal, Canada. In the columns of Le Parisien, she confides that she comes from a family of seven children, including six girls, born in Quebec to parents who emigrated from the Maghreb. But refuses to give his age. In 2016, she collaborated with Niro on the song white spring. But before breaking into music, La Zarra worked as a hairdresser. She then moved to Paris.

It is in 2021 that the notoriety of La Zarra explodes with the song you will go away, which plays in a loop on the radio as well as on television. Nominated in the Francophone Revelation category at the NRJ Music Awards 2021, she released her first album, Treacheryin 2022. The following year, she was appointed by France Télévisions as the French representative for Eurovision 2023, which will be held on May 13 in Liverpool, England.

Zarra and song Obviously

On Sunday February 19, a few weeks after being announced as a French representative at Eurovision, La Zarra unveils the song with which she will defend France in Liverpool on May 13, 2023: Obviously. A title written by La Zarra with the Canadian Benny Adam and produced by the electro duo Banx & Ranx. “The song Obviously arrived while I was doing a seminar in the South of France for my second album, which will be released after Eurovision and will be followed by a tour. I hummed it and it stayed. We wrote it in three nights, because we don’t sleep. It was very easy to do, in a good mood, very passionate, even if the note where I sing the great France was hard for me”, explains the artist to Parisian.