ESC Etc.

We have the first song of ESC 2024!

Country: France
Artist: Slimane
Title: Mon amour
Songwriter(s): Meïr Salah, Slimane Nebchi, Yaacov Salah
Tempo: 142 BPM Mode: Minor Key: B Duration: 3:01

France went and dropped their 2024 artist and track pretty much on the same day, much earlier than anyone could have anticipated (this is the earliest a country has released their entry in I don’t even remember how long). Slimane is probably France’s most high profile ESC act since Amir in 2016, all 4 of his albums having charted at #1 domestically (as well as in the Belgian Wallonian charts). He’s been the #1 trending topic on French social media all day as of this post (with #Eurovision trailing just behind) so there is real excitement about his participation back at home. Justifiably so – this is a powerful entry and a great benchmark to set for all the countries that will follow. The track is in the style of a piano ballad, with a sparse production giving way to Slimane’s vocals. Lyrically, Slimane is singing about the end of a relationship, asking his significant other not to give up on their love:

“Do you love me or not? […]
Tell me the place, I’ll wait for you
And if you don’t come, I’ll wait for you
I know it’s silly, but that’s what I’ll do
Filled with hope, I’ll wait for you”

The last minute of the track swells up into a crescendo where the arrangement welcomes additional instrumentation and the back end of the chorus repeats twice in the outro. There is a solid melodic stamp on the track, with the chorus in particular offering a subtle but effective hook with the repetition of “do you love me or not?” but the star here is Slimane’s voice and his powerful rendition of those lyrics – it would not be or feel nearly as special with a less distinctive or passionate vocal behind it. The climax in particular hinges entirely on Slimane’s searing interpretation and technical ability/choices (modulating full voice alongside falsetto to punctuate specific emotions and phrasing as well as making full use of the mike’s reverb effect). I tend to a be sucker for songs about a love that just cannot be, and this very comfortably checks that box for me. This might realistically be one of the very best ballads we get in the whole contest.

Jury Potential: Killer. Top 5. Done.
Televote Potential: Depending on staging (I see this getting the Voilà treatment) and running order, this has a real chance at a Top 10 placement, with deuze points potential in a few countries that generally produce and consume this sort of musical style and genre (Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Spain, Belgium). We are 7 months out from the contest, though, so it remains to be seen whether this will still feel as fresh and impactful in May.