The French act and song was revealed on November 8th 2023 - first via posts on social media, then with the première of the song during the France 2 news bulletin show "20h". The first song selected for Malmö is "Mon Amour" (My Love) sung by Slimane.
Slimane Nebchi is no newcomer to singing competitions: Nouvelle Star in 2009, X Factor in 2011 and Encore Une Chance in 2012 and season 2 of Je Veux Signer Chez AZ. In 2016 he won The Voice: la plus belle voix as part of Team Lorent Pagny. His discography includes multiple single releases as a solo or featured artist and 4 albums - all of which reached the top 10 in France, Wallonia and Switzerland. Days after his announcement as the 2024 French representative, Slimane won the NRJ award for best French-speaking male artist.
The song is a slow growing ballad sung entirely in French. During the premiere performance, Slimane is alone on a small pedestal amidst a slightly larger space. He is wearing a black outfit with a mirrored vest over the top. This is used to good effect later in the song as it creates swirling and swooshing effect against the lights as the song builds. Slimane's vocal is almost faultless and there us a lot of emotion behind the voice. Verse one begins in a soft voice with piano backing and by the final chorus there is a full orchestra and real power and urgency behind Slimane's vocals. In a short amount of time we get to hear the whole gamut of Slimane's range and vocal dexterity. The ending is, however, slightly unexpected and a slight let down given the how well the song has built up. This said, during his New Year Eve performance in front of a huge crowd in Paris, the song's construction was slightly different - including a longer intro and ending on a more powerful note. One of the benefits of declaring early is one can 'test out' versions of the song before declaring the specific version on March.
The video production is simple but effective and has a less frenetic "Voila" energy about it. There was a good balance between Slimane looking directly down the camera and performing outwardly to the hall. The sweeping shots made the song intimate and I can imagine the shots sweeping 360° so that the audience is also in view. This measured and commanding show proves that a good song and performer is absolutely enough to make a mark - something of quality needs very little extra to shine. On the other hand, the production could be made more memorable visually with an more honed stage or light show. I hope the objective of the song is not lost in any visual revamp but it may need more direction, especially taking into account the vastness of the Malmö stage and the fact that this entry is a one-man show.
ARTIST - Slimane
SONG - Mon Amour
WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Slimane Nebchi, Meïr Salah, Yaacov Salah
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