portrait of Slimane, the singer who will symbolize France within the European track contest with “Mon Amour” | EUROtoday
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TOut in white, a person walks on stage. Surrounded by white smoke, it contrasts with the darkness of the room. Then stare on the digital camera, observe it. As if he was making an attempt to deal with a particular individual. This is the setting wherein Slimane, France's consultant at Eurovision, will ship his efficiency of “Mon amour” this Saturday, May 11 in Malmö, Sweden. A chiaroscuro efficiency of which some extracts had been broadcast on social networks.
A letter from one damaged coronary heart to a different, additionally nostalgic for a relationship that ended too quickly, “Mon amour” ticks all of the Eurovision bins. Sometimes comfortable, typically dramatic, flirting with bass and treble, the composition requires a robust stage and vocal presence.
“Time stops and I tell this story which moves me. I find a kind of truth of the moment there,” he confides, within the columns of 20 minutes. Will his raspy voice and intense gaze be sufficient to win over the 160 million European viewers anticipated for the ultimate? Ranked 7e by the bookmakers, the candidate of the French delegation has motive to hope for his victory, forty-seven years after the coronation of Marie Myriam with The Bird and the Child.
Little prodigy of French track
A couple of days earlier than the efficiency, some may see his participation within the greatest European track contest as a logical continuation. The crowning achievement of his seven-year profession after his victory at The Voice, of a ready-made route. It isn’t so. The journey of the little prodigy of French track is way from linear.
The eldest of a household of 4, Slimane Nebchi was born in 1989 and grew up in Chelles (Seine-et-Marne). On the airwaves, “God gave me faith” by Ophélie Winter, “Foule sentimentale” by Alain Souchon and “La Tribu de Dana” by Manau will delight the youngsters of his era. He moderately cites Charles Aznavour or Jacques Brel amongst his nice inspirations. The artist will subsequently show that the Nineteen Nineties and 2000s should not incompatible with these monuments of the French selection.
“I want people to hear me, to listen to me,” he emphasizes in a number of interviews. It was as an adolescent that Slimane found his voice, in a gospel choir. His ardour for music, he says, “saved” him, although, as a child, he suffered the taunts of his comrades about his weight, his sensitivity and his already unwavering want to sing, as he confides within the 'emission A Sunday within the countryside. With the baccalaureate in his pocket, he too will strive his luck within the capital. Perhaps he already noticed himself on the high of the poster?
Through onerous work then “At the flower of you”
Paris, 7, rue Pierre-Fontaine. It is late sufficient for the night time to hold away Pigalle and its passers-by. Below a constructing there are some discussions, laughter and clinking glasses – the same old hubbub of a bar the place the lights glow. At the piano, in entrance of an unfriendly viewers, Slimane. The younger singer performs some covers and compositions there.
It was in bars within the capital that the artist realized his classes within the twilight of the 2000s. “Singing in front of people who are not there to listen to you is the best school. That's where I learned everything, he tells Parisian. I had the chance to meet bosses who gave me a chance […], they reached out to me. » An experience which allowed him to develop himself as an artist “even if that word makes a fuss”.
READ ALSO “The Voice”: what if it was the most effective French telecrochet? From bar to bar, from faculty to highschool, the singer additionally skims the telecrochet units, like Pop star, New star or X-Factor. “The only way to meet people”, being the one one in his household to strive his luck within the music enterprise. Without success. “Not at [sa] place”, not but prepared. Slimane subsequently continues to carry out on small phases. And then comes The Voice in 2016.
Big favourite of the season, Slimane wins the tv competitors in Florent Pagny's group. And made an impression from the blind auditions, when he delivered, with a hat screwed on his head, his acoustic cowl of “À fleur de toi”, Vitaa's flagship track from the 2000s. After his victory, the inventive collaborations with the latter multiplied for greater than three years and met with nice success – their singles turned gold information and diamond information, their album Versus bought practically 1,000,000 copies, even beating, upon its launch, the album Lover by Taylor Swift.
Everything comes collectively in a short time: the albums, the live shows and the successes. Solo, his first album Out of goals (2016) gained first place in gross sales upon its launch and went double platinum. Then over time, Slimane additionally stands out for his poetic and dedicated lyrics akin to “Les Roses du bois de Boulogne”, devoted to intercourse employees, or “Viens on s'aime”, a name for tolerance and to like freely.
So many exceptional texts, which contact the general public in addition to the critics. And enable Slimane to reap the rewards: Victoires de la musique in 2020 then NRJ Music Awards for finest male artist in 2023. And why not Eurovision in 2024?
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