France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008
Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | ||||
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Country | France | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Internal selection | |||
Selection date(s) | 7 March 2008 | |||
Selected entrant | Sébastien Tellier | |||
Selected song | "Divine" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 19th, 47 points | |||
France in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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France participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Divine" written by Sébastien Tellier and Amandine de la Richardière. The song was performed by Sébastien Tellier. The French broadcaster France Télévisions in collaboration with the television channel France 3 internally selected the French contest entry for the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. "Divine" was officially announced by France 3 as the French entry on 7 March 2008 and later the song was presented to the public as the contest entry on 18 March 2008 during the M6 programme T'empêches tout le monde de dormir.
As a member of the "
Background
Prior to the 2008 Contest, France had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in
The French national broadcaster, France Télévisions, broadcasts the event within France and delegates the selection of the nation's entry to the television channel France 3. France 3 confirmed that France would participate in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest on 27 November 2007.[2] The French broadcaster had used both national finals and internal selection to choose the French entry in the past. The French entries from 2005 to 2007 were selected via a national final that featured several competing acts. In 2008, the broadcaster opted to internally select the French entry.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
France 3 announced in early 2008 that the French entry for the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest would be selected internally. The organisation of the internal selection was headed by the French Head of Delegation for the Eurovision Song Contest Bruno Berberes.[2][3] On 7 March 2008, France 3 announced that the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 would be "Divine" performed by Sébastien Tellier. The song was written by Sébastien Tellier and Amandine de la Richardière and had already been released as a single from Tellier's recent album Sexuality, which was released on 25 February 2008.[4] Among the other artists considered by France 3 before the broadcaster finalised their decision internally included Philippe Katerine.[5] "Divine" was edited and remixed at the request of the French broadcaster, and the entry was formally presented to the public on 18 March 2008 during the M6 programme T'empêches tout le monde de dormir, hosted by Marc-Olivier Fogiel.[6]
Controversy
The announcement of "Divine" as the French entry garnered controversy as it did not feature any French language lyrics. On 15 March 2008, member of
In response to the public criticism, Sébastien Tellier's producer Marc Teissier du Cros disagreed that "singing in French is the best way to make oneself understood by the whole world" as "half the Eurovision candidates [in the 2008 contest] are singing in English".[8] Tellier also responded in an interview with RTL Radio that attempts would be made to include more French lyrics, as well as revealing that he would have written a song entirely in French if he had been asked by France 3 to write a song specifically for Eurovision instead of selecting his contest entry from his album.[9] Eventually, the edited version of "Divine" included additional lyrics in French.
At Eurovision
It was announced in September 2007 that the competition's format would be expanded to two semi-finals in 2008. According to the rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
In France, the second semi-final was broadcast on
Final
Sébastien Tellier took part in technical rehearsals on 17 and 18 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 23 and 24 May. The running order for the semi-finals and final was decided by through another draw on 17 March 2008 and France was subsequently placed to perform in position 19, following the entry from Ukraine and before the entry from Azerbaijan.[11]
The French performance featured Sébastien Tellier on stage dressed in a suit with a black shirt and wearing black sunglasses, joined by five backing vocalists wearing sunglasses, wigs and fake facial hair which resembled Tellier: Abigael Debit, Falone Tayoung, Marie Djemali, Sheliyah Masry and Stanislas Debit.[12] The performance began with Tellier entering the stage driving a small golf buggy branded with the French Tricolour and carrying a helium filled inflatable globe that he later inhaled from, causing his voice to become higher-pitched. The stage colours were predominately green and orange and the LED screens displayed warm colours, which turned into a sea where the image of a black sun rose above.[13][14] France placed nineteenth in the final, scoring 47 points.[15]
Voting
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to France and awarded by France in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Portugal in the semi-final and to Armenia in the final of the contest.
Points awarded to France
Score | Country |
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12 points | |
10 points | |
8 points | |
7 points | |
6 points | Estonia |
5 points | Denmark |
4 points | |
3 points | |
2 points | |
1 point |
Points awarded by France
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References
- ^ "France Country Profile". EBU. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
- ^ a b Dufaut, Dominique (27 November 2008). "Bruno Berberes for sure !". Esctoday. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Viniker, Barry (20 January 2008). "France: Internal selection confirmed". Esctoday. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ Royston, Benny (7 March 2008). "France: Sébastien Tellier to Eurovision". Esctoday. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ Dufaut, Dominique (2008-04-07). "France: " Philippe Katerine was our first choice "". Esctoday. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ "VIDEO. Le Chabal de l'électro invité chez Fogiel". leparisien.fr (in French). 2008-03-17. Retrieved 2023-12-14.
- ^ MacInnes, Paul (17 April 2008). "French hand Tellier 'nul points' for Eurovision song in English". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ a b Royston, Benny (16 April 2008). "France: The inevitable French language debate". Esctoday. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "France 2008".
- ^ "Jean-Paul Gaultier to comment Eurovision final". esctoday.com. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-04-27.
- ^ Sietse Bakker (2008-03-17). "Belgrade 2008: The running order!". Eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 2008-03-18. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
- ^ "France". Six on Stage. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Sébastien Tellier's first rehearsal". eurovision.tv. 17 May 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "UK, Germany and France drive by". eurovision.tv. 18 May 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Grand Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
- ^ "Results of the Second Semi-Final of Belgrade 2008". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.