France TV (DR) / Canal+ (DR)
By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist
As he prepares to represent the colors of France this Saturday evening at Eurovision, Slimane is experiencing the consecration of a stunning first part of his career, during which he was able to reach the heights. A success that he owes in part to a certain Didier Barbelivien, crucial in his career, and who now has a clear opinion on the young artist…
Representing France at Eurovision is an unforgettable honor, obviously, and it is even more so when the chance of victory is real. 47 years after the last tricolor triumph with “The Bird and the Child” by Marie Myriam, Slimane hopes to place his country at the front of the map once again with “Mon amour”, a musical UFO already praised by critics.
In any case, and independently of the result, having been selected testifies to the success of Vitaa’s sidekick, now established among the current big names in French song. And if he enjoys it now, the singer has not forgotten that in 2015, at the age of 26, it was Didier Barbelivien who put him on track.
Didier Barbelivien immediately under the spell of Slimane
Indeed, at the time, Barbelivien was looking for a broken and gravelly voice for his musical comedy about Marie-Antoinette. And during Slimane’s test, the magic happens like in a film. The 70-year-old artist says:
He must have been singing for 40 seconds before I stopped him. And he doesn’t understand, I have the microphone and I say “It’s okay”. And he (Slimane, editor’s note) said to himself: “That’s it, I’m fired”.
Read also
Slimane at Eurovision, François Valéry mercilessly: “He won’t win, because…”
In fact, quite the contrary, Barbelivien has already chosen. The exceptional author, composer and performer didn’t even need a minute to know that he had found his rare gem:
What I hear is his voice. And one of his great qualities is adaptation and understanding situations straight away.
A first decisive role in the career of the young man, who then moved on to “The Voice”, and who then charted his course. And if some might believe that everything fell “ready” onto Slimane’s plate, the latter would like to point out that the path has been winding. He explained in the program “Urban Legends”:
Maybe from the outside it seemed like the doors were seriously opening for me. This was not the case at all. I struggled to be on the radio. I fought to be considered in the media. Firstly because I had done The Voice. Then, because we couldn’t really put a label on me.
Slimane is one of the very rare singers to reach the summits, and we must first congratulate him himself for his work and perseverance. However, it is impossible to forget Didier Barbelivien who, as a great talent scout, was the first to trust him and give him an opportunity to shine. A find of which the septuagenarian is very proud!
