From our special correspondent in Malmö (Sweden)
“I want the magical moment. In my career, I have had appointments that changed my life and I know that this Eurovision can be one of them. I don’t want to miss it. » Slimane delivered to 20 minutes his immediate impressions, a few hours after his second rehearsal on the competition stage at the Malmö Arena, this Saturday.
“I am so connected with the camera, with the song, that it creates a bubble. Suddenly, time stops and I tell this story which moves me. I find there a kind of truth of the moment. It’s as if the rest didn’t exist,” he confides about his interpretation of My love which he presents as the lament of “a broken heart”.
” It is demanding “
If the rehearsal was held behind closed doors, a short preview of his performance, as is customary at Eurovision, was broadcast on social networks. We see the a cappella passage of the song where the artist, dressed all in white, in a cloud of smoke, steps back behind the microphone to project his voice.
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“We cut the extract before the end to leave the surprise. We wanted to keep the wow effect,” Alexandra Redde-Amiel, the head of the French delegation, told us. She says she is “impressed” by Slimane, whom she has the feeling of seeing “deploy” from rehearsal to rehearsal. “It’s very pleasant to work with him. He is demanding, he seeks for the smallest detail to be perfect,” she continues.
Now that we have had an overview of the performances of the thirty-six competing countries, she believes that the French table “is almost a counter-proposal”, because it relies on a sequence shot and close-ups – where the large The majority seems to favor wide shots.
“By allowing himself to be filmed in close-up, Slimane exposes himself,” underlines the head of the delegation. He doesn’t know how he’s going to manage his emotion during the live broadcast, which will show through…”
“We feel an aura around him”
Alexandra Redde-Amiel notes “a craze” around the singer. “There are a lot of people, from all countries, who stop to ask him for photos or congratulate him. We feel an aura around him, something very special,” she assures.
At the end of his rehearsal, Slimane drew lots for half of the finale during which he will sing the passage. He will move into the second part, between 14th and 26th place – production will make its decision during the night from Thursday to Friday. If we refer to the statistics, it is an advantage to hope for a very good result. “It gives us good vibes,” rejoices the head of delegation.
“Before I dipped my hand, I thought I was going to draw lots to see what was going to be best for me. To be frank, I tell myself that what should happen to me, what should be good for me, will happen. So I take everything as positive signs which make me believe that we have something to play for,” smiles the artist who does not necessarily say he is superstitious.
“We are experiencing something very good”
If his place for the final on May 11 is assured, Slimane will still perform, like his Spanish and Italian counterparts who are also automatically qualified, during Thursday’s semi-final. The public will therefore discover everything he has prepared (from 9 p.m. on Culturebox, TNT channel 14). “We know that it’s going to be a very important moment, so he remains very focused,” says Alexandra Redde-Amiel.
“I don’t know where it will end but we are experiencing something very good with the delegation, with the people with whom I have chosen to work,” Slimane tells us. Whatever happens, we experience something beautiful. »
