Who is Blanche, and how did City Lights come to be?

It is already well known that Blanche will represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. Little is known so far about who Blanche is or how her song, City Lights, was made. So let’s find out!

Before Eurovision

As previously reported, the 17 year old became known in Belgium, after competing in the fifth season of The Voice Belgium. She reached the second week of the live shows, before being eliminated by her coach, French duo Cats on Trees. She was announced by RTBF as the Belgian representative on the 22nd November 2016, and City Lights was released on 8th March 2017.
When asked about her previous experiences on The Voice Belgium, Blanche points out that her coach, Cats On Trees, were also responsible for several other acts. This made it difficult for them to create a complete artistic work together. Despite this, she says that the show greatly developed her self-confidence on stage. With Pierre Dumoulin, the writer of City Lights, Blanche sees it as more of a musical project in which the duo write and compose songs.
If you need reminding of the song, here is the official music video:

How was City Lights made?

City Lights came about after Pierre contacted Blanche after loving her voice during live performances on The Voice Belgium. They began working together and eventually had a final product, City Lights. They were pleased with the result and sent the song to record label PIAS Belgium. The record label were impressed, and sent the song to the Belgian broadcaster, RTBF. They decided that the song would be perfect for Belgium at Eurovision.
Whilst writing the song, Pierre envisaged a couple driving in a car under the lights of a big city, like in an American movie. He admits that it was quite cliché, so after spending some time with Blanche, they developed the metaphor for light which can be seen in the music video.
Blanche says that, originally, she felt as if the lyrics were just a way for her to sing the melody. Eventually Pierre and Blanche found that they agreed greatly on the melody. They would often think of the same words to use in the lyrics! The only major adaptation that they made for Eurovision was to reduce the song from its original length of 3 minutes 30 seconds to 3 minutes, to respect the 3 minutes rule.

About Eurovision

Blanche says that she has noticed many young people becoming fans of the contest.  She personally thinks that the show is “cool”. Although she does not feel a sense of nostalgia for the contest, and before now she had never thought of the contest as a potential career path. Blanche is very excited to participate at the contest, and for her song to be heard around the world.
Her first memory of the contest is of the Norwegian winner of the 2009 contest, Alexander Rybak. She still likes the song even now and sometimes rewatches the live performance. She loves how Alexander seems so crazy about his violin, as if he is in a trance with it!
Her favourite Belgian entry into the contest is “J’aime La Vie” by Sandra Kim. She says that although it is not the sort of song that she would listen to on her iPod, it is a great song. She points out that it is very respectable that it won the 1986 contest.
Blanche thinks that the timing of her participation is perfect. She can work solely on City Lights and her performance in Kyiv without distractions. After the contest, Blanche will continue work on her debut EP which was originally planned to be released in spring 2017.

Pierre’s thoughts on Blanche

Pierre believes that Blanche’s musical universe is being built as they write and compose together. He has his own precise and easily recognisable artistic touch, but the main idea is to reveal more about Blanche’s personality and artistic sensitivity. Blanche confirms that she feels that this project is helping to develop her idea of who she wants to be. She believes that she is evolving as she gets more involved with the media. The future looks bright for Blanche, and we at escXtra are very excited to see how she develops!
Blanche says that she could talk about her song for hours (although preferably in her preferred language, French)! She looks forward to performing her song, and hopes that the public will like it.
 
Belgium will perform in the first half of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
What do you think of Blanche? Are you excited to see how her career after Eurovision pans out? Do you think City Lights will do well in Kyiv? Please, leave us a comment below and let us know!