Welcome to The Xtra Files, our series which will give you an insight into what the team at ESCXTRA think of your favourite entries into this year’s contest! Today, we review France.
Now that all the songs have been released, we are able to review each and every one of them. Our honest and brutal reviews will keep you entertained until the rehearsals start on 30 April! We will also each give a score out of 10 for every entry, and create an ESCXTRA leaderboard of the entries!
Today we have reviews of the French entry, ‘Mercy’ by Madame Monsieur, from Hlynur, Luke, Miki, Ryan, Sami and Vincent. Let’s get started!
The Reviews
Hlynur
Its rather easy to listen to the song, and they perform it extremely well. This is a strong contender at Eurovision this year, don’t think it will win though. One thing that I dislike is how often “Mercy” is repeated. I already got bored of it before the last part of the song…. mercy, mercy, mercy, mercy.
Luke
This is one of the songs I’ve been listening to on repeat since it won; it’s just magical. I can already imagine the staging for this being breathtaking and I just cannot wait, although being dressed in all black might result in them looking like two floating heads on the LED-less stage in Lisbon. Oui oui, la France, trés bien! Also I’m not sure, but I’m guessing he’s the madame and she’s the monsieur. I could be wrong.
Miki
My winner of 2018, the meaningful and minimalistic “Mercy”. The whole package just feels so effortless and meaningful that it makes it hard for me to give my top marks to any other song this year. The backstory of “Mercy” is also very touching and captivating to me. Exploring social issues and giving a little glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow. Go France, Go Madame Monsieur.
Ryan
“Mercy” is one of the most modern, chart-friendly songs in this year’s contest and it manages to be that as well as be extremely important in its message and story. The fact that this song is written based on a real-life event adds to the impact of it and the “flash mob” hand movement during the final chorus of the live performance and also in the music video has the potential to be a massive moment in Lisbon.
Sami
First of all, Destination Eurovision was amazing this year and it had many great songs. But the winning song isn’t really my cup of tea. While I appreciate the message of the song, I just dislike something in this. Especially the last 30 seconds are very annoying. And as I don’t speak French, the message isn’t really coming through without looking up for a translation and that will probably happen to many people on the final night. I’m not sure if France will do as well as they did in the past two years
Vincent
I did not expect that. I did not even vote for that. But I’m still glad Madame Monsieur won Destination Eurovision. Émilie sings perfectly and she has this elegance to her, which seems very French to many fans. However, I don’t think this is going to do very well, and I don’t think many people will like it on the first listen. Everyone seems to think the opposite, but I’m having my doubts. That being said, it is a wonderful song, with wonderful lyrics, and a wonderful story. But not a competitive act as far as Eurovision is concerned, in my opinion.
Scores
| Dominik | 7 | Nick | 7 | Tim | 6 |
| Hlynur | 6 | Riccardo | 9 | Tom | 10 |
| Lisa | 8 | Rigmo | 10 | Vincent | 8 |
| Luke | 9 | Rodrigo | 9.5 | Wiv | 8 |
| Matt | 7.5 | Ryan | 8.5 | Yassia | 5.5 |
| Miki | 10 | Sami | 2 | ||
| Nathan | 7.5 | Simon | 4 |
Therefore, the average score for France is 7.50.
Leaderboard
France reaches 3rd place with a score of 7.50.
- Finland – 7.66
- Bulgaria – 7.63
- France – 7.50
- Germany – 6.95
- Ukraine – 6.92
- Australia – 6.76
- Lithuania – 6.50
- Latvia – 5.61
- Albania – 5.50
- Belarus – 4.97
- Moldova – 4.92
- Montenegro – 4.71
- Armenia – 4.29
- Georgia – 4.18
- Iceland – 4.18
- San Marino – 4.03
Tomorrow, it will be the turn of Serbia to be reviewed.
Do you agree with our reviews of France? What are your thoughts on Mercy?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA!
