Christophe Willem at Eurovision Song Contest 2010?

It's one of those rumours that has been doing the rounds on the Net over the past week, and just like any speculation, once it's out there it seems that it won't go away - even though it has been denied.

Christophe Willem, the winner of the fourth edition of Nouvelle Star (the French version of Pop Idol) back in 2006, will represent France at this year's Eurovision Song Contest in May.

"Not so," said those responsible at France Television which will broadcast the show here live when contacted shortly after the "news" broke.

"Several websites have been saying this for several hours to create a buzz but the problem is it's completely untrue."

Right, that's clear then. One of those categorical denials that cannot be disputed.

Except some might remember what happened last year when similar rumours circulated that Patricia Kaas would be singing her heart out for this country in Moscow, the host of the 2009 contest.

Both Kaas and her management started out by trying to scotch them, only to end up announcing officially that she would indeed be singing France's entry.

And there she was in Russia

For those of you out there who have no idea what the Eurovision Song Contest is, it's an annual "musical" jamboree (very heavy on the inverted commas) which many music aficionados dread but the viewing public seems to love.

From humble beginnings in 1956 when just seven countries entered, it has under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) become something of an institution with millions tuning in to watch the very best and worst of what Europe has to offer - musically speaking.

In fact it has become so big that semi-finals take place to determine which countries will be allowed to take part.

Only the so-called Big Four - France, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany - qualify automatically for the final as they're the biggest financial contributors to the EBU and without them the production costs would be prohibitive.

This year it'll be coming from Oslo as Norway won the competition last time around and with it the honours to play host.

Alexander Rybak - Fairytale HD
par Uncensored-production

Since last winning the contest way back in 1977 when Marie Myriam sung the unforgettable "L'oiseau Et L'enfant", France has had a pretty dismal record, and not even the presence of a "big gun" such as Kaas in Moscow last year could woo enough support. She eventually finished eighth.

Anyway, back to the "yes he will, no he won't" rumour that Willem has been chosen to represent France.

The 26-year-old is arguably one of the most successful winners of a television talent show here in France, has had a clutch of hit singles and has released two albums.

There's a Facebook group (isn't there always in such cases?) that has been set up to gather support for him to represent France in Oslo, and when interviewed on whether the rumours were true or false he said the idea had been run past him and he had been in touch with some writers who could perhaps make the idea a reality.

"They're working on other projects at the moment," he said.

"So apparently it won't be me even though I too have read everywhere that it has been confirmed, but that's not the case," he added.

As to what he thought about the idea of singing at the Eurovision Song Contest, Willem admitted that it did have an appeal and he was in no way opposed to it.

"It's certainly a bit old fashioned in its concept" he said.

"But at the same time I find it quite interesting as we are constantly talking about Europe, and this is a concrete way of seeing what Europe is all about," he continued.

"It's a way of sharing music with each other and it could be a cool idea."



So there you have it. The Net helping add life to a rumour that has been denied but by the same token appears to have taken on a life of its own.