Anggun to represent France at 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

There has been no messing around by France in deciding who'll represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012, that annual jamboree that brings together the very cheesiest of what Europe has to offer "musically" speaking.

France 3 television, which chooses the act every year - none of that ineffectual allowing the public to decide - has plumped for Indonesian-born singer Anggun.

Anggun (screenshot from television interview with LCI

The 37-year-old will carry the hopes of her adopted homeland when she takes to the stage in the final to be held on May 26 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, that country well-known to be at the heart of Europe.

Get hold of a map to see just how far east of most of the rest of the continent it really is.

Azerbaijan won the right to stage next year's contest when it beat all the other entries at Eurovision 2011 with the never-to-be-remembered "Running Scared" by duo Eldar & Nigar (Eldar Gasimov and Nigar Jamal).

Anyway, back to Anggun, who's clearly as pleased as punch that she has been chosen.

"It's a wonderful present for someone like me who only became a naturalised French citizen in 2000," she told the national daily Aujourd'hui en France - Le Parisien.

"Without doubt I symbolise a modern-day France; a country that is a mix of races and cultures," she continued.

"When I was growing up the contest was always considered a bit tacky and rather old fashioned, but it's a great show and very important for many countries," she added.

"Secretly we all want to win. I'm going to shine for France."

Ho hum. Famous last words.

Choosing Anggun might well be considered strategically clever as she has had sizeable international success apparently.

You might not have heard of her, but plenty have according to her official website.

But the same sort of reasoning was behind the choice of Patricia Kaas when she sang the French entry in Moscow in 2009. Kaas only managed eighth place.

And then there was the fiasco that was such a "shitty finish" for last year's representative Amaury Vassili who for some inexplicable reason went into the competition as the bookmakers' favourite.

His dire "Sognu" could only manage a lowly 15th spot with a mighty 82 points.

Anggun, représentera "la France métissée d’aujourd’hui" à l’Eurovision

Anggun told LCI television that she knew the responsibility that lay on her shoulders was a "heavy one" especially as the last time France won the contest was back in 1977 when Marie Myriam sang "L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant".

And of the song she'll be singing?

"It hasn't been chosen yet," she told LCI television.

"It'll be one that has never released."

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.

Will it be "France nul points" at Eurovision?

All right, so it might only be February but that hasn't stopped all Eurovision Song Contest eyes and ears from pointing towards the warblings promised in May in Moscow.

And France has already chosen its representative - and the song.

Patricia Kaas will be singing "Et s'il fallait le faire", a track lifted from her latest album "Kabaret" when she takes to the stage of the Olympiyski Indoor Arena in Moscow on May 16, and hopes are high - in France at least - that she will prove to be this country's not-so-secret weapon for victory.

YouTube Video

The United Kingdom might have had the temerity to choose a song penned specifically for the annual Jamboree by the internationally renowned composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber and American Grammy Award-winning lyricist Diane Warren to fly the flag in Moscow in the shape of Jade Ewen (who?) singing "It's My Time".

But France has gone one better - perhaps - in terms of cheek.

You see Kaas, who counts among her hits songs such as "Mademoiselle chante le blues" and "Mon mec à moi" has been a star since the late 1980s not just in France, but throughout Europe and most importantly - as far as the French are concerned for this year's contest - also in Eastern Europe and Russia.

And that could prove vital in a contest which has become as well-known for its apparently "politically-influenced" bloc voting over the years as much as it has for the musical "merit" of (some might say) rather cheesy songs.

A brief resumé for those of you (un)lucky enough not to know what the Eurovision Song Contest is all about.

It all started innocently enough way back in the 1950s - 1956 to be precise - in Switzerland, when just seven countries entered.

But since then, under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which came up with the idea of an international song contest in the first place, it has....well mushroomed would be putting it mildly.

So much so that when Dima Bilan won last year with "Believe" he had to face competition from songs representing 37 other countries in the semi-finals before making it through to the final.

YouTube Video

That has been the pattern ever since 2004 as the number of countries clamouring to compete has grown, and the EBU has been forced to split the contest into semi-final and final stages.

Only the so-called "Big Four" - Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and France - gain automatic qualification to the final round - no matter how poorly they might have done in the previous year's competition, because they're the biggest financial contributors to the EBU and without them the production costs to mount to contest would be prohibitive.

The country with the winning song (the voting procedure is cumbersome and protracted) then goes on to host the following year's contest.

Hence when Bilan chirped his way to victory in Belgrade last year, Russia was assured of organising this year's Songfest.

Still following?

Anyway enough of the history - there's plenty of other info out there (including more, much more on the all-important process of voting) in the Blogosphere if you're really that interested. Just follow the links.

When the curtain goes up on May 16 on an event reportedly watched by an estimated audience of 100 million people (where do they get these figures you might ask) it'll be Kaas out there representing this country.

The hopes are that after last year's poor performance for France by Sébastien Tellier, whose song "Divine" caused a storm-in-a-teacup row here because it was sung mainly in (horror upon horrors) English and notched up just 47 points to finish 19th (out of 25), Kaas will be able to fly the tricolour all the way to the top in Moscow.

Although France has never had the ignominy (or honour) of racking up the now infamous "nul points" at Eurovision, who knows, with Kaas, the country could join an illustrious list of past underachievers.

Take a listen and judge for yourself.

Roll on May! (?)