Overnight marked the debut performance of Tom Leeb’s ‘The Best in Me’, France’s entry for the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam.
Having opted this year to dispense with the popular national final Déstination Eurovision (used in 2018 and 2019 to select the song and singer to carry French hopes at Eurovision), a France 2 live broadcast of Tom atop the first stage of a glittering gold Eiffel Tower was originally slated to be the big reveal for the much-anticipated entry for Rotterdam.
However, following the song’s release at midnight on Apple Music and its availability on other digital streaming services, many fans had already listened to - and both made and voiced their opinions on - it before eyes turned to the structure so synonymous with la belle France.
'The Best in Me’ has a distinct Eurovision pedigree: John Lundvik (Too Late For Love & Bigger Than Us: 2019), Peter Boström (Euphoria: 2012) and Thomas G:son (amongst others, Euphoria & Quédate Conmigo) are its co-composers and lyricists, with added lyrical input from Amir (J’ai Cherché: 2016).
According to new French Head of Delegation Alexandra Redde-Amiel, the song was selected from some one hundred entries, with the team immediately knowing on listening to it that this song had to be the one selected. Then began the task of matching the artist to the song, a process which saw Tom Leeb approached and subsequently agree to represent his nation and which Redde-Amiel variously compares to putting the cherry on top of the musical cake and the song finding its Prince Charming.
The second comparison fits the song well, as this French-English ballad (with some verses in the former language and the chorus and other sections in the latter) could be the hero’s final number in the soundtrack to a Disney movie. The echoing refrain “You are”, the rousing midway crescendo, the de rigueur key change and the warm timbre of Tom’s voice meld together seamlessly, delivering a well-crafted and distinctly “Scandi-sounding” track.
Combined with impressive lighting and simple but memorable staging, this could dazzle at the Ahoy Arena and, more importantly, on the TV screens of many millions of viewers across Europe and beyond.
You can listen to ‘The Best of Me’ via Apple Music or Spotify.
The France 2 Eiffel Tower performance can be watched via the Eurovision France facebook page.