Eurovision 2020 | France releases 'The best in me' by Tom Leeb

Although the song has leaked this afternoon due to the time difference in streaming services in some countries, France has officially presented its song for Eurovision 2020 from the Eiffel Tower in Paris this evening. Tom Leeb will sing the song "The Best in Me" in Rotterdam, a ballad composed by John Lundvik (Sweden 2019), Amir (France 2016), Thomas G: Son, Peter Boström and Léa Ivanne.

The French singer, who usually combines the blues-rock style with pop and is accompanied by an acoustic guitar, will sing at Eurovision a style very different from what we are used to: A ballad. This is because, as reported by the head of the French delegation, the song was chosen first by a committee that included professionals from the music industry and France Télévision members.

“We receive more than one hundred songs. We made many listening committees and then fell in love with one that brought together what we wanted. In this case, the specifications focused on three points: universality, emotion and the ability of the piece to make the audience to live an experience", explained Alexandra Redde-Amiel, new head of the French delegation in Eurovision.

"After choosing the song, we analyzed several artists. Among them, there was one that adapted to what we needed to give the song its full breadth: Tom Leeb is modern, universal, charismatic, authentic and handsome. […] The mix between the song and the artist was magical. The planets have aligned. We are quite sure of this adventure in Rotterdam. We arrived with a project, an artist, a modern and universal song, and more determined than ever to approach the podium", Redde-Amiel added.

Xavier Bonnetain, the music director of FranceTV Distribution, was also confident about the possibilities of France in Eurovision 2020 and said about the song: “When we have a listening committee, we review about thirty songs. It quickly becomes indigestible. [...] When we listened to it, in the midst of everyone else, we had forgotten all the previous ones and the five subsequent songs. It is a sign. We think that on the day of the Eurovision final, this song could make people forget the rest of the songs".

Tom Leeb was announced as the French singer for Rotterdam 2020 in January after deciding to ditch their selection process Destination Eurovision, used for Lisbon 2018 and Tel Aviv 2019 and which winners, Madame Monsieur and Bilal Hassani, coming in 13th and 16th respectively.

You can watch the Eurovoxx team reacting to France choosing Tom Leeb in the video below: