"Mon alliée (The Best in Me)" (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃n‿alje], transl. My Ally), previously titled "The Best in Me" is a song by French singer Tom Leeb. It was chosen to represent France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, before the contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The original song was released as a digital download on 16 February 2020 while the revamped song was released on 3 April 2020.[1][2]
| "Mon alliée (The Best in Me)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Tom Leeb | ||||
| from the album Recollection (Extended Version) | ||||
| Released | 16 February 2020 (original) 3 April 2020 (revamped) | |||
| Length | 3:00 | |||
| Label | Roy Music | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Tom Leeb singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2020 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) |
| |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | Contest cancelled | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Roi" (2019) | ||||
| "Voilà" (2021) ► | ||||
Background
editThe song was written by John Lundvik, Amir Haddad, Tom Leeb and Léa Ivanne. The song is a multi-lingual French-English power ballad and, as with France's previous internal selections in 2016 and 2017, the verses are in French and the chorus is in English. After receiving more than one hundred songs written, the TV network convened several listening committees to pick the best entry. Everyone agreed on the chosen song, with some describing it as love at first listen. Three of the main selection criteria were universality, emotion and capacity of the song to make the audience "live an experience". The listening committee included professionals from the music industry and France Télévision members. The delegation previously testified how magical the moment was when the artist and song first came together.[3]
The song was debuted live at an event at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on 16 February 2020.
Eurovision Song Contest
editThe song would have represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, after Tom Leeb was internally selected by the national broadcaster France 2. As France is a member of the "Big Five", the song automatically advanced to the final, which would have been held on 16 May 2020 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The choice of a song primarily in English (with an English title) to represent France at Eurovision generated controversy, with the Minister for Culture, Franck Riester, responding to a question in the National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee: "It's true that the chorus is in English, it broke my ears a little this morning on the radio ... I conveyed the message of my astonishment at a song whose chorus is written in English. Everyone must set an example to ensure that France is carried with pride everywhere, all the time."[4] This echoed similar public criticism received on Sébastien Tellier's song 'Divine', which was selected to represent France in the 2008 contest.
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | 16 February 2020 | Digital download, streaming | Roy Music | [1] |
| 3 April 2020 | [2] |
Charts
edit| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[5] | —[A] |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[6] | 27 |
Notes
edit- ^ The song did not enter the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but appeared on the Flanders Ultratip Bubbling Under 50 chart.
References
edit- ^ a b "The Best in Me - Single by Tom Leeb on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ a b "Mon alliée (The Best in Me) by Tom Leeb on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ "France: Tom Leeb will sing "The Best in Me" at Eurovision 2020". wiwibloggs. 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
- ^ "'It broke my ears' - French culture minister's verdict on country's Eurovision song". The Local.fr. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
- ^ "Tom Leeb – The Best in Me" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
- ^ "Tom Leeb – The Best in Me" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 11 November 2023.