From a modest memory on gentle piano agreements in the best tradition of the French chanson to a carefree party number. That is ‘C’est La Vie’, the French-English song that singer Claude (21) will bring in May to the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Switzerland. The singer recalls a memory in the text: how his mother leaned him as a little boy with the words “c’est la vie”.
Claude first sings how he still knows how the melody went. Tumultuously, it turns out – “c’est comme ci, c’est comme ça”. The words then swing around like in a whirligig: high, low, up and down and around again. The attractive cadence is the first peak of this Dutch song festival entrance. It is reminiscent of the infectious “voilà, voilà, voilà” of the French Barbara Pravi Song Festival in 2021.
The chorus soon follows. That is just as catchy as a sweet-hearted super and emphatically aims for a carefree party effect: “La-la-la-la vie!” Waving hands sweep away all the disappointment: that is how life, nothing can be done about it.
If someone, in addition to the Hermes House Band, has proven that a ‘La-la-la’ reefin can work directly, it is Claude itself. His danceable debut song ‘Ladada (Mon Dernier Mot)’ was a big hit in 2022. The electronic rhythmic base under this two -minute and 40 seconds song is exactly the same. Until the slow outro outro goes back on the starting feeling.
That Claude brings a mix of English-French in ‘C’est la vie’ is no surprise. Too bad that it stays with a succession of French cliché words, the text does not go any deeper. But the song is the desired stress-road cleaner after the debacle with Joost Klein last year.
Leaked
Because the song ‘C’est la vie’ leaked early, it suddenly circulated on platform X on Wednesday afternoon, AVROTROS does not want to offer a context about the content. That explanation plus the release of the video clip will follow on Thursday at the official launch of Claude’s song in the EYE Film Museum. Claude responded via Instagram Light with a part of the lyrics: “It goes up, it go down, but c’est la vie. I hope you like it. ” AVROTROS says it will investigate how ‘C’est la vie’ could have come out.
Claude (pronounced the English cloud) Kiambe came to the Netherlands at the age of ten with his mother, three brothers and three sisters from Congo. For a year they lived in an asylum seekers’ center in Alkmaar, where he sang in the multicultural orchestra Orchestre Partout. Claude participated in the program with the song ‘Papaoutai’ by the successful Belgian artist Stromae The Voice Kids. After a call from record label Cloud Nine, he was elected to work on songs.
With his catchy mixture of French and Dutch, he has found an extremely hit -sensitive niche. Tuesday evening he received a 3FM Award for his debut album Parler Français. With international versions of hits ‘Ladada’ and ‘Layla’, Claude was already successful in Europe; lights in the wake of Stromae.
His trademark, a smart combination of languages, spontaneously arose the studio. In an interview with NRC He said how he actually wanted to write a Dutch number. “But I noticed that I was starting to see it. We speak French at home. That is my identity. I had to come back to my music, I felt. ”
Claude represents the Netherlands in the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest on 13 May. The final is on Saturday 17 May.
Read also
Yes, the music of 19-year-old Claude is danceable and cheerful, but the subjects are heavier than you think