World Song Contest

65 countries took part in the last edition of the third year of the World Song Contest. Once again, this 36th edition had to start with semi finals, from which 30 songs qualified. Once again, songs which hardly qualified, reached the top 10 position of the final. Iceland took the place of San Marino in the final, after San Marino failed to vote in the semi finals. A lucky loser which finally ended at 8th, showing that each vote is important during the semi finals, as we probably lost songs which could achieve a great result in the final.

This situation is easily explained by the taste of the people who have to vote in the different heats of the semi finals. A rock song will have a hard time in a heat where you find a majority of voters known as ballad lovers. And the opposite is true too. If you want to reach a good balance, then it's better to have a maximum of people who vote for each heat.

You got it: Sometimes a qualification is a matter of points. It is the same with a final victory. Help from friends and neighbours can be really precious. With the victory of Monaco, eyes are turned to the votes of Ukraine and Sweden as they are given by people of the same family. If Ukraine really help Monaco with a 12 points and nothing to France. Sweden gave 7 points to France and 8 to Monaco. Without this France would have won but, the situation took another turn when Monaco awarded France with a 12 points, a good compensation, which led to a 20-19 advantage to Monaco if we consider all the votes from the siblings. This difference (1 point) wouldn't have been enough for France to take the victory. France probably lost the crown when it gave back its 12 points to Monaco. When the last votes was given, an advantage of six points allowed Monaco to be honoured for the second time, 19 editions after Najoua Belyzel gave a first victory to Monaco in WSC .17. This time, the song "Le Manège", performed by Stanislas, received a total of 156 points. France took the second place, followed by Bulgarie and the United Kingdom.

THE WINNER

Country: Monaco
Artist(s): Stanislas
Song: Le Manège

Bridging the gap between pop and classical music, Stanislas is a French singer/songwriter whose classical crossover style brought him mass popularity with the release of his debut solo album, L'Équilibre Instable (2007), and its smash hit single "Le Manège" in particular. Born Louis Stanislas Renoult on May 29, 1972, in Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, France, he began his recording career as half of the duo Pure Orchestra, an English-language electro-pop act also featuring Gioacchino Maurici, the brother of Calogero. While Pure Orchestra scored a minor pop hit in 2001 with "U & I," their debut full-length album, Singin' Dog (2002), and its follow-up single, "49," were met with little commercial interest despite a major-label release by Universal Music. In subsequent years Stanislas contributed to his brother Thibaud's solo album debut, Les Pas Perdus (2006), on the label Reshape Music before embarking on a solo recording career of his own. In association with Universal Music, Stanislas made his solo album debut in late 2007 with L'Équilibre Instable. The album's lead single, "Le Manège," became a smash hit, peaking at number two on the French singles chart. The success of "Le Manège," along with the Top 20 follow-up single "La Belle de Mai" and third single "La Débâcle des Sentiments," a duet with Calogero, ensured the mass popularity of L'Équilibre Instable, which was a Top Ten hit on the albums charts of France and Belgium and was re-released in a couple different deluxe editions in late 2008. He came back in 2010 with his second album, "Les  Carnet de la Vigie".