Fulenn

"Fulenn" (Breton: [ˈfyːlɛn]; transl. "Spark") is a song by French musician Alvan and the vocal group Ahez. It represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy, after winning Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez !, the French national final.^[2] It is the second time that France has selected a song sung in Breton, a Celtic language spoken in the region of Brittany, to represent the country at Eurovision, the first having occurred in 1996.

"Fulenn"
Single by Alvan and Ahez
from the album Magma
Language	Breton
English title	Spark / Pretty Girl
Released	18 February 2022 (2022-02-18)
Genre	Celtic electronica[1]
Length	2:46
Label	10 Cordes Swap
Songwriter(s)	Alvan, Ahez, Alexandra Redde-Amiel
Music video
"Fulenn" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2022 entry
Country	France
Artist(s)	Alvan and Ahez
Language	Breton
Finals performance
Final result	24th
Final points	17
Entry chronology
◄ "Voilà" (2021)
"Évidemment" (2023) ►

Release

"Fulenn" was released on 16 February 2022, along with the other 11 competing songs in Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez !.^[3]

Eurovision Song Contest

Main article: France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez !

France 2 opened a submission period on 21 June 2021 in order for interested artists and songwriters to submit their proposals through an online submission form up until the deadline on 24 October 2021. Songs were required to contain at least 70% French language or French regional language lyrics with a free language allowance for the remaining lyrics.^[4] At the closing of the deadline, the French broadcaster received 3,000 submissions.^[1] Auditions which featured entries shortlisted from the received submissions took place starting on 6 January 2022 at the Apollo Theatre in Paris, and the twelve entries selected to compete in the national final were announced on 16 February 2022.^[5][6][7]

The final took place on 5 March 2022. Twelve entries would compete and the winner will be selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, the top five entries as determined exclusively by public televoting would advance to the second round, the superfinal. An additional entry would be awarded the wildcard by a Francophone and international ten-member jury panel from the remaining seven entries to proceed to the superfinal. In the superfinal, the winner would be determined by the combination of public televoting and the ten-member jury. Immediately after the artists concluded their performances, a number was shown which denoted the number of jury members who liked the song, however, the results were symbolic and did not affect the voting.

"Fulenn" advanced being one of the top five in the first round. In the second round, "Fulenn" won with 222 points, from the juries and televotes combined, and become the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022.^[8]

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big Five" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete in the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. As a member of the "Big Five", France automatically qualifies to compete in the final on 14 May 2022. In addition to its participation in the final, France is also required to broadcast and vote in one of the two semi-finals. This was decided via a draw held during the semi-final allocation draw on 25 January 2022, when it was announced that France will be voting in the first semi-final.^[9]

Charts

Chart performance for "Fulenn"

Chart (2022)	Peak position
Lithuania (AGATA)[10]	22
Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan)[11]	18

References

1. Allain, Camille (27 February 2022). "« Eurovision France » 2022 : Né dans un bar de Rennes, l'ovni Alvan et Ahez mixe électro et chant breton". 20minutes.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
2. "Alvan & Ahez will represent France in Italy with 'Fulenn' 🇫🇷". Eurovision.tv. 5 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
3. "France: Artists and songs revealed for national final 🇫🇷". Eurovision.tv. 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
4. Abbes, Oranie (21 June 2021). ""Eurovision France: C'est vous qui décidez" — 2022 submission period closes 24 October". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
5. Farren, Neil (9 February 2022). "🇫🇷 France: 'Eurovision France: c'est vous Qui Décidez' 2022 Entries to Be Released on February 16". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 9 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
6. Granger, Anthony (6 January 2022). "🇫🇷 France: 'Eurovision France: C'est Vous Qui Décidez' 2022 Auditions Underway". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
7. "France 2022 : les auditions pour la sélection française ont débuté". En Route pour l'Eurovision (in French). 6 January 2022. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
8. Terry, Connor (5 March 2022). "France has chosen Alvan & Ahez to represent them in Eurovision 2022!". ESCUnited. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
9. "Eurovision 2022: Which Semi-Final is your country performing in? 🇮🇹". Eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 25 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
10. "2022 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
11. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 20". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.