French Eurovision representative Bilal Hassani has revealed that his debut album “Kingdom” will be released on the 26th of April.
Bilal announced the news on his personal Twitter account, revealing both the release date and the title of the album “Kingdom”. Though not confirmed yet, it is assumed his Eurovision entry “Roi” will feature on his debut album. The tweet was as follows.
Bilal is set to represent France in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song “Roi”. Bilal was chosen to represent France after winning their selection show, Destination Eurovision back in January.
In addition to working on his music, in the build up to the Eurovision Song Contest, Bilal has recently travelled to host city Tel Aviv to film his postcard for the contest. The short clip, a staple of every Eurovision show, will introduce the artist before his live performance at the Grand Final in May. This year’s set of postcards will reportedly feature each country’s acts dancing in various styles in tourist destinations throughout Israel.
As he is representing France who are a member of the Big 5, Bilal is already automatically qualified for the grand final of the contest on Saturday the 18th of May.
Who is Bilal Hassani?
Bilal first came to the attention of the French public in 2015 when he participated in The Voice Kids. He performed “Rise Like a Phoenix” which won the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest at his audition, before being knocked out in the battle rounds.
He swept to victory in Destination Eurovision having received 50 points from the international jury, but 35.7% of the televote. From the first performance of “Roi” it took just 10 days before it had exceeded 3 million views.
Source: Bilal Hassani
France was one of seven countries to participate in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. Since then they have participated in every contest aside from 1974 and 1982. Their withdrawal in 1974 was caused by the death of President Georges Pompidou, while 1982’s withdrawal was a result of TF1 declining to enter the contest. France has won the contest on five occasions, the most recent being in 1977 when Marie Myriam performed “L’oiseau et l’enfant”. France’s best result of the 2000s came in 2001 when Natasha St-Pier finished 4th in Copenhagen, Denmark.
