Bilal Hassani

Bilal Hassani (Arabic: بلال حسني‎ ; born 9 September 1999) is a French singer, songwriter and YouTuber.[2][3] He represented France in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Israel with the song "Roi" after scoring 200 points in the final of Destination Eurovision. At the Eurovision final, Hassani finished in 16th place, with 105 points.

Bilal Hassani
Hassani in 2019
Background information
Born (1999-09-09) 9 September 1999
Paris, France
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter, YouTuber
LabelsLow Wood[1]
Associated actsMadame Monsieur

Biography

Hassani was born in Paris to a Moroccan family from Casablanca.[4][5] His mother is a naturalised French citizen,[6] while his father lives in Singapore.[7][8] He has an older brother, Taha, who was born in 1995.[9] He obtained his literary baccalaureate in 2017.[10]

Beginning of musical career (2015–2018)

In 2005, at the age of 5, Hassani began singing for his family, who had him start singing lessons.[7]

In 2015, encouraged by his friend Nemo Schiffman, a finalist of the first season, Hassani participated in the second season of The Voice Kids and introduced himself in the blind auditions by singing a cover of "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst, a singer whom he admires.[11][12][13] He joined the team of judge Patrick Fiori.[12] He was eliminated during the battle rounds by Lenni-Kim[14]

In 2018, the LGBT magazine Têtu designated Hassani as one of the "30 LGBT+ [people] who move France". The magazine described him as "an icon for French LGBT+ youth".[15]

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 (2018–present)

On 6 December 2018, Hassani was announced to be among the 18 candidates participating in Destination Eurovision, the French national selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest which was broadcast on France 2, with this edition choosing the representative of France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, which took place in Tel Aviv, Israel in May 2019.[3][16][17]

On 20 December 2018, an excerpt from his song for the competition was released, the song titled "Roi" and written with the duo and 2018 winner of Destination Eurovision Madame Monsieur.[18] The song was described to be about self-acceptance.[19] On 4 January 2019, "Roi" was made available on all music platforms,[20] and by 14 January, it had exceeded 3 million views. The newspaper Le Monde wrote that Hassani "leaves no one indifferent".[21]

The initial front runner to represent France at Eurovision,[22] Hassani began a media tour for Destination Eurovision on media outlets such as NRJ,[23] Quotidien,[24] and France Inter. On 12 January 2019, he won the semi-final by winning 58 out of 60 points awarded by the international jury, and winning 57 points (the highest score) from the French public. He totalled 115 points and qualified for the final, alongside Chimène Badi (66 points), Silvàn Areg (59 points) and Aysat (40 points).[25] He won the final on 26 January 2019, with a total of 200 points including 150 of the French public while he was ranked fifth with the International Jury vote, of 50 points.[26]

At the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 final, in Israel, Hassani performed the song "Roi", and placed 16th, with 105 points.

Controversy

On February 1, 2019, i24news unveiled former Twitter tweets published on the singer's account in 2014, accusing Israel of crimes against humanity and taking the defense of Dieudonné, a French comedian known for his antisemitic sketches. A few hours later, the singer claimed on a video not to be the author of these tweets, which would have been written by a relative with access to his account, adding that he was 14 years old at the time.[27][28]

Soon after, a "funny" video (parody of another video) of 2018 resurfaced, about the latest attacks committed in France, which gave rise to a new controversy.[29] The senator of the Alpes Maritimes Henri Leroy requested that Bilal be "dismissed urgently from the contest".[30]

Personal life

On 23 June 2017, Hassani publicly came out on social networks the day before he went to Paris Pride.[31][32] He has also been described as queer.[33]

Starting in December 2018, Hassani has been the victim of cyber-harassment and has received racist and homophobic attacks and death threats.[34][7] In response to this, the organizations Urgence Homophobie and Stop Homophobie joined forces to take legal action against anyone who has insulted, discriminated against or threatened him on social networks, including Twitter.[35] By 27 January 2019, the two organizations already identified 1,500 insulting, discriminating or hateful tweets because of his sexual orientation and/or physical appearance.[33] Hassani has filed a complaint to those who may be potentially identified with these lawsuits, citing "insults, incitement to hatred and violence and homophobic threats".[36]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Details Peak chart positions Units
FRA
[37]		 BEL
(WA)
[38]
Kingdom 24
[41]		68

Singles
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
FRA
[37]		 BEL
(WA)
[38]
"Wanna Be" 2016 —— Non-album singles
"Follow Me" 2017 ——
"House Down" ——
"Shadows" 2018 ——
"Heaven with You"
(with Anton Wick)		 ——
"Hot City"
(with Leon Markcus)		 ——
"Mash Up"
(Copines x Tout oublier)		 ——
"Roi" 2019 23
[43]		—[lower-alpha 1] Kingdom
"Jaloux" ——
"Fais Beleck" ——
"Je danse encore" ——
"Fais Le Vide" 2020 —— Contre Soirée
"Dead Bae" ——
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result
2019 NRJ Music Awards Francophone Breakthrough of the Year Won

Notes
  1. "Roi" did not enter the Ultratop (Wallonia) charts, but peaked at number 4 on the Ultratip Chart.[44]
gollark: Ah yes, Shakespeare.
gollark: ++delete <@319753218592866315> (wrongness, metaapiohazardicity)
gollark: https://github.com/gauravssnl/awesome-symbian you.
gollark: LyricLy is to be declared a class-46Y metaapiohazard, having been upgraded from the previous status as a class-39F apiohazard.
gollark: ... cease, "Lyric" Ly.

References
  1. "Roi - Single par Bilal Hassani". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  2. "The Voice Kids : Bilal Hassani adoré par Janet Jackson et Amel Bent" (in French). www.purepeople.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  3. "Bilal Hassani candidat de la France à l'Eurovision ? Le youtubeur confirmé à Destination Eurovision" (in French). purebreak.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  4. Clavaud-Mégevand, Coline (2018-10-03). "Qui est Bilal Hassani, l'influenceur et chanteur qui a séduit Janet Jackson ?". Glamour (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  5. "Muslim Eurovision contestant receives death threats - Europe". Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  6. @fraiches (2019-01-15). "Hassani assume sa féminité jusque dans son look. Il rend hommage à sa mère dans #DARONNEpic.twitter.com/kQ6aQ0zvX6" (in French). FRAICHES. Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  7. "Eurovision : Bilal Hassani, idole des ados et cible des homophobes" (in French). Télérama.fr. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  8. "Eurovision 2019 : qui est Bilal Hassani, le chanteur qui représentera la France avec la chanson "Roi" ?" (in French). LCI. Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  9. Bilal Hassani. "Je vous présente mon frère !". YouTube (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  10. Bilal Hassani. "Mon parcours scolaire chaotique !". Youtube. Archived from the original on 2019-09-28. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  11. Holden, Steve (11 March 2019). "Eurovision 2019: The acts to look out for in Tel Aviv". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  12. "The Voice Kids : Une mini-Aretha Franklin, un Conchita Wurst bluffant". Purepeople (in French). 3 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  13. Benoît Daragon (27 January 2019). "Bilal Hassani en route vers l'Eurovision". Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  14. "The Voice Kids : Bilal Hassani adoré par Janet Jackson et Amel Bent". www.purepeople.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  15. Patri, Alexis (Winter 2018). "Les 30 LGBT+ qui bougent la France". Têtu (in French) (217). p. 52–62.
  16. "Destination Eurovision 2019 : Emmanuel Moire, Chimène Badi, Bilal Hassani… Voici les 18 candidats en compétition ! - actu - Télé 2 semaines". www.programme.tv/news (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  17. "Pourquoi ce que dit André Manoukian sur Bilal Hassani est maladroit". The Huffington Post (in French). 2019-01-14. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  18. "Roi - Bilal Hassani - France 2 - 20-12-2018". www.france.tv (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  19. ""Destination Eurovision": "Ma chanson parle d'acceptation de soi", confie Bilal Hassani". www.20minutes.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  20. ""Roi" : Bilal Hassani dévoile sa chanson mélancolique pour l'Eurovision 2019". purebreak.com (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  21. Morgane Tual (14 January 2019). "Qui est Bilal Hassani, le youtubeur aux portes de l'Eurovision ?". Le Monde.fr. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  22. "Eurovision : Bilal Hassani, celui qu'on n'attendait pas". Le Parisien (in French). 2019-01-06. Archived from the original on 2019-01-13. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  23. "Bilal Hassani en live avec Roi chez Mikl sur NRJ". NRJ (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-12.
  24. "Quotidien, deuxième partie du 10 janvier 2019". TMC (in French). 2018-12-29. Archived from the original on 2019-01-13. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  25. Herbert, Emily (12 January 2019). "France: Destination Eurovision Semi-Final One Results". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  26. Farren, Neil (26 January 2019). "France: Bilal Hassani to Eurovision 2019". Eurovoix. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  27. "Eurovision: Bilal Hassani dément avoir posté des tweets anti-Israël en 2014" [Eurovision: Bilal Hassani denies posting anti-Israel tweets in 2014]. i24news (in French). 2019-02-02. Archived from the original on 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-01-02.
  28. "VIDÉO - "Ces propos, c'est pas les miens" : Bilal Hassani se défend après la polémique sur son tweet contre Israël" [VIDEO - "These words are not mine": Bilal Hassani defends himself after the controversy over his tweet against Israel]. LCI (in French). 2019-02-02. Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-02-02.
  29. Média, Prisma. "Bilal Hassani (Eurovision) : après ses tweets polémiques, une vidéo de 2018 sur les attentats en France indigne les internautes - Voici". Voici.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  30. "Un sénateur demande le retrait de Bilal Hassani de l'Eurovision suite à la diffusion d'une vidéo gênante". ladepeche.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
  31. "Youtube : Bilal Hassani, son coming-out bouleversant !". Public.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  32. "Bilal Hassani, le YouTubeur et chanteur de 18 ans fait son coming-out". TÊTU (in French). 2017-06-28. Archived from the original on 2019-01-21. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  33. "Le youtubeur Bilal Hassani, idole queer des jeunes, représentera la France à l'Eurovision". Le Monde (in French). 2019-01-27. Archived from the original on 2019-01-27. Retrieved 2019-01-27.
  34. Myriam Roche (2018-11-16). "Ces députés interpellent Twitter après le cyber-harcèlement d'un YouTubeur". The Huffington Post (in French). Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  35. "Le youtubeur Bilal Hassani, idole queer des jeunes, représentera la France à l'Eurovision". Le Monde (in French). 2019-01-27. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  36. "Bilal Hassani, représentant français à l'Eurovision, porte plainte pour menaces homophobes". Le Monde (in French). 2019-01-29. Archived from the original on 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  37. "lescharts.com - Discographie Bilal Hassani". lescharts.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  38. "ultratop.be - Bilal Hassani discography". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  39. "France: Bilal Hassani Releasing Debut Album in April". EuroViox. 4 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  40. Raïo, Stéphanie (8 March 2019). "Bilal Hassani sort un album avant sa participation à l'Eurovision". Le Figaro (in French). Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  41. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums Fusionnes – SNEP (Week 18, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  42. Min, 7 Janvier 2020 | 9 H. 12 (2020-01-07). "Angèle, Nekfeu et Johnny Hallyday en tête des meilleures ventes d'albums en 2019". aficia (in French). Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  43. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles (téléchargement + streaming) – SNEP (Week 6, 2019)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  44. "Bilal Hassani - Roi Charts history". Ultratop. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
Preceded by
Madame Monsieur
with "Mercy"		 France in the Eurovision Song Contest
2019		 Succeeded by
Tom Leeb
with "The Best in Me"
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