In the spotlight: Tom Leeb

26 April 2020 at 10:10 CEST

In the spotlight: Tom Leeb Arno Lam - FTV

With his song, 'Mon Alliée (The Best In Me)', Tom Leeb was chosen to represent France in 2020. In light of the unfortunate cancellation of the 65th Eurovision Song Contest, we wish to highlight the impressive acts that were set to appear. This is 'In the spotlight', our feature honouring the artists that would have made up this year's edition of the world's largest live music event.

French public broadcaster FT returned to an internal selection in 2020 and determined Tom Leeb as their Eurovision Song Contest representative. In a new twist, the broadcaster asked French and European publishers to write a song specifically for the Contest.

After reviewing more than 100 songs, they selected and broadcasted the French-English ballad, Mon Alliée (The Best In Me), live from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Regarding his selection, Tom said: "The Eurovision Song Contest is an iconic and unifying event; I am so proud to be representing France."

Who is Tom?

Tom lived in New York for 5 years studying theatre, cinema and singing. His acting credentials include performing in a theatrical adaptation of Mrs. Doubtfire as well as acting in French TV shows and movies. He is also one part of the comedy duo Kevin & Tom which has a popular YouTube channel including skits and songs. This 30-year-old can add singer, actor, comedian and now Eurovision Song Contest representative to his resume.

Under the Roy Music Label, Tom released his album Recollection in 2019 and an acoustic version of his single Are We Too Late has amassed over 25 million views. Tom lists Ben Howard, Matt Corby, Bon Iver and John Mayer as his musical inspirations. He has also played as the supporting act for international superstars Sting and Tom Jones.

READ MORE: Tom's participant profile

Peter Boström, Thomas G:son, John Lundvik (Sweden 2019), Tom Leeb, Amir Haddad (France 2016) and Lea Ivanne all contributed to writing The Best In Me. The song was composed by Peter Boström and Thomas G:son who achieved massive Eurovision success with Loreen's Euphoria, the winning song at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku.

France's Eurovision 2020 representative Tom Leeb Arno Lam - FTV

In the weeks since the cancellation of the show, Tom has been keeping busy, playing live sessions at home on his Facebook account, demonstrating his musical talents by playing the guitar, keyboard and (almost) the recorder.

You can follow Tom on the following social media platforms:

LISTEN: Stream The Best In Me and other Eurovision 2020 songs on Spotify

France in the Eurovision Song Contest

France has competed in the Eurovision Song Contest since its conception in 1956 and was off to a good start, having placed in the top 5 in the first 10 years of the competition. By 1969, France had a record of 4 wins - the most successful country at that time. However, France has not tasted success since 1977, when they won for the fifth and last time with the song L'Oiseau Et L'Enfant, performed by Marie Myriam.

France had never finished last until 2014 when the band Twin Twin came last in the Grand Final with Moustache. France returned to the Top 10 in 2016 with Amir and J’ai Cherché which narrowly missed a place in the top 5 in Stockholm.

Here are our Top 10 picks for France in Eurovision:

READ MORE: France's country page

Last year, Bilal Hassani represented France in Tel Aviv at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song Roi, that relayed a message of self-acceptance and hope. He finished in 16th place in the Grand Final.