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La Poupée Monte Le Son by Laura Thorn
I was pleased to see Luxembourg return to Eurovision last year. I always felt it was a shame one of the most successful nations (5 wins before they bowed out in 1993) wasn’t still taking part. Last year’s entry was among my favourites too. What can they follow it up with?
Someone’s had an idea and ran away with it here. It capitalises on the 60th anniversary of France Gall’s winning song Poupée de Cire, Poupée de Son in 1965. That cast the ingenue Gall as a singing wax doll, belting out a song by Serge Gainsbourg that changed the somewhat dowdy sound of the Contest in the middle of the swinging 60s. 60 years on there’s a reading of the original as the singer being the puppet of the songwriter, unable to express, or even inhabit her own personality.
Laura Thorn updates this idea, upending the idea that this is a doll who doesn’t know her own mind. She’s defiant against the idea she’s merely malleable and plastic for someone else’s enjoyment and injects a new female empowerment into the song. Or does she?
I like the idea of this but there’s no escaping that Laura’s still just the (female) interpreter of someone else’s (male) song. I don’t want to question the songwriters’ good intention to update the message for a modern audience but not being Laura’s own words leaves this feeling slightly inauthentic for me. I also get that the choreography shows her breaking away from being guided by make dancers, but the almost robotic doll moves is a bit too Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for me.
Interesting idea, and I can see why it might appeal both as a sentimental and updated tribute in an anniversary year, but it’s a quite a big miss for me.
My marks: 4 points
Photo: Massen Photography/EBU