"J'imagine" (, ) is a song by French singer Valentina, released as a single on 16 October 2020. The song's lyrics were inspired by the isolation and separation caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
"J'imagine" was France's winning entry in the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was the 18th edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest took place on 29 November 2020, and was held in ...
. Valentina, aged 11 at the time, won the competition with a total of 200 points, 48 points ahead of second-placed Kazakhstan, earning France its first victory at the contest.
Composition
The song was written by Igit and Barbara Pravi, who also wrote France's entry for the
Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the seventeenth edition of the annual Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by Telewizja Polska (TVP) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). It was held on 24 November 2019, at the Gliwice Ar ...
Eurovision Song Contest 2021
The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Rotterdam, Netherlands, following the country's win at the with the song " Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was set to host the ...
with the song "".
The head of the French delegation to the 2020 Junior Eurovision, Alexandra Redde-Amiel, described "J'imagine" as "a sparkling, very positive song that will allow us to imagine ourselves in a world of tomorrow full of joy and life". Its lyrics deal with the isolation and separation caused by measures due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. The singer invites the listeners to imagine a brighter future with her:
Valentina's favorite part of the song is:
As Valentina explained, this part of the song "reflects reality — life is not always easy and fun — but yet has a strong hopeful message at the end: imagining together a brighter future". She likes singing this part "because it's a mellow moment of the song that contrasts with the rest of the track, and it finishes with a high note that hereally like to reach."
Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Selection, announcement and release
On 9 October 2020,
France Télévisions
France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (form ...
announced that it had selected Valentina with her song to represent France at the Eurovision Junior Song Contest organized in Warsaw, Poland, on 29 November.
According to Alexandra Redde-Amiel, Valentina and her song were chosen from around twenty candidates: “We had around twenty proposals, either songs on their own or songs carried by an artist. But Valentina arrived with her sparkling little eyes and her optimistic message. We fell in love, the choice was obvious."
On 16 October, the song was released as a single. The music video, which was shot in
Orléans
Orléans (;"Orleans" (US) and was unveiled on the same day.
Victory
On 29 November, Valentina won the contest, scoring 200 points. Kazakhstan's entry came in second, receiving 152 points, while Spain's 133 points put them in third. This was France's first victory in the contest.