Terence James from C'est vous qui décidez: "It would be a thank you to France"

After having an internal selection in 2020 with Tom Leeb and the song The Best in Me, the French national broadcaster intends to select their next entrant through a national selection. Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez! is set to be held on 30 January 2021 with 12 artist vying to represent the nation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.

One of the contenders, is Scottish singer and songwriter Terence James who will sing Je t'emmènerai danser which is written by Ben Mazué, a French artist and produced by Matheu Mendez.

I never plan to leave France. It is my home, and I am the person and artist I am today thanks to France!Terence James

Terence James is 29 years old but besides being a singer and songwriter, he is also a music producer who has been living in France for the past 27 years. One main reason why Terence is competing in the national final is to represent the nation in the Eurovision Song Contest and say thank you for making him the man he is today.

– I never plan to leave France. It is my home, and I am the person and artist I am today thanks to France, which is part of the reason why I would love, and why it would be an absolute honour to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest final. It would be a sort of thank you to France for making me the man I am today!

An album project

Terence explains to us that "Je t'emmènerai danser" was not initial intended for Eurovision but formed part of his ongoing album project:

– I was contacted with the song "Je t'emmènerai danser" to be part of my album project, and when I heard the song, I immediately thought that it would really be the perfect song for France to place high at Eurovision if we changed the production a little bit and added bagpipes to make it into a more international vibe. So that’s what we did! And here we are in the final for the French selection!

– The contest brings so much joy to so many people round the world, and after the year we’ve all had, if I can contribute to that spreading of joy by being part of it then I’m more than happy to do it!

A love song

When it comes to his song, Je t'emmènerai danser, Terence says:

– For me the song is a love song first of all; about a person, saying to another person, "When the world gets you down, even if it’s just for the length of this song, let me take you dancing, I’ll always be here for you". I think after the year the world has had with Covid, and the lack of human contact, it is a simple but very important message to put out there whilst I think everyone needs a bit of fun, a laugh and a dance this year at Eurovision!

I think this year we need a song that’s a serious contender to win Eurovision.Terence James

As you can note, Terence has his own detailed vision on the song but is tight lipped when it comes to the performance that viewers can expect. The only detail given is that he is reading and weighing all negative and positive comments to bring out the best of the song on stage.

– The song has strong lyrics, a catchy memorable chorus, and the production is so much fun! I can’t wait to get on stage and perform it for everyone!

Turning a negative into a positive

The French national selection will follow suit like other nations when it comes to audience restrictions. Sadly an audience will not be allowed especially due to the current strict Covid-19 restrictions and artists thrive on such energy to boost their stage presence. However Terence is turning this point into a positive note.

– It’s a shame that there will be no audience this year; but it will allow us to fully focus on our performance but will be able to give the best possible performance for the cameras and the people watching at home!

Besides being a talented artist, Terence is level headed and not getting into the competition mindset as it will only effect this performance negatively so he work hard on the performance and hopefully win and go to Rotterdam! He is slowly becoming a favourite to win the national selection and Terence is happy about it.

– Well it’s an honour. Thank you to all the International fans who put me on top of the list! I hope you guys are right and I do win so we can all meet in Rotterdam and celebrate together!

During the interview, we got to know that Terence is quite a Eurovision Fan. His favourite French entry would have to be Amir with "J'ai Cherché", but not only that, he has another favourite in his Eurovision playlist.

– Absolutely, I love Eurovision it brings so much joy to so many people round the globe, and my favourite song would be Michael Schulte with You let me walk alone. That song made me cry. What a beautiful song it is!

– If I win the ticket to Rotterdam, I would like to make this song as big as possible and place as high as possible and hopefully win the trophy at Eurovision! If not, then I will push this song as much as possible as I do believe in this song and see how far it can go! And then it’s back to the studio to work on my album which has been in the works for a long time!

So Eurovision or not, we can expect more of Terence outside the Eurovision bubble whilst closing the interview he wants to share a quick message with the readers of Eurovisionworld:

– Thanks so much for taking the time to interview me, and thank you to all the readers! I really hope to see you all in Rotterdam! And if you have any questions for me feel free to contact me on Instagram and I try to reply to everyone haha!!

Meanwhile we would like to wish all the Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez! contestants the best of luck. You can listen to all the songs on our National Selection page for Eurovision France, c'est vous qui décidez!.