Sandrine Francois

Sandrine François, born in December 1980 in Paris, France, is a French singer. She studied arts and drawing at university while also developing her passion for singing, inspired by artists such as Whitney Houston, Tracy Chapman, Aretha Franklin, and Céline Dion. In 1999, she was discovered during a casting call for the American Dream project, which led to an appearance on Mireille Dumas' television show La Vie à l'endroit. This exposure helped her secure a record deal with Erick Benzi, known for his work with Jean-Jacques Goldman and Céline Dion. Her debut album, Sandrine Francoisç, was released in May 2002. In March 2002, France 3 selected Sandrine François to represent France at the Eurovision Song Contest 2002 in Tallinn, Estonia. She performed "Il faut du temps", a ballad co-written by Patrick Bruel and Marie-Florence Gros, which conveyed messages of peace and tolerance. Despite finishing 5th out of 24 countries with 104 points, she received the Marcel Bezençon Press Award for Best Song. Following her Eurovision participation, she released her second album Et si le monde in 2002, featuring "Il faut du temps" and the single "Celui de trop". In 2003, she served as France's spokesperson during the Eurovision Song Contest in Riga. Her songs have been featured on the soundtrack of several episodes of the French TV series Sous le soleil, and she contributed to the choir on Céline Dion’s album D'Elles.