On May 16, the Eurovision grand final will take place in Vienna. This year, it is the young opera singer Monroe who has been chosen to wear the colors of France. Family, background, origins… We tell you more about her.
The fateful date is approaching! On May 16, all eyes will be on Vienna where the final of the 70th edition of the most publicized competition, Eurovision, will take place.
Monroe from a religious family: “It was in church that I started singing”
And this year, it is the young lyrical singer Monroe who will defend the tricolor flag with her title, composed especially for the occasion, Look at ! A ballad between pop and lyric which perfectly reflects the offbeat universe of the young 17-year-old artist. Well known to aficionados of the France 2 program, ProdigiesMonroe Vata Rigby, her real name, won the 11th season of the competition presented by Faustine Bollaert.
Propelled by the program, she released an eponymous solo album immediately, in November 2025. An album that she should have defended between April and October 2026 during a major tour of thirty dates in French churches and cathedrals. The event had to be postponed because of the infernal pace imposed by Eurovision.
Born in Salt Lake City, to a French mother and an American father, the young woman grew up in Utah with four brothers. She started singing at the age of seven, after a revelation in her church where she quickly joined a choir. “It was in church that I started singing, in my small town of Brigham City, Utah. It was there that I understood the power of music which weaves links between people, but also between heaven and earth”this believer also confided to the magazine Pilgrim. In the process, Monroe underwent fairly strict piano and opera singing training.
Bookmakers’ favorite Monroe at Eurovision? She comes in second place
“I listened to a lot of music with my father (…) So I wanted to do that, I sang songs everywhere and my parents signed me up for singing lessons. I started in private lessons and then I joined the church choir. That’s really where I saw how it could touch people”she told BFMTV. “The music, its vibrations, it made people cry, it brought joy. And it made me want to continue taking lessons seriously”even added the one who is already followed by nearly 70,000 people on Instagram.
If she is the second youngest French representative in the history of the competition, behind Nathalie Pâque who participated at the age of 11 in 1989, Monroe does not give up. Accustomed to competitions – she notably played tennis at a high level in the United States – she says she is ready to bring the cup home.
Moreover, with an 11% chance of victory, it is today in second position in the bookmakers’ odds, behind Finland. As a reminder, France has not won the competition since 1977, the year when Marie Myriam won with her title. The bird and the child. We hope that Monroe will do at least as well as Barbara Pravi, who came second in the competition with So in 2021.
