France's Lissandro wins 20th edition of Junior Eurovision

Junior Eurovision was won by Lissandro, a 13 year-old from France, with a rockabilly-inspired song entitled "Oh Maman!".

The Eurovision Junior 2022 winner was Lissandro from France © Junior Eurovision website

After Valentina in 2020, this is the second time that France has won the Junior Eurovision competition, now in its 20th year.

"Oh mom!" ("Oh Maman") was co-written by Barbara Pravi who finished second in the classic Eurovision in 2021 with "Voilà".

Lissandro hails from Théding, in Moselle, in the east of France.

"He has a unique voice, a crazy talent, a rocker's energy. And he has just won Eurovision Junior under the colors of France! A huge congratulations to Lissandro !" the French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malak said on Twitter on Sunday after his victory in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

"His song is "a delicious mix between Bruno Mars and Elvis which will groove Europe", commented Alexandra Redde-Amiel, head of the French delegation to Eurovision and director of variety shows for France Télévisions, ahead of the competition.

Il a 13 ans. Il vit à Théding en Moselle. Il a une voix unique, un talent fou, une énergie de rocker. Et il vient de remporter l’#EurovisionJunior sous les couleurs de la France! Un immense bravo à #Lissandro ! #JESC2022 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/2GeqQbkAlE

— Rima Abdul Malak (@RimaAbdulMalak) December 11, 2022

The children's version of Eurovision was organized in Yerevan, after Armenia's victory last year with the young Maléna (14 years old). Armenia came 2nd in the competition this year.

France had organized Junior Eurovision in 2021 after Valentina's victory in 2020 with her title "J'imagine".

Eurovision Junior is reserved for 9-14 year olds.

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Unlike adult Eurovision, you can vote for your own country. The winner is determined half by the votes of the public and half by the votes of the national juries.

This year, 16 countries participated: Albania, Armenia, Spain, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Serbia and Ukraine.