Barbara Piévic (born 10 April 1993), known professionally as Barbara Pravi, is a French singer, songwriter, and actress. She represented France in the

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 (song), Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands was se ...

with the song "", securing second place, the best result for France since 1991. Her debut album '' On n'enferme pas les oiseaux'' was released on 27 August 2021. As a songwriter, Pravi has written songs for a number of artists, including

Yannick Noah Yannick Noah (; born 18 May 1960) is a French former professional tennis player and singer, who was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. Noah won the French Open in 1983 French Open – Men's singles, 1983, and is a forme ...

, Julie Zenatti, Chimène Badi,

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

and

Jaden Smith Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (born July 8, 1998) is an American rapper and actor. The son of Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith, he has received various accolades, including a Teen Choice Award, an MTV Movie Award, a BET Award and a Young A ...

. She additionally composed for Valentina and Lissandro, winners of the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest The Junior Eurovision Song Contest, often known simply as Junior Eurovision, is an international children's Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 2003. Each part ...

. She also notably starred in Claude Lelouch's "Finalement".

Early life

Barbara Piévic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Барбара Пјевић, Barbara Pjević) was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 10 April 1993. Her family primarily consists of artists and musicians. Pravi's father is of Serbian and Moroccan Jewish descent, while her mother is of

Polish Jewish The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jews, Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the long pe ...

and

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

origin. She was born and grew up in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

, before moving to

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

. Her parents are Emmanuelle and Marc Piévic. She has notably also lived in

Strasbourg Saint Denis Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

. She also has a younger sister, Clémence Piévic, who is a psychologist. Clémence and Barbara also regularly donate and spread awareness to charities.

Career

2014–2018: Early career

Pravi began her music career in 2014, after meeting French musician Jules Jaconelli. With Jaconelli, she began composing songs. The following year, she released an original song titled "", which led to her signing a contract with Capitol Music France. She adopted the stage name Barbara Pravi from the

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

word ( sr-Cyrl, прави, lit=real', 'authentic, in the

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...

), as a homage to her Serbian grandfather. Pravi has cited her musical influences as Barbara,

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

Georges Brassens Georges Charles Brassens (; ; 22 October 1921 – 29 October 1981) was a French singer-songwriter and poet. As an iconic figure in France, he achieved fame through his elegant songs with their harmonically complex music for voice and guitar and ...

Françoise Hardy Françoise Madeleine Hardy (; 17 January 1944 – 11 June 2024) was a French singer-songwriter, actress, and author. She was known for singing melancholic, sentimental ballads. Hardy rose to prominence in the early 1960s as a leading figure in F ...

, and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. Upon beginning her professional recording career, Pravi performed on the soundtrack of the French version of the Swiss film ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' () and ''Heidi: How She Used What She Learned'' ( ...

'' with the song "" and afterwards was cast as Solange Duhamel in the musical show Un été 44 in November 2016, performing songs written by

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...

Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...

and

Maxime Le Forestier Maxime Le Forestier (; born 10 February 1949 as Bruno Le Forestier) is a French singer-songwriter. Life and career Bruno Le Forestier was born on 10 February 1949 in Paris to Robert Le Forestier and Genevieve (''née'' Lili 1917–2010), who had ...

. In 2017, Pravi released her first official single "". The single was later included on her self-titled debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, which was released the following year. Also in 2017, Pravi starred in the television film , as the role of Marion, was later broadcast on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

in December 2019. From 2017 until 2018, Pravi performed on the 55 Tour, supporting French singer

Florent Pagny Florent Pagny (; born 6 November 1961) is a French singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He records his work in French, as well as in Italian, Spanish and English. His greatest hits include "N'importe quoi", "Savoir aimer" and "Ma Liberté de p ...

. At the end of 2018, Pravi decided to alter her musical style by adopting a more traditional French style, rather than the pop style that had dominated her early releases. Along with writing and composing her own songs, Pravi has written for several other artists including

, Julie Zenatti, Chimène Badi,

, Louane and

2019-2021: , Eurovision, Junior Eurovision

In the year 2019 she wrote the song "

Bim Bam toi "Bim bam toi" () is a song by French singer Carla Lazzari that served as France's entry to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019, held in Gliwice, Poland, on 24 November 2019. It was released on the MCA label as a single on 11 October. In D ...

" with Igit, with which

Carla Lazzari Carla Lazzari (born 19 August 2005), known professionally as Carla, is a French singer and television presenter. She represented France in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song " Bim bam toi", finishing fifth, and was one of th ...

represented

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the seventeenth edition of the 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 Arena in Gl ...

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

and finally took 5th place; the sixth in jury vote and the third in the public vote. "

Bim Bam Toi "Bim bam toi" () is a song by French singer Carla Lazzari that served as France's entry to the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2019, held in Gliwice, Poland, on 24 November 2019. It was released on the MCA label as a single on 11 October. In D ...

", reposted millions of times on

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

, which won France their first

golden disc in history. The song was later used in the video game

Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game and game platform developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in seven distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: '' Fortnite Battle Roy ...

. In February 2020, she released her sophomore EP , which consists of 5 tracks. On 8 March of the same year, she released "Chair". In the year 2020, she wrote the song " J’imagine" with Igit, with which

Valentina Tronel Valentina Tronel (born 6 April 2009), known mononymously as Valentina, is a French singer. She rose to prominence after she won Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020, becoming the first French entrant to win the contest. Previously, in 2016, she ...

represented

at the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2020 was the 18th edition of the 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 Warsaw ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and won the competition. The song gave

its first

victory. In December 2020, Pravi was announced to compete in the French national final for the

. On 31 January 2021 she won the competition, gaining the right to represent

at the

contest CONTEST is the United Kingdom's counter-terrorism strategy, first developed by Sir David Omand and the Home Office in early 2003 as the immediate response to 9/11, and a revised version was made public in 2006. Further revisions were publish ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and finally took 2nd place; but only reached third place in the televoting. Ultimately,

Måneskin is an Italian Rock music, rock band formed in Rome in 2016. The band is composed of lead vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio. Performing in the streets in their early days, Mån ...

won the

by a margin of 25 points, representing

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. "Voilà" achieved France's best placement at the contest since

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

as well as the highest points ever for a French entry in the competition (499).

2021–2023: , Francophonie Games, publishing and acting debut

In July 2021, Pravi announced her first international tour for her debut studio album, , which came out on 27 August 2021. Pravi performed "" as an interval act at the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2021 was the 19th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The contest was held on 19 December 2021 at La Seine Musicale in Paris, France, followi ...

, which took place on 19 December in Paris. Pravi also performed the song ""at the 37th edition of the , where she went on to win the Female Revelation of the Year award. LGM2022BarbaraPravi 3

In 2022, Pravi continued releasing songs, including "" for

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

, and "365", which is dedicated to her fans. Pravi also wrote the song "" with Frédéric Château, with which Lissandro Formica represented France at the

Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 was the 20th edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Public Television Company of Armenia (AMPTV). The contest took place on ...

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

and ultimately won, bringing France its second Junior Eurovision win. On 21 December, Pravi was announced as Florence in the TV film , set to be shown on

on 18 September 2023, after being premiered at the Angoulême Festival on 26 August 2023. Pravi announced on 6 January 2023 that she had signed to Virgin Records France after eight years at Capitol Music France. She revealed two days later that she was in the process of writing and recording her second studio album. On 13 January 2023, Pravi was announced as a temporary host on the

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is an Over-the-top media service, over-the-top audio streaming media, streaming and download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, Streaming media, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide ...

podcast show ''Music Life''. The first episode she hosted included November Ultra, Pi Ja Ma, Yaël Naïm and Melissa Lauveux as guests, and the second episode described Pravi's tour playlist, "" (). This appearance followed her French radio debut on RTL2's ''Foudre with Waxx'', during which she co-hosted several episodes with Waxx. In late February 2023, Pravi announced her first book, , alongside a single of the same name. A collaboration with Editions Julliard, author Huriya Asmahan (who wrote the preface) and Aref Al-Haidari, ' was written in French and Arabic. The song was released on 8 March, while the book was released the following day. In late May, Pravi was announced to star in '' Finalement'', a film directed by

Claude Lelouch Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical ...

. On 28 July, Pravi was announced as the opening act of the 9th edition of the Francophonie Games. which took place in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the same night. She sang the song "Lève toi" at the ceremony. On 27 August, Pravi announced a collaboration with

Salvador Sobral Salvador Vilar Braamcamp Sobral (; born 28 December 1989) is a Portuguese singer, who won the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 for with the song "", written and composed by his sister, Luísa Sobral. In doing so, he gave its first ever win in t ...

for his new song "Les eaux qui me gardent" which was released on 29 August.

2024-present: La Pieva and continued acting career

On 19 January 2024 she released her new single "Bravo" talking about self-confidence. On 8 March, Pravi released "Marianne" with Persian singer Golfshifteh Farahani. Soon later, she was announced as part of the cast for the France Televisions TV-series " Rebelle : les aventures de la jeune George Sand" (in French) which has also been trademarked as "GEORGE: Untamed Spirit" (in English). On 6 June, Pravi announced her sophomore (second) album "La Pieva" (named after her family name, Piévic) and the albums eponymous song that would be released on 7 June. She later announced the twelve song tracklist, which includes previously released singles. On 23 July, Pravi (alongside

and

Kad Merad Kad Merad (born Kaddour Merad, ; 27 March 1964) is a French-Algerian writer and actor. Life and career Kad Merad was born in Sidi Bel Abbès, Algeria, on 27 March 1964 to an Algerian father and a French mother. During his teens, he played d ...

) announced that their upcoming movie '' Finalement'', set to release on 13 November, has been nominated for the 81st Mostra de Venice Fiction Movie competition, being one of three French movies to be selected. Pravi plays the character Barbara as well as singing the entire soundtrack for the movie. On 23 August, the soundtrack for ''Finalement'' was released on all streaming platforms, with the soundtrack directed by Ibrahim Maalouf and Didier Barbelivien. In October 2024, she commenced the first leg of the La Pieva tour, named after her sophomore album of the same name. On 23 October, it was announced that she would be on the French talent show

Star Academy ''Star Academy'' is a Dutch-developed reality television talent show format that first aired in the Netherlands as '':nl:Starmaker (televisieprogramma), Star Maker''. Format There are many versions of the show, each country having its own sl ...

. Since October 2024, she has been a regular guest on Vivement dimanche to promote Claude Lelouch's Finalement, which has now been dubbed in English and Italian.

Personal life

Health

Pravi has been open about her experiences undergoing abortions in her youth. After her third abortion, she was diagnosed with hyperfertility. Pravi has also experienced abuse from former partners. In 2022, she was also diagnosed with depression.

Literature and law

Pravi has a deep connection with

Persian literature Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...

, as her maternal grandfather is of Iranian descent. As a survivor of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

, Pravi is active in the fight to end

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...

. She has frequently contributed to music initiatives intended to promote causes involved with

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

. Pravi was also invited to perform "Notes pour trop tard" and speak at

Emlyon Business School EM Lyon Business School (styled emlyon) is a business school in Lyon, France, established in 1872, and affiliated with the Lyon Chamber of Commerce and Industry. A '' grande école de commerce'', EM Lyon Business School offers a range of academi ...

through

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

to speak about her career and how she found

self-confidence Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Sel ...

. In her adolescence, Pravi endured three abortions in "terrible conditions". Pravi's husband at the time, who remains anonymous, was abusive towards her. They are now divorced.

Philanthropy

In 2018, Pravi participated (as part of 39 Femmes; a project group which was formed of 39 French female musicians) in the song "Debout les femmes", which raised money for charitable causes. The song was later used in the Amazon Prime movie Flashback. She is also the marainne (godmother) of the charity La Collective Arles. In October 2024, she participated in the Belgian charity show CAP48Heures, singing her latest song "Qui j'étais" as well as co-hosting their 48-hour live stream. Ultimately, it was announced that over 6 million euros had been raised.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Soundtracks

Featurings

Songs used in games

Songwriting credits

*Excluding songs with Pravi as the main vocalist

Filmography

As an actress/notable roles as self

Other roles

Pravi got involved in the making of the film Finalement in 2021 as an actress but also behind the scenes. She worked as multiple roles for this movie. Her other roles in TV shows, movies, podcasts and music videos are available on her IMDb page.

Bibliography

Radio and podcasts

Awards and nominations

Non-Eurovision related awards

Eurovision related awards and success

*She has stated that she has been asked to compete in Eurovision prior to Voilà but the song and year is unknown.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pravi, Barbara 1993 births 21st-century French singers 21st-century French women singers Musicians from Paris French women singer-songwriters French singer-songwriters French people of Algerian-Jewish descent French people of Polish-Jewish descent French people of Iranian descent French people of Serbian descent French women pop singers Living people People of Montmartre Eurovision Song Contest entrants French actresses