Monaco were regular participants at Eurovision until 1979 but then took a break until they returned in 2004. They failed to make the final, but were hoping for better in 2005 with Lise Darly and ‘Tout De Moi’.

The Monégasque Television company decided on 12th of January 2005 that Lise would represent Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005. Lise was chosen from a dozen female artists, including the following years representative, Séverine Ferrer. Lise had lost out the prior year to Maryon.

On 6th of April 2005, Prince Rainier III of Monaco passed away leaving the country’s participation in the contest in doubt, after the country imposed a three-month mourning period. However, wearing a black ribbon, Lise performed sixth at the Semi final held in Kyiv on 19th May 2005.

Unfortunately Lise only received 10 points from France and Andorra, plus two from Moldova, leaving her with 22 points and a 24th place out of 25.

Tout De Moi – opinions from fans

In order to find out what Eurovision fans today think of this Monaco entry from 2005, we asked our Eurovision Fan Panel. It includes team members as well as fans from all over the world.

Michael O. – Horrendously underrated in 2005, this excellent French ballad with wonderful Disney like orchestration should have sailed into the finals. This was one of Monaco’s best ever entries, sung by a great singer – no wonder rich Monaco who can well afford to still be in Eurovision gave up. Terrific entry.

Michael R. – Monaco’s return to Eurovision may have been short-lived, but they gave us three wildly different entries. This was the best of them, a beautiful ballad sung by a great singer. However, I feel they let themselves down with the staging, it seemed a little empty and could’ve been elevated simply by including some string accompaniments or a piano player and tighter camera work. But qualifying from a huge semi was always going to be a difficult task. It might’ve had more of a shot if the 2 semi system was in place.

Amir B. – It’s a good melodic song. She brings emotion to the stage! I liked this, but the overall song is a meh song.

Charlotte J. – I had completely forgotten about this one. That’s unfair from me. Listening to it again, it’s actually quite a good song. That it didn’t qualify is a bit unfair too. I am not a ballad-lover, but I really like the drama in the music for this one. It keeps my attention all through the song. Well done, Monaco. I will try to be better remembering this.

Pascal W. – What a lovely, magical and Disney-esque song. It suits her voice very well and the song definitely should have placed higher. Can‘t wait to (hopefully) see Monaco again at Eurovision in the future!

Adi S. – I have no recollection of this song. It’s not bad but unremarkable and if I’m thinking of 2005, it frankly looks and sounds like an AliExpress version of Shiri Maymon. Sorry…

Alvaro S. – I am surprised this song did not qualify to the final. If they had received a more welcoming response, they may be still in the competition. I like this classic and elegant sound, in particular the sound of the violins. The music composition gives it a cinematic feeling. What a pity it was not appreciated.

– Pawel J. – I’ve never been a fan of Monaco at Eurovision and 2005 wasn’t different. Tout De Moi was very average. The performance itself didn’t show us anything new and interesting but I must admit Lise’s voice is very impressive and powerful. Overall I’m not surprised Monaco didn’t qualify for the final that year. In a light of that – the country decided to pull out of the contest, and we have not seen them at Eurovision since then.

Gunec Y. – Oh I miss Monaco in Eurovision. This is a classic Francophone song but sadly not so special. I admire Lise’s appearance and voice though.

Enjoy Lise Darly’s performance from the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest in the embedded video. Below the video, you can read more about her.

Lise Darly – a brief biography

Lise was born just along the coast from Monaco, in Nice, France on 27th of December 1981. She began as a professional singer in France when she was 14 years old.

Lise was selected to represent Monaco at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005, with Tout De Moi, after just missing out the year before. Her debut album was released in 2009.

In 2012 Lise participated in The Voice, France but was eventually eliminated after a performance of Adele’s Someone Like You. Lise was the backing vocalist when Ed Sheeran performed in France in 2015.

As well as singing, Lise also occasionally acts and in 2013 was part of the cast of French movie, L’Etoile Filante.