![\"Monroe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/211197e45a9b927f2642388fc749a062.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nMonroe Rigby knew from a fairly young age that she wanted to pursue music.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m good yet,\u201d the singer, who goes by her stage name, Monroe, remembers thinking at the time. \u201cBut you always just keep growing. That\u2019s life, you know. I just wanted to do it because I love it. I loved it then, I love it now, and I\u2019ll love it for a lot longer.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the 17-year-old who grew up near Salt Lake City, the interest started as a child sitting with her family at church. Monroe saw up close how music affected her parents. And when she started singing in the church choir, she would look out and see how it brought joy to others in the congregation, even moving some to tears.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just got me completely in love with this idea that it can touch you in a way that you don\u2019t even understand,\u201d Monroe said. \u201cAnd so from then on, I just wanted to keep learning. And then I started taking lessons. And then I started doing theater. I started with musical theater shows and doing some opera shows.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Monroe Rigby, a 17-year-old singer who hails from Utah, is representing France in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. | Groupe France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions France 2<\/p>\n
Now, the teenager is preparing to perform on the largest stage yet of her rising career.<\/p>\n
Monroe has been selected to represent France in the 70th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The international competition \u2014 which helped to launch the careers of artists including ABBA and Celine Dion \u2014 reached 166 million viewers last year<\/a>. This year, 35 countries are competing.<\/p>\n Speaking from Vienna, Austria, where she recently had her first rehearsal for Eurovision, Monroe chatted with the Deseret News about her path to the competition \u2014 and how Utah helped her get there.<\/p>\n \u2018After the Super Bowl, it\u2019s the biggest show\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re just having the time of our lives right now,\u201d Monroe said on a Zoom call last Friday, the day after her first rehearsal.<\/p>\n The teenager recently arrived to Austria by way of France, where she has been making a name for herself the past couple of years.<\/p>\n When she was 16, she won the popular French TV competition \u201cProdiges,\u201d which highlights talented young performers in the fields of instrumental music, opera\/classical singing and dance.<\/p>\n That win, cemented with a performance of the classic \u201cQueen of the Night\u201d aria from Mozart\u2019s \u201cThe Magic Flute,\u201d landed her a record deal with Warner Classics. Last year she released her debut album, \u201cMonroe<\/a>,\u201d featuring a mix of operatic and crossover standards like Puccini\u2019s \u201cNessun dorma\u201d and \u201cOver the Rainbow.\u201d<\/p>\n The \u201cProdiges\u201d victory also connected Monroe to Alexandra Redde, the chief of delegation for France at the Eurovision Song Contest. Together they looked at a few songs before landing on \u201cRegarde!\u201d as France\u2019s official entry for Eurovision.<\/p>\n The official music video for the song has more than 2 million views on YouTube.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about this idea of finding strength and finding love and reassurance within us,\u201d Monroe said. \u201cRealizing that even though our lives can be so, so busy, sometimes … we just need to look around, take a deep breath and see that there\u2019s some strength around us.\u201d<\/p>\n Monroe will perform \u201cRegarde!\u201d on Saturday, May 16, during the Eurovision grand finale \u2014 which will be livestreamed on the official Eurovision YouTube channel<\/a> at 1 p.m. MDT. It\u2019s a monumental milestone for her young career \u2014 \u201cAfter the Super Bowl, it\u2019s the biggest show,\u201d the teenager said with a laugh.<\/p>\n Claiming a spot in the Eurovision Song Contest, Monroe said, has been a true team effort \u2014 including the support of influential mentors and programs in Utah.<\/p>\n How Utah helped prepare Monroe for Eurovision<\/p>\n French and U.S. cultures have been intertwined throughout Monroe\u2019s life \u2014 she speaks \u201cFranglish\u201d at home, she said, thanks to a dad from the states and a mom from France.<\/p>\n Growing up in Utah, she found a strong support system for her musical passions. Michael Ballam, who founded the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre<\/a> in Logan, was a major influence. At the festival, Monroe observed up close the art of performing, and took part in youth programs where she was able to develop her skills with kids her age who shared a similar passion.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were the ones that really pushed me … in getting me to the artist that I am and the artist that I aspire to be as well,\u201d she said. \u201cThey were always pushing me.\u201d<\/p>\n Monroe has also studied with Thomas Glenn<\/a>, a Grammy Award-winning tenor who teaches at Utah State University. Glenn was by her side in France when she recorded her first album, and is now in Vienna cheering her on in Eurovision.<\/p>\n Monroe Rigby, a 17-year-old singer from Utah, is representing France in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. | Provided by Groupe France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions France 2<\/p>\n For the teenager, making it to the prestigious Eurovision stage is a reflection of all the support and encouragement she has received in both Utah and France.<\/p>\n And plans beyond Eurovision are already in the works.<\/p>\n Monroe, who recently performed Edith Piaf\u2019s \u201cHymne \u00e0 l\u2019amour\u201d with Josh Groban<\/a> during his show in Paris last month<\/a>, will go on her own tour performing in churches and cathedrals throughout France.<\/p>\n \u201cBut for right now, my focus is entirely 100% \u2014 200% \u2014 on Eurovision,\u201d she said emphatically.<\/p>\n![\"Monroe](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/europe\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/88c1b754e55eef22f4293bc83fd64f71.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n