Junior Eurovision 2022: UK's Freya comes fifth but wins public vote

France have won the 20th Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Lissandro, 13, won with his song Oh Maman.

The song contest took place on Sunday in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, with children aged 9 to 14 representing their countries.

Freya Skye was the UK's contestant and came fifth, out of the 16 performers, with 146 points.

Speaking to me after the show, Freya said: "It was such a surreal feeling being on stage and performing. It's everything I've ever dreamed off. Best night of my life."

Freya may not have won, but she did win the public vote.

The voting is split equally between the online public vote and from national juries - a selection of professional people related to the music industry, from each country.

Asking Freya how she felt after winning the public vote, 13-year-old Freya told me: "I feel like words can't even describe how it feels, I feel so lucky to have come to Armenia, I've had the most amazing experience."

It had been a tough week for Freya, she had been feeling unwell and was told to rest her voice after seeing a doctor.

There had been two dress rehearsals on Saturday and she only performed in one.

Freya had been doing lots of things to look after her voice, one of which was avoiding some dairy products and after coming off stage, she said "I can finally eat cheese".

Freya told me, "It's been quite the week, I've been on voice rest the majority of the week, I'm just so so so proud of me and the girls.

"We came together. Honestly they are my best friends, I couldn't have done it without them. I'm so grateful I had them on stage with me."

The whole of team UK had been supporting Freya, including her dancers Kristen-Leigh, Meesha, India and Soraiyah. They told me: "It was amazing, best experience ever."

Winner Lissandro's song Oh Maman is all about "believing in yourself no matter what happens". The lyrics translate to "I step on stage nothing stops me, I take my guitar, I'm not afraid of anything, I'm a star for chorus".

France's Lissandro said after winning: "I'm so happy, thank you everyone. Vive La France", which means "long live France".

After Lissandro's win, France TV's president Delphine Ernotte confirmed they will be hosting the competition next year.

France last held the competition in 2021, after their contestant Valentina won the previous year in Poland.

Did you watch the show? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below...