Rabat, Jan. 14 -- With his new song, "Roi" (King), French-Moroccan Bilal Hassani ranked first place in the competition's semi-finals in Tel Aviv on Saturday, January 12, outperforming the other three semi-finalists.

Hassani was ahead of French singer of Algerian descent Chimene Badi, Silvan Areg, and Aysat. It is all thanks to Hassani's song that promotes love and tolerance and rejects hate and homophobia.

Although the 19-year-old singer who continues to receive harsh criticism online, mainly due to his sexual orientation, performed with exceptional confidence at the contest.

In the second week after its release, Hassani's song Roi has already become a hit with more than 3 million views on YouTube.

Roi depicts Hassani's love for singi...