Sanomi

"Sanomi"
Single by Urban Trad
B-side"Get Reel"
Released2003
GenreModern Celtic
Length3:01
LabelMercury Records
Songwriter(s)Yves Barbieux
Producer(s)
  • Yves Barbieux
  • Nicolas Vandooren
Eurovision Song Contest 2003 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Urban Trad
Language
Imaginary
Composer(s)
Yves Barbieux
Lyricist(s)
Yves Barbieux
Finals performance
Final result
2nd
Final points
165
Entry chronology
◄ "Sister" (2002)
"1 Life" (2004) ►

"Sanomi" is a song recorded by Belgian six-piece band Urban Trad, written by Yves Barbieux. It is best known as the Belgian entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, held in Riga.

At Eurovision

This was the second time that Belgium finished as the runner-up, the first being Jean Vallée with "L'amour ça fait chanter la vie" in 1978, and it was also the country's best placing in the contest since Sandra Kim's victory with "J'aime la vie" in 1986.

The song was the twenty-second in the running order of the 2003 contest, following Latvia's F.L.Y. with "Hello From Mars" and preceding Estonia's Ruffus with "Eighties Coming Back". At the close of voting, it had received 165 points, placing second in a field of 26.[1]

The song

The song is remarkable for a number of reasons. Perhaps the most readily apparent is that it was the first occasion that a song not in a natural language had been performed at the Eurovision Song Contest (prompting the famous remark of BBC commentator Terry Wogan "they've got four languages in Belgium and they're singing in an imaginary one, the very essence of the Euro").[2][3]

Further, the song is remarkable for having featured in one of the closest finishes in the contest's history, ultimately finishing with just two fewer points than the eventual winner (Sertab Erener with "Everyway That I Can" for Turkey) and only one point above third-placed Russia (t.A.T.u. with "Ne Ver', Ne Boysia").

Versions

Two versions of the song exist on record. One was the standard album version (4:08) and another version was released on single and on the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 compilation album. Often known as the "Eurovision edit", it cut down to 3:01 and it had Soetkin Collier's vocals removed.

This arose because a few months before the contest, the selectors dropped singer Soetkin Collier on the advice of the Belgian security services, who claimed that she had had far right sympathies in the past.[4] Collier vigorously denied the claims, and later that year after an investigation it was concluded that the accusations were exaggerated and based on outdated information.

Track listing

  1. "Sanomi" (Eurovision Edit)
  2. "Get Reel"

Charts

Chart (2003) Peak position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[6] 3

External links

  • Official Eurovision Song Contest site, history by year, 2003.
  • Detailed info and lyrics, The Diggiloo Thrush, "Sanomi".

References

  1. ^ "Final of Riga 2003". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  2. ^ Caroline Westbrook (31 Jan 2016). "14 of Terry Wogan's most memorable quotes from Eurovision". Metro. Archived from the original on 1 Feb 2016. 8 - 'They've got four languages in Belgium…and they're singing in an imaginary one. The very essence of the Euro.'...very nearly won the contest...
  3. ^ "Celebrity - Yahoo News UK". Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Belgium bans 'neo-Nazi' Eurovision singer", 21 Feb 2003, The Telegraph
  5. ^ "Urban Trad – Sanomi" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  6. ^ "Urban Trad – Sanomi" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  • v
  • t
  • e
ParticipationArtistsSongs
  • "1 Life"
  • "À la folie ou pas du tout"
  • "Als het weer lente is"
  • "L'Amour ça fait chanter la vie"
  • "Avanti la vie"
  • "Baby, Baby"
  • "Because of You"
  • "Before the Party's Over"
  • "City Lights"
  • "Copycat"
  • "Dis oui"
  • "Door de wind"
  • "Envie de vivre"
  • "Euro-Vision"
  • "Fleur de liberté"
  • "Geef het op"
  • "Gelukkig zijn"
  • "Goeiemorgen, morgen"
  • "Le Grand soir"
  • "Hey Nana"
  • "Hou toch van mij"
  • "Iemand als jij"
  • "Ik heb zorgen"
  • "J'aime la vie"
  • "Je t'adore"
  • "Jennifer Jennings"
  • "Judy et Cie"
  • "Laat me nu gaan"
  • "Laissez briller le soleil"
  • "Liefde is een kaartspel"
  • "Like the Wind"
  • "Love Kills"
  • "Love Power"
  • "Ma petite chatte"
  • "Macédomienne"
  • "A Matter of Time"
  • "Me and My Guitar"
  • "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine"
  • "A Million in One, Two, Three"
  • "Miss You"
  • "Mon amour pour toi"
  • "Mother"
  • "Nous, on veut des violons"
  • "O Julissi"
  • "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel"
  • "Le Plus beau jour de ma vie"
  • "Près de ma rivière"
  • "Quand tu reviendras"
  • "Release Me"
  • "Rendez-vous"
  • "Rhythm Inside"
  • "Samson"
  • "Sanomi"
  • "September, gouden roos"
  • "Si tu aimes ma musique"
  • "Sister"
  • "Soldiers of Love"
  • "Straatdeuntje"
  • "Ton nom"
  • "Viens l'oublier"
  • "La Voix est libre"
  • "Waarom?"
  • "Wake Up"
  • "What's the Pressure"
  • "With Love Baby"
  • "Would You?"
  • "The Wrong Place"
  • Note: Entries scored out signify where Belgium did not compete
  • v
  • t
  • e
Countries
Artists
Songs
  • "Cry Baby"
  • "Deixa-me sonhar"
  • "Dime"
  • "Don't Break My Heart"
  • "Eighties Coming Back"
  • "Everyway That I Can"
  • "Feeling Alive"
  • "Give Me Your Love"
  • "Hasta la vista"
  • "Hello from Mars"
  • "I'm Not Afraid to Move On"
  • "Keine Grenzen – Żadnych granic"
  • "Let's Get Happy"
  • "Monts et merveilles"
  • "Nanana"
  • "Ne brini"
  • "Ne ver', ne boysia"
  • "Never Let You Go"
  • "One More Night"
  • "Open Your Heart"
  • "Sanomi"
  • "To Dream Again"
  • "Više nisam tvoja"
  • "We've Got the World"
  • "Weil der Mensch zählt"
  • "Words for Love"
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