Sanomi

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

"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)
Language
Composer(s)
Yves Barbieux
Lyricist(s)
Yves Barbieux
Finals performance
Final result
2nd
Final points
165
Entry chronology
◄ "Sister" (2002)   
"1 Life" (2004) ►

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 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 4 languages in Belgium and they're singing in an imaginary one, the very essence of the Euro"[2]).

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'd had extreme right sympathies in the past.[3] 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)[4] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[5] 3

References
  1. "Final of Riga 2003". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
  2. "Celebrity - Yahoo News UK". Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  3. "Belgium bans 'neo-Nazi' Eurovision singer", 21 Feb 2003, The Telegraph
  4. "Ultratop.be – Urban Trad – Sanomi" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  5. "Ultratop.be – Urban Trad – Sanomi" (in French). Ultratop 50.
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