J'aime la vie

"J'aime la vie" (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɛm la vi], I Love Life) was the winning song of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, performed for Belgium by Sandra Kim. Belgium had finished the 1985 Contest in last place, and thus achieved the rare turnaround from last to first in the space of one year. The song also marks the only time to date that Belgium has won the Contest. The song was also released on Kim's album J'aime la vie in 1986.

"J'aime la vie"
Single by Sandra Kim
B-side"On n'oublie pas"
Released1986
Format7" single
GenrePop, eurodisco
Length3:00
LabelCarrere
Songwriter(s)Jean Paul Furnémont (music)
Angelo Crisci (music)
Rosario Marino (lyrics)
Producer(s)Marino Atria[1]
Sandra Kim singles chronology
"Ami Ami"
(1985)		 "J'aime la vie"
(1986)		 "Tokyo Boy"
(1986)
Eurovision Song Contest 1986 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Sandra Caldarone
As
Language
Composer(s)
Jean Paul Furnémont
Angelo Crisci
Lyricist(s)
Rosario Marino
Conductor
Jo Carlier
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
176
Appearance chronology
◄ "Laat me nu gaan" (1985)   
"Soldiers of Love" (1987) ►

Lyrics

Performed in French, the song is a positive one, dealing with the pleasure to be had in life.

Music video

During Preview Week, Kim sang the song with the common theme of "things she likes" intact throughout. In the video, she does many things which she finds enjoyable, which include partaking in physical education class, hanging out with friends, listening to her Walkman, buying a big ice cream cone, and performing a choreographed dance in an exercise studio.

The video was reconstructed scene by scene some 25 years later as a commercial for the insurancy company Delta Lloyd. The new and old videos were then shown side by side.

Performance at the Eurovision Song Contest 1986

At Bergen, the song was performed thirteenth on the night (following Ireland's Luv Bug with "You Can Count On Me" and preceding Germany's Ingrid Peters with "Über Die Brücke Geh'n"). Its winning tally was 176 points, finishing first in a field of 20. The entry received points from every jury.

In the lyrics, Kim describes herself as being "fifteen", although she was later proven to be only thirteen at the time of her performance. She thus remains the youngest ever Eurovision winner and one of the youngest-ever performers at the Contest. Her record is unlikely to be challenged, as the Contest rules were changed to specify that performers must turn at least 16 in the year that they perform. According to author and historian John Kennedy O'Connor in his book The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History, the Swiss (who had placed 2nd) petitioned to have the Belgian win nullified after Kim's age was revealed.[2]

Kim, herself of Italian descent, also recorded her winning entry in Italian (with the same title as the original French, "J'aime la vie") and English ("Crazy of Life").

In a 2006 online interview with 12points.be, Kim was asked if she sings "J'aime la vie" "with pleasure" at concerts and events now, to which she responded, "Not always." She then said, "It's a little girl's song, with little girl's lyrics, with a young adolescent's atmosphere. Nowadays, singing "J'aime la vie"...do you like life every day? Me neither."[3] She does however continue to perform the song, and in 2007 one of the performances was televised live on Norwegian TV.

"J'aime la vie" was succeeded as Belgian representative at the 1987 Contest, held in Brussels, by Liliane Saint-Pierre performing "Soldiers of Love".

Track listings
7" single
  1. "J'aime la vie" – 3:00
  2. "Ne m'oublie pas" – 4:39

Personnel
"J'aime la vie"
  • Written by R. Marino-Atria/J.F. Furnemont-A. Crisci
  • Arranged by J.P. Lebens
  • Produced by Marino
"On n'oublie pas"
  • Written by R. Marino-Atria/J.F. Furnemont-A. Crisci-A. Bertrand
  • Engineered L. Tylgat

Charts

References
  1. "Sandra Kim - J'aime la vie", hitparade.ch. Retrieved 8 August 2017.
  2. O'Connor, John Kennedy. The Eurovision Song Contest - The Official History. Carlton Books, UK. 2007. ISBN 978-1-84442-994-3
  3. Video interview with 12points.be
  4. "J'aime la vie", in various singles charts Lescharts.com (Retrieved May 3, 2009)
  5. German Singles Chart Musicline.de Archived 2012-04-05 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved May 3, 2009)
  6. "RÚV - Vinsældalisti Rásar 2". RÚV. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  7. "Single top 100 over 1986" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
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