Sognu
Encyclopedia
"Sognu" is a song by Amaury Vassili
that was the entry for France
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
, was held in Düsseldorf
, Germany
. Although the song was favorite to win the contest, it ended up in 15th position.
The song was chosen internally by France 3
and SACEM
and announced on 4 February 2011. "Sognu" was sung in the Corsican language
, which marks the first French entry
in the Eurovision Song Contest
sung in Corsican since "Mama Corsica
" in 1993
.
Regarding the decision to select Amaury Vassili
and "Sognu", Pierre Sled, programme supervisor at France 3
, declared: "We wanted someone young, representing the excellence of French music. We didn't hesitate much, given the fact that the other names were not satisfying". He also pointed out that "the choice was driven by the desire to promote a young talented artist representing the best of the French music and its diversity. That's why we quickly agreed an opera singer was the most elegant option. Amaury is an angel of music with a powerful voice. Without any hesitation, he was definitely the perfect choice."This song was presented on 7 March.
singer Pierre Bachelet
), who have been working with Vassili since the beginning of his career. The lyrics of "Sognu" have been written by Jean-Pierre Marcellesi. "Our goal is clear" - Pierre Sled assures - "France 3 is the channel of French regions and we wanted to have them honoured. Corsican is close to Italian
, thus it will perfectly suit an opera song".
Amaury Vassili
Amaury Vassili is a French singer and the professional tenor. His debut album Vincerò from 2009 went double platinum in France, and he has had international success with releases in Canada, South Africa and South Korea.-Biography:Amaury Vassili, born Amaury Vassili Chotard, began singing around...
that was the entry for France
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
France is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest and has entered the competition fifty-four times since their debut at the very first contest in 1956. France is one of only seven countries to be present at the very first contest, and has only been absent from two...
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Eurovision Song Contest 2011
The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th annual Eurovision Song Contest and was won by Eldar & Nigar performing "Running Scared" for Azerbaijan. The event took place in the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, following Germany's win in the previous year...
, was held in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Although the song was favorite to win the contest, it ended up in 15th position.
The song was chosen internally by France 3
France 3
France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô....
and SACEM
Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique
Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique is a French professional association collecting payments of artists’ rights and distributing the rights to the original songwriters, composers and music publishers.-History:...
and announced on 4 February 2011. "Sognu" was sung in the Corsican language
Corsican language
Corsican is a Italo-Dalmatian Romance language spoken and written on the islands of Corsica and northern Sardinia . Corsican is the traditional native language of the Corsican people, and was long the vernacular language alongside the Italian, official language in Corsica until 1859, which was...
, which marks the first French entry
France in the Eurovision Song Contest
France is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest and has entered the competition fifty-four times since their debut at the very first contest in 1956. France is one of only seven countries to be present at the very first contest, and has only been absent from two...
in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
sung in Corsican since "Mama Corsica
Mama Corsica
"Mama Corsica" was the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993, performed in Corsican and French by Patrick Fiori....
" in 1993
Eurovision Song Contest 1993
The Eurovision Song Contest 1993 was the 38th Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 15 May 1993 in Millstreet, County Cork, Ireland. The presenter was Fionnuala Sweeney. Niamh Kavanagh was the winner of this Eurovision for Ireland with the song, "In Your Eyes"...
.
Regarding the decision to select Amaury Vassili
Amaury Vassili
Amaury Vassili is a French singer and the professional tenor. His debut album Vincerò from 2009 went double platinum in France, and he has had international success with releases in Canada, South Africa and South Korea.-Biography:Amaury Vassili, born Amaury Vassili Chotard, began singing around...
and "Sognu", Pierre Sled, programme supervisor at France 3
France 3
France 3 is the second largest French public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5, and France Ô....
, declared: "We wanted someone young, representing the excellence of French music. We didn't hesitate much, given the fact that the other names were not satisfying". He also pointed out that "the choice was driven by the desire to promote a young talented artist representing the best of the French music and its diversity. That's why we quickly agreed an opera singer was the most elegant option. Amaury is an angel of music with a powerful voice. Without any hesitation, he was definitely the perfect choice."This song was presented on 7 March.
Background
The song has been composed by Daniel Moyne and Quentin Bachelet (son of FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
singer Pierre Bachelet
Pierre Bachelet
Pierre Bachelet was a French singer-songwriter with a gentle romantic voice.Bachelet spent part of his childhood in Calais and developed a lifelong appreciation of the North of France, which inspired his hit song "Les corons" .His other hit songs include "Elle est d'ailleurs" , "Écris-moi" ,...
), who have been working with Vassili since the beginning of his career. The lyrics of "Sognu" have been written by Jean-Pierre Marcellesi. "Our goal is clear" - Pierre Sled assures - "France 3 is the channel of French regions and we wanted to have them honoured. Corsican is close to Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, thus it will perfectly suit an opera song".
Promotion
Amaury Vassili was invited to many shows such as "Le Plus Grand Cabaret Du Monde" (France2), the "13h00 news" (TF1 with more than 10 millions of TV viewers), the "Sidaction"sShow (France2), "Les Années Bonheur" (France2), "Morandini!" (Direct8) etc. Amaury will continue participating to various shows on all French TV channels. In addition, France3 broadcasts a short program several times a day. Just before the Big Final, France3 will broadcast a video about the Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with Amaury Vassili and various other artists. The target is clearly to have French TV viewers understand the reality and the importance of the event through its organisation, by visiting the press centre, the arena, etc, and with interviews with European press and fans. A show called "En Route Pour L'Eurovision Avec Amaury" will be recorded on the 29th of April and broadcast by France3 on May the 9th, 5 days before the Big Final. TV archives will let viewers dive into the Eurovision Song Contest history. Many past contests singers will participate in the show like Marie Myriam, Catherine Ferry, Séverine, Corinne Hermes, Natasha Saint-Pier, Patrick Fiori, Tom Dice, Eric Saade, Raphael Gualazzi and Amaury Vassili. Young French artists will join and sing past Eurovision hits. Among them, Sofia Essaïdi, Shym (who will sing White And Black Blues), the Mamma Mia group, etc. Amaury's record company, Warner Music Group, has decided to promote Sognu all around Europe through all of Europe by signing deals with radio stations. Furthermore, Warner Music Europe is preparing a European release of Amaury's CD-album, including Sognu.Music video
The official music video premiered on 8 March 2011 in Vassili's official YouTube channel.Track listing
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 4 March 2011 | Warner Music | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
| 2 May 2011 | CD single CD single A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s... |
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP) | 33 |
| France (SNEP) Physical chart | 3 |