1988 song by Céline Dion
"Ne partez pas sans moi" (; "Don't Leave Without Me") is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion with music composed by Atilla Şereftuğ and lyrics by Nella Martinetti. It represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1988, held in Dublin, winning the contest, being to date the last French language song to win.
"Ne partez pas sans moi" was released as a single in selected countries in Europe in May 1988. It topped the chart in Belgium for three consecutive weeks.
Background.
Conception.
"Ne partez pas sans moi" was written by Turkish composer Atilla Şereftuğ and Swiss lyricist Nella Martinetti and recorded by Celine Dion. She also recorded a German version, titled "Hand in Hand".
Eurovision.
On 6 February 1988, "Ne partez pas sans moi" performed by Dion competed in the national final organized by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR) to select their song and performer for the 33rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. The song won the competition so it became the Swiss entry for the contest.
On 30 April 1988, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at the RDS Simmonscourt Pavilion in Dublin hosted by (RTÉ), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Dion performed "Ne partez pas sans moi" ninth on the night, following Israel's "Ben Adam" by Yardena Arazi and preceding Ireland's "Take Him Home" by Jump the Gun. Şereftuğ conducted the live orchestra in the performance of the Swiss entry. The contest was followed by 600 million viewers worldwide. 
At the close of voting, the song had received 137 points, winning the contest beating the United Kingdom's entry "Go" performed by Scott Fitzgerald by just one point in one of the closest finishes in Eurovision history.
Aftermath.
"Ne partez pas sans moi" is considered to be one of the most popular Eurovision entries, mainly because of Dion's subsequent international success. It was included on Dion's 1988 album "The Best of Celine Dion" released in selected European countries in May 1988. The song appeared in Canada as B-side to "D'abord, c'est quoi l'amour". It was also featured on the French version of Dion's "Incognito" album. In 2005, it was included on her French compilation album, "On ne change pas".
As the winning broadcaster, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) gave SRG SSR the responsibility to host the following edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. This contest, held on 6 May 1989, opened with Dion performing "Ne partez pas sans moi" and the premiere of her first English language single "Where Does My Heart Beat Now". She also presented the trophy to the winner.
"Ne partez pas sans moi" was one of fourteen songs chosen by Eurovision fans and a EBU reference group, from among the 992 songs that had ever participated in the contest, to participate in the fiftieth anniversary competition ' held on 22 October 2005 in Copenhagen. The song, performed by Elina Nechayeva and Conchita Wurst, is featured as part of the "Eurovision Song-Along" act on the 2020 film '.
Chart history.
"Ne partez pas sans moi" debuted at number one in Belgium and stayed at the top of the chart for four consecutive weeks; then the single directly dropped to number 45. In Switzerland, the song peaked at number eleven and in France at number thirty-six. While the single sold 200,000 copies in Europe in two days and over 300,000 copies in total, it is one of the less commercially successful Eurovision winners. It was the first winning song not to be released in the United Kingdom or in Ireland. Although not released as a single in Canada, the song entered the chart in Quebec on 1 October 1988, spending twenty-three weeks on it and peaking at number ten.
References.
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