J'aime la vie - Sandra Kim

The Japanese really know how to package their singles - they regularly come with totally different sleeves and then there's the sleeve notes at the back in Japanese too. And in this case, a totally different B-side! 

'J'aime la vie' was, of course, the song that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986. It remains the only time that Belgium won the Contest, and with a rather dreadful song I might add. But it still has all the hallmarks of an Eighties production, with synthesizers and drum beats galore. 

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."

My collection: 7" single no. 6868
Found: Discogs.com, received 18 February 2023
Tracks: 'J'aime la vie' / 'Liberté'

J'aime la vie - Sandra Kim

I bought 'Crazy of life' last year, the English version of 'J'aime la vie' by Sandra Kim. Although that single features the original French version on the B-side, I still decided to buy the original single 'J'aime la vie' because, well, a Eurovision collection is only complete when you have the 'common' edition next to rare abroad versions.

The B-side is actually an interesting affair. Despite the limitations of Sandra Kim's high pitched shrieking, there's a great chanson hiding in the recording. 'J'aime la vie' reached number 4 in the Dutch Top 40.

My collection: 7" single no. 4525
Found: Any old time, Amsterdam, January 30, 2010
Cost: 0,1 euro
Tracks: 'J'aime la vie' / 'Ne m'oublie pas'

Crazy of life - Sandra Kim

Sandra Calderone was born on October 15, 1972 in Montegnée near Liège in Belgium. She took on her stage name Sandra Kim, naming herself after her big idol, Kim Wilde. In 1986, at the tender age of 13, she represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 'J'aime la vie'. In the lyric of the song she claims to be 15 years old, the minimum age for Eurovision contestants. She won the Contest that year. When her real age was revealed, Switzerland (who'd reached second place with 'Pas pour moi' by Daniela Simons) petitioned to have the song disqualified, but this did not happen.

The original single of 'J'aime la vie' contains a different (French) song on the B-side. This edition features the English version 'Crazy of life' on the A-side. I never bought 'J'aime la vie' because I really hate the song - but I am a sucker for alternative versions of Eurovision songs. And so I gave in...

My collection: 7" single no. 3645

Found: Record fair, Utrecht, April 18, 2009

Cost: 0,8 euro

Tracks: 'Crazy of life' / 'J'aime la vie'