Every year when the contest is nearing, Belgium's only and the youngest ever Eurovision Song Contest winner Sandra Kim gets the attention. At the age of 13, the girl from Liège won the contest in Bergen with the song J'aime la vie. In today's television show Al Dente on Be TV, Sandra Kim unburdened herself and put it strongly.
'It was no pleasure for me'
“When I see the images from Bergen back, I am sad to see what a little girl I still was. I was 13 and a half, I lived a peaceful life. Of course I loved singing, but I didn't imagine to make my profession of it. When I was selected to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest, I didn't understand what was happening to me. It was an enormous pleasure for my parents and many people around me, but not for me. Of course my target was to win. But I was only thinking about my future. I would return to school, see my best friend and family back… But no! Serious problems occured.”
'In Liège they called me a big whore'
“I recently read an interview with Vanessa Paradis and I have the feeling that we have gone through similar things. I couldn't walk in the streets of Liège anymore without hearing insults like Grosse pute! (big whore) It was infernal. My environment has suffered too, including my sister. It was like people wanted to take revenge, two or three years later when it went less good: Now it's over for you, it's your end.”
Robbed by her producer
“The contract signed by my parents stated that I couldn't touch one franc of what I earned with my records. After my Eurovision Song Contest victory more than a million copies of J'aime la vie have been sold, of which 360.000 in Belgium. In total and for all of this, my producer gave me 5.000 �. Moreover he earned 50% on my contracts while normally it is between 10 and 15% only. My first husband opened my eyes by asking me: Are you happy?”
An icon in Flanders, handicaped in Wallonia
Although Sandra Kim was born in and represented the French speaking region of Belgium, she scored her biggest successes in Flanders. Both language regions also have another opinion about Belgium's only Eurovision Song Contest winner. “In Flanders I am still an icon. When I am walking down the street, people look at me as if they are seeing the Atomium. But in Wallonia, it is a handicap when you haven't succeeded in France first.”
Sandra Kim keeps building on her career and her biggest wish is to create and perform a show around the songs of Barbra Streisand.
