Because its rules don’t specify that competing artists must be from the country they represent, the Eurovision Song Contest has had some interesting pairings in its history. One of the most classic happened in Dublin in April 1988, when Celine Dion performed on behalf of Switzerland — and won.
Dion herself was a little perplexed, writing in her autobiography, “My Story, My Dream,” (2001): “Though French Canadian, I was representing the Swiss! And singing a song written by an Italian and a Turk.” (She was close: The lyricist, Nella Martinetti, was Swiss but spoke Italian; and the composer, Atilla Sereftug, was born in Turkey but became a Swiss citizen.)
The song, “Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” (“Don’t Leave Without Me”), was a synth-laden mid-tempo number, and Dion — a perm-haired 20-year-old at the time — was not a big fan, writing later that she found it “too pompous.”
Yet she eked out a victory in one of the most suspenseful finishes in Eurovision history: The British entry, Scott Fitzgerald’s “Go,” was the runner-up by a single point. (In her book, Dion is less focused on the contest than on what immediately followed — when she and her longtime manager, René Angélil, became romantically involved.)
“Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” remains the last entry performed in French to win Eurovision; France has not won since 1977. Switzerland waited until 2024 to prevail again, that time with Nemo’s “The Code,” which is written in English — not one of Switzerland’s four official languages.
“Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi” was only moderately successful as a single, but it helped expand Dion’s success beyond her strongholds of Quebec and France — and it remains a favorite among fans, who have been fretting about a possible surprise appearance in Basel for this year’s final.
She released her English-language debut album, “Unison,” in April 1990, and its track “Where Does My Heart Beat Now” was her first single to enter the Top 10 in the United States. After that, world domination was almost hers.
