La Voix (song)

"La voix"
cover art
Single by Malena Ernman
from the album La Voix du Nord
Released23 February 2009
Recorded2008
Genre
LabelRoxy
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Elof Loelv
  • Kim Wennerström
Contest video
"La voix" by Malena Ernman on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2009 entry
Country
Artist(s)
Languages
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
  • Fredrik Kempe
  • Malena Ernman
Finals performance
Semi-final result
4th
Semi-final points
105
Final result
21st
Final points
33
Entry chronology
◄ "Hero" (2008)
"This Is My Life" (2010) ►

"La voix" (French pronunciation: [la vwa]; "The voice") is a song by Swedish singer Malena Ernman, which served as the Swedish entry at the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, held in Moscow, Russia.[1] It was composed by Fredrik Kempe, with lyrics by both Kempe and Ernman. It is the first Swedish entry to contain lyrics in French, as well as being the last Swedish entry to have contained lyrics in a language other than English. Despite the fact that France's Patricia Kaas would get a relatively good placing in the final, Ernman drew further attention to Francophone culture in the semi-final, as well in the grand final (by classing 3rd in the OGAE Second Chance round), despite her ultimate placing (21st).

The song was the winner of Melodifestivalen 2009 on 14 March 2009, earning the right to compete for Sweden in the first semi-final of Eurovision 2009 on 12 May 2009. The song qualified for the final round where it finished 21st place with 33 points, making it Sweden's second lowest placing in the contest since 1992's "I morgon är en annan dag" (22nd), and also the second time the country failed to place within the Top 20.

In 2010, the song was covered by Russian pop singer Philipp Kirkorov and opera singer Anna Netrebko with Kirkorov singing verses and Netrebko singing chorus. They recorded two versions of the song, one with original French and English lyrics and other sang exclusively in Russian.

The song has also been used as the backing track for the musical documentary Spaceplane Sailing. The short film covers the 33-mission career of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and was premiered on YouTube in February 2013.