A Celtic flavour, really? In the 90's, the whole contest had been more or less drowned in fiddles and bagpipes and tin whistles with a Celtic flavour. I didn't long for more.
An imaginary language, really? Belgium has no fewer than three official languages, did they really need to invent one more?
I had discarded the whole entry so completely that I never really paid attention to it in the previews, judged it doomed to failure and found myself sitting with my jaw between my knees as it almost won the whole thing. I couldn't believe my poor eyes.
Rumour has it RTBF officials were just as shocked as I was, terrified at the prospect of hosting the international final they made sure their entries in coming years would run no risk of getting close to any top placings.
Since then, Urban Trad and their folksy song grew on me, I must admit. It is a polished and haunting little song, very well performed, and the imaginary words seem like a good idea since they can mean whatever the listener wants them to mean.
A deserved 2nd place?
I guess it was, since it stood the test of time better than most of the entries back in 2003. But if I had my way, the second place would have belonged to t.A.T.u and nobody else.
Urban Trad - Sanomi (Belgium 2003)
I remember sending a message to our common friend LT from Riga on the afternoon before the final: This is the most serious contender for 0 points, since nobody loves Belgium, not even the Belgians themselves.
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