"Echo (You and I)" is a song by Indonesian/French singer-songwriter

Anggun Anggun Cipta Sasmi (; born 29 April 1974), better known as Anggun C. Sasmi or more often mononymously as Anggun, is an Indonesian-born French singer-songwriter and television personality. Born in Jakarta, she began performing at the age of sev ...

. A mixed French-English song, it was the French entry in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...

. The song was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from the international edition of her album '' Echoes'' and the third single in France. The full English version of "Echo (You and I)" was later included on her Indonesia-only compilation '' Best-Of: Design of a Decade 2003–2013'' (2013).

Background

On 29 November 2011, Anggun was announced by the

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...

as the French representative in the

. Marie Claire Mezzette, the head of the Entertainment Department at

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

, explained that Anggun had been a strong candidate for a long time and last year they were hesitating between her and

Amaury Vassili Amaury Vassili Chotard (born 8 June 1989) is a French opera singer and professional tenor. His debut album ''Vincerò'' from 2009 went double platinum in France, and he has had international success with releases in Canada, South Africa and Sou ...

. Speaking about the selection, Anggun said, "It's really a great honour. It's a lovely gift for me as I'm of Indonesian origin, but having been naturalised French since 2000. I undoubtedly symbolise a mixed France of today, made up of many cultures. Your country has given me a beautiful language, a beautiful identity. Secretly, we all want to win. I'm going to shine for France."

Production

Anggun composed the song in collaboration with musicians

William Rousseau William Rousseau is a French singer and composer. Biography William Rousseau moved to Paris in 2002 and signed as a composer for Warner. He wrote songs for Celine Dion, Tina Arena, Nolwenn Leroy, Roch Voisine, Anggun, Chimène Badi, and Chris ...

and Jean-Pierre Pilot. For the mixing of the song she enlisted the help of Veronica Ferraro, who has worked on

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

's latest project. On 29 December 2011, the demo of the song, entitled "Europa", was sent to several media and was claimed to be as engaging and inviting as

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

's "

Moves Like Jagger "Moves like Jagger" is a song by American band Maroon 5 featuring American singer Christina Aguilera. It was released on June 21, 2011, as the fourth and final single from the re-release of the group's third studio album '' Hands All Over'' (201 ...

" and

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

's "

I Wanna Go "I Wanna Go" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, ''Femme Fatale'' (2011). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted on her Twitt ...

". On 17 January 2012, Anggun announced the official title of the song, "Echo (You and I)". The song is mostly in French, with few English lyrics in its chorus. The full English version will be recorded.

Release and promotion

"Echo (You and I)" was previewed exclusively at

Midem Midem is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l'Édition Musicale, which is organised annually in and around the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. The trade show, organized by Reed MIDEM, a subsidiary of Re ...

on 29 January 2012. The single was released on all legal digital platforms on 30 January 2012. An ultra-limited edition cd single of "Echo (You and I) was released on 9 April 2012 in France Anggun embarked on a promotional tour to more than 15 countries in Europe. She made live appearances to perform the song during the national song selections of several countries, including

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, and

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

Music video

The music video premiered on 13 March 2012 and was uploaded on Anggun and Eurovision's YouTube channels on the same day. However, the music video was taken down on Eurovision's channel and was re-uploaded again on 20 March 2012 to cut out the beginning of the video which showed various product placements, such as Anggun riding a Dacia Lodgy car with her friends, and talking to a stylist in the studio while numerous hair and beauty products are being used on her. The video shows Anggun inside a military base where new recruits are seen being trained. The video was shot in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and Bucharest
Lodgy to appear in Anggun's video clip "Echo (You and I)" - Groupe Renault

Eurovision Song Contest 2012

As one of the "Big Five", the song automatically qualified for the Eurovision grand final. It was drawn to perform 9th. Anggun performed wearing a shiny metallic dress designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. She was accompanied by two backing vocals and three acrobatic dancers. The song performed below expectations finishing in 22nd place scoring just 21 points, with nul points from the televoting. Anggun later told the press that she had originally hoped to reach a place within the top 10 and was deeply disappointed with the result.

Track listing

*Digital Download #"Echo (You and I)" – 3:03

Charts

References

{{authority control 2012 singles Anggun songs Eurovision songs of 2012 Eurovision songs of France 2012 songs Songs written by William Rousseau Warner Music Group singles Songs written by Anggun Franglais songs English-language French songs