"Everyway That I Can" is the winning song of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2003 The Eurovision Song Contest 2003 was the 48th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Riga, Latvia, following the country's victory at the with the song " I Wanna" by Marie N. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) a ...

sung in English by

Sertab Erener Sertab Erener (born 4 December 1964) is a Turkish singer, songwriter and composer. With her coloratura soprano voice, she started working as a backing vocalist for Sezen Aksu, and with Aksu's help she released her first studio album in the 1990 ...

for . The song was written by

Demir Demirkan Demir Demirkan () (born 12 August 1972) is a Turkish musician, Eurovision Song Contest winning composer, formerly guitarist for thrash metal band Mezarkabul. Demir Demirkan started playing music when he was 13 and played guitar with various gr ...

in early 2003 and produced and arranged by

Ozan Çolakoğlu Ozan Çolakoğlu (, born 1 April 1972) is a Turkish composer, songwriter and music producer; famous for his work with various Turkish pop singers and his multiple film scores. He co-founded the production company ''Sarı Ev'' (Yellow House), but ...

, famous for his works with pop idol Tarkan. Initially, it sparked controversy in Turkey for its subject matter and English-language lyrics, and was not considered a favorite to win the contest. The song ultimately won Eurovision Song Contest 2003 by a two-point margin, and went on to achieve commercial success throughout Europe, peaking at number 1 on singles charts in

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, Sweden, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, as well as attaining top 10 peaks in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, the

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Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It continues to be ranked among the best Eurovision entries of all time.

Eurovision Song Contest 2003

Background

Having previously selected Erener to represent the nation, Turkish broadcaster TRT chose her song to represent

Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 Turkey participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "Everyway That I Can" written by Demir Demirkan. The song was performed by Sertab Erener. The entry was selected through an internal selection organised by Turkish broadcaster ...

in Riga, Latvia. Initially "Everyway That I Can" caused controversy with the Turkish public, considered too racy by some and too pop-oriented by others. Criticism also arose by Sertab's decision to perform it in English instead of Turkish. With its selection of singer and song, Turkey was regarded as having "set out to win" the 2003 contest, but Sertab was not widely regarded as a front-runner in the lead-up to the event;

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

t.A.T.u. t.A.T.u. (russian: Тату, ) were a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with ...

was regarded as a favorite to win.

Performance

Turkey performed fourth on the night in May, earning critical acclaim and becoming the first and only country whose song received a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

that year. The song had been re-written slightly to include some high notes and a

belly dancing Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

routine was added. Erener sang counter to the rhythm in places and the backing vocals were synthesised with Turkish

stringed instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

Voting

The voting on the night saw Russia, Turkey, and

switch places at the top a number of times before

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 ...

eventually gave Turkey the victory by two points; the song received the maximum 12 points from four countries, the second-highest number (following Russia).

Commercial performance

Following its victory, "Everyway That I Can" was released throughout Europe and sold well. It reached the top of the charts in Turkey, Greece, and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

, holding the number-one position in Sweden for three weeks, breaking the top ten in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and Austria and charting within the top twenty in Germany and Switzerland. It received a platinum certification in Greece and a gold certification in Sweden. The video of the release sees Erener in an Ottoman style castle, its rose gardens,

imperial harem The Imperial Harem ( ota, حرم همايون, ) of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded po ...

(living quarters) and

Turkish Bath A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

(hamam). Roses carry a major symbolism throughout the video. Erener is dressed in traditional Turkish styles, and Turkish female dancers are also present.

Remixes A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of the song were also released, including a Turkish version, a club remix, and a European dance remix. A live version was brought out and also included on the original single CD, along with two

Galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...

club remixes. The track was included on the official Eurovision 2003 CD as the original version, however.

After Eurovision

Erener was hailed as a national hero by the public and the press and was congratulated by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Ahmet Necdet Sezer Ahmet Necdet Sezer (; born 13 September 1941) is a Turkish statesman and judge who served as the tenth president of Turkey from 2000 to 2007. Previously he was president of the Constitutional Court of Turkey from 1998 to 2002. The Grand Nationa ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. She was awarded the State Medal of Distinguished Service, among others. Additionally, this success was celebrated as a step forward in the

Turkey–European Union relations Relations between the European Union (EU) and Turkey were established in 1959, and the institutional framework was formalised with the 1963 Ankara Agreement. Albeit not officially part of the European Union, Turkey is one of the EU's main partne ...

. Erener performed the single as a medley at the 2004 final in

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with male dancers and the same choreography. The single was also included in her first English album '' No Boundaries''. The song continues to perform well in rankings of the all-time best Eurovision entries. In 2005, the song competed in '' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'' as one of the fourteen best ever Eurovision entrants, and finished ninth, beating popular artists such as

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

's "

Ne partez pas sans moi "Ne partez pas sans moi" (; "Don't Leave Without Me") is a song recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion. The song was written by Atilla Şereftuğ and Nella Martinetti. It is best known as the Swiss winning entry at the Eurovision Song Contes ...

", Johnny Logan and

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in the process. Erener herself appeared onstage to perform the final verse of the song on the night. In 2006, it was entered in ''

Die Grand Prix Hitliste () was a one-off music competition, held by the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) on 20 May 2006 in Hamburg, Germany. Its aim was to determine the best song in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest by means of an opinion p ...

'', a German version of the above, and beat off stiff competition from

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

's " Waterloo" and eleven others to finish second.

Ruslana Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko ( uk, Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, ''Ruslana Lyzhychko''; born 24 May 1973), known mononymously as Ruslana, is a World Music Award and Eurovision Song Contest winning recording artist, holdi ...

's "

Wild Dances "Wild Dances" is a single by Ukrainian singer-songwriter Ruslana. The song, representing , won the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 held in Istanbul with a score of 280 points. A Ukrainian-language version called "Dyki tantsi" () was released in Rus ...

", the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

2004 winning entry, was first. The song was also included in a compilation of Sertab Erener's national and international hits released in 2007.

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

In 2010,

Elhaida Dani Elhaida Dani (; born 17 February 1993) is an Albanian singer, songwriter, composer and actress. Born and raised in Shkodër, Dani performed in diverse singing competitions and started to play piano as a child. She rose to national recognition i ...

performed the song live on ', an Albanian variety show. Dani would later go on to represent at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

References

{{Authority control Eurovision songs of 2003 Turkish popular music Eurovision songs of Turkey Congratulations Eurovision songs Eurovision Song Contest winning songs Number-one singles in Sweden English-language Turkish songs Number-one singles in Greece Columbia Records singles Sony Music singles 2003 songs