"Snow on the Sahara" is a song by Indonesian singer

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 ...

from her first international studio album '' Snow on the Sahara''. Written originally in French by

Erick Benzi Erick Benzi (born 1 March 1959) is a French musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer from Marseille. He was previously part of the duo Die Form, with Gildas Arzel, and the group Canada (with Arzel, Jacques Veneruso, and Gwenn Arze ...

titled "La neige au Sahara", the song was adapted to English by Nikki Matheson. The French version was recorded for Anggun's first French album '' Au nom de la lune''. The song was released in 1997 as her debut international single in 33 countries worldwide. It topped the charts in Italy, Spain and several countries in Asia. The French version quickly became a hit in France, peaking at number 1 on the French Airplay Chart and number 16 on the French Singles Chart. It became the most-played single in France of 1997, with a total of 7,900 radio airplays, and was certified gold for shipment of 250,000 copies. While In Italy, it sold 100,000 copies.

Background and composition

The song was written, produced and arranged by

and later adapted into English by songwriter Nikki Matheson. The song remains to be Anggun's signature song across the world and catapulted Anggun's fame in international music scene in 1997 and 1998.

Sarah Brightman Sarah Brightman (born 14 August 1960) is an English classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United State ...

also did a cover version of this song on her The Harem World Tour: Live from Las Vegas album. The song is mainly built on synthesizers and keyboards sounds, mixed with tribal beats. It is considered to be an

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

song, while some others consider it

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

or World Music.

Music video

There are 2 versions of the music video for Snow on the Sahara. The first version was shot in Bali and features storyline about Anggun and her lover becoming the sacrifice for some ancient ritual. This version was used also for La Neige au Sahara. The second version features Anggun in an "art room" filled with antique furniture. She was also shot in an ice-blue background, singing the lines of the song. This version receives less airplay and was only released for the US and Italian television. The length of this version is shorter than the first one, fading in 3:39. Both version received heavy rotation on MTV Asia and managed to topped the

MTV Asia Hitlist ''MTV Asia Hitlist'' is an Asian chart show or countdown on MTV Asia, produced by MTV Asia and hosted by MTV VJs, which first aired in 1996. It resembles the MTV US show '' TRL'', which also featured music videos in a countdown. From 1996 to 1999, ...

chart for two weeks. Making her the first Asian artist to do so.

Track listing

#"Snow on the Sahara" (4:20) #"Selamanya" (2:21) #"La Neige au Sahara" (4:20)

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs Anggun songs Sarah Brightman songs French-language songs SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in Malaysia Number-one singles in Singapore Songs written by Erick Benzi Epic Records singles