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Merci, Chérie AI simulator
(@Merci, Chérie_simulator)
Merci, Chérie
"Merci, Chérie" (French pronunciation: [mɛʁsi ʃeʁi]; "Thank you, darling") is a song composed and recorded by Austrian singer Udo Jürgens with lyrics by himself and Thomas Hörbiger. It represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, held in Luxembourg, resulting in the country's first ever win at the contest.
"Merci, Chérie" was composed by Udo Jürgens with lyrics by himself and Thomas Hörbiger. It is an earnest ballad in which the singer, as he leaves her, thanks his lover for good times and positive memories. In addition to the original German version with phrases in French, Jürgens recorded the song fully in French, English, Japanese –メルシー・シェリー, "Merushī sherī"–, Italian –with lyrics by Vito Pallavicini–, and Spanish –with lyrics by Arturo Kaps-Schönfeld–.
Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) internally selected "Merci, Chérie" as its entry for the 11th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
On 5 March 1966, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at Villa Louvigny in Luxembourg hosted by the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Jürgens performed "Merci, Chérie" ninth on the evening, following Portugal's "Ele e ela" by Madalena Iglésias and preceding Sweden's "Nygammal vals" by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson. Hans Hammerschmid conducted the event's orchestra in the performance of the Austrian entry.
At the close of voting, "Merci, Chérie" received 31 points, securing it first place at the head of an eighteen-entry field. This was the first time that Austria won Eurovision and the only time until 2014 when Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst won. As of 2025[update] the song is one of only two winning entries sung mostly or entirely in German –the other was 1982's "Ein bißchen Frieden" by Nicole representing Germany–. Jürgens was the last solo male pianist to win the contest until Duncan Laurence won in 2019 with "Arcade".
The song was succeeded as contest winner in 1967 by "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw for the United Kingdom, and as the Austrian entry in that year by "Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt" by Peter Horten.
Jürgens performed his song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary show Songs of Europe held on 22 August 1981 in Mysen. The opening act of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 grand final held in Vienna features violinist Lidia Baich, winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians 1998, performing live on stage an excerpt of "Merci, Chérie" in tribute to Jürgens.
Merci, Chérie
"Merci, Chérie" (French pronunciation: [mɛʁsi ʃeʁi]; "Thank you, darling") is a song composed and recorded by Austrian singer Udo Jürgens with lyrics by himself and Thomas Hörbiger. It represented Austria in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, held in Luxembourg, resulting in the country's first ever win at the contest.
"Merci, Chérie" was composed by Udo Jürgens with lyrics by himself and Thomas Hörbiger. It is an earnest ballad in which the singer, as he leaves her, thanks his lover for good times and positive memories. In addition to the original German version with phrases in French, Jürgens recorded the song fully in French, English, Japanese –メルシー・シェリー, "Merushī sherī"–, Italian –with lyrics by Vito Pallavicini–, and Spanish –with lyrics by Arturo Kaps-Schönfeld–.
Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) internally selected "Merci, Chérie" as its entry for the 11th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
On 5 March 1966, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at Villa Louvigny in Luxembourg hosted by the Compagnie Luxembourgeoise de Télédiffusion (CLT), and broadcast live throughout the continent. Jürgens performed "Merci, Chérie" ninth on the evening, following Portugal's "Ele e ela" by Madalena Iglésias and preceding Sweden's "Nygammal vals" by Lill Lindfors and Svante Thuresson. Hans Hammerschmid conducted the event's orchestra in the performance of the Austrian entry.
At the close of voting, "Merci, Chérie" received 31 points, securing it first place at the head of an eighteen-entry field. This was the first time that Austria won Eurovision and the only time until 2014 when Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst won. As of 2025[update] the song is one of only two winning entries sung mostly or entirely in German –the other was 1982's "Ein bißchen Frieden" by Nicole representing Germany–. Jürgens was the last solo male pianist to win the contest until Duncan Laurence won in 2019 with "Arcade".
The song was succeeded as contest winner in 1967 by "Puppet on a String" by Sandie Shaw for the United Kingdom, and as the Austrian entry in that year by "Warum es hunderttausend Sterne gibt" by Peter Horten.
Jürgens performed his song in the Eurovision twenty-fifth anniversary show Songs of Europe held on 22 August 1981 in Mysen. The opening act of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 grand final held in Vienna features violinist Lidia Baich, winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians 1998, performing live on stage an excerpt of "Merci, Chérie" in tribute to Jürgens.