Si demain... (Turn Around)

Background and writing

Bonnie Tyler had a hit with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" in 1984. In 2003, Kareen Antonn wrote to Tyler asking if she would be willing to record a French-English duet version of the song that was re-arranged by Antonn's friend Emmanuel Pribys. Tyler's initial reaction was to decline the request because Antonn was an unknown artist, "but they didn't give up," Tyler continued, "they sent me a CD of her voice singing the song in French. I always listen to things because you never know!" Tyler was impressed by the demo recording, and asked to sing the song live with her to ensure that her voice was strong enough and not reliant on studio editing.

Tyler flew to Paris and recorded the song with Antonn in just a couple of hours. Their demo recording was sent to various French radio stations. She explained to BBC News that the single was released three weeks earlier than planned "after people heard it on the radio and went into the shops trying to buy it." "Si demain... (Turn Around)" was released in France on 19 December 2003, and a few weeks later in Belgium and Switzerland, and later included on her 2004 album Simply Believe and Antonn's self-titled solo album as well as several 2004 compilation albums such as Le Meilleur des Voix, NRJ Hit Music Only, Fan 2, Girls 2004, and Duets.

After the unexpected success of the single, Antonn and Tyler decided to release another duet that they recorded; "Si tout s'arrête (It's a Heartache)" was released on 7 June 2004 but did not have the same success and peaked at number 12 on the week of its debut on the French SNEP Singles Chart. The song reached number 25 in Switzerland on 27 June 2004 and number seven in Belgium (Wallonia) on 3 July 2004.

Music video and lyrics

The video was filmed in snowy Québec and depicts Tyler taking Antonn in after a breakup.

Antonn and Tyler sing while they are sitting in front of a snowed up chalet. Antonn has a puppy in her arms, while Tyler drinks a cup of coffee. We learn during the video that Antonn left her boyfriend by writing a split letter to him while he slept. She hitch hiked and was picked up by Tyler. At the end of the video, the two singers play with dogs in snow.

"Si demain... (Turn Around)" is a bilingual pop rock song, recorded in English and French. Antonn sings all French verses, while Tyler sings all English passages. When one of them sings the verses, the other repeats "Je tourne en rond" (Tyler)/"Turn around" (Antonn) at the end of each one of these verses. In the chorus, while the first is entirely in French, the second is sung respectively in English by Tyler and in French by Antonn.

Promotion

In early January 2004, Tyler spent 12 days in France in order to promote the song. She also went to Mauritius.

Bonnie Tyler and Kareen Antonn performed the song on several French television variety broadcasts, for example on Les 101 sosies de stars, on TF1, on 3 April 2004 (on that occasion they received a Platinum Disc); on La Chanson de l'année on TF1, on 1 June 2004; on Hit Machine, on M6. They performed "Si demain... (Turn Around)" live with a philharmonic orchestra on Symphonic show on France 3. They also sang the song at the NRJ Music Tour organised by French multimedia NRJ, at a concert in Bordeaux at the Chaban-Delmas stadium on 29 May 2004 (broadcast on the musical channel M6 Music on 6 and 9 June, and on M6 on 13 June), and at La Cigale, a Parisian show hall, on 8 June 2004.

Reviews

The song was generally well received by the musical critics. Platine, a French magazine, asserted that with this duet, "Bonnie Tyler came back to the foreground" and said the song was particularly successful in France because in 2004 "a certain fashion for transborder duets". According to French chart expert Elia Habib, this hit single "cements the return of duets in which the language of Molière and that of Shakespeare intermingle successfully. Such a bi-lingual song had not approached the top of the charts since December 1994, when the duet "7 Seconds" by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry spent 16 weeks at the top." As for the official Ultratop 50 Belgian Chart Website, it stated: "With Kareen Antonn, a new revelation, Bonnie Tyler could experience a real come-back. They have gilded some Bonnie's old hits, put a touch of French and bingo !" Music Actu stated the song was "among the most popular singles of French public" when it was released and noted its good performances on the charts.

Chart performances and sales

On the French SNEP Singles Chart, the single debuted at number 25 on 21 December 2003. It reached the top ten two weeks later and became number one in its fifth week. The single regained the number one spot on three occasions during the ten weeks at number one. It remained on the chart for 25 weeks, achieved Platinum status for over 500,000 copies sold, and was the fourth best-selling single of 2004 in France. "Si demain... (Turn Around)" is the only female duet number one single since the creation of French Top 50. It is also the single which made the biggest drop from number one, dropping directly to number ten. It also gave Bonnie Tyler the record of the longest time gap between top ten singles in France. Eighteen years passed between her hit "If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)" which reached number six in 1986 and of "Si demain... (Turn Around)", hitting number one. The previous record, by Marc Lavoine, was 17 years old.

In Belgium (Wallonia), the song went to number one two weeks after its debut at number 21, and remained number one from 21 February to 10 April 2004, i.e. eight weeks. It stayed in the top 40 for 24 weeks. It was certified Platinum after eleven weeks on the chart. It was the second best-selling single of 2004 and totaled 31 weeks on the chart. In Switzerland, the single peaked at number seven for four weeks and remained on the chart for 34 weeks. "Si demain... (Turn Around)" was also broadcast on radio in Russia and Poland where it reached number one on local radios as well as on the main chart. The song was number six on the 2004 International List of French-speaking Music, compiled in collaboration with 122 radio stations throughout the world.

As of August 2014, the song was the 26th best-selling single of the 21st century in France, with 508,000 units sold. However, when she participated in the French show La Méthode Cauet, Kareen Antonn affirmed that the single, then still ranked on the French Singles Chart, had exceeded the 700,000 sold copies. Worldwide, the song has sold more than 2 million copies (physical sales and digital downloads).

Cover versions and legacy

In 2004, Lucie and Sandy, two contestants of the French television show Star Academy 4, covered this song on one of the Friday weekly shows.

On 30 March 2004, on the Worldbest competition which brings together winners of various broadcasts of Star Academy, the two finalists, Wilfred Le Bouthillier and Marie-Élaine Thibert, performed "Si demain... (Turn Around)", gaining the second place. In 2005, they released the single in Canada under the title "Et si demain" ; their version is different from the original one because a verse is deleted and there are more refrains near the end of the song. They also performed "Et si demain" on 18 September 2004, in the show "La Fureur" on SRC, and on 19 April 2004 on TVA. Le Bouthillier and Thibert's version was in turn covered by K4T and Luc St-Pierre in the Canadian TV show Heure de Gloire.

In 2007, Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, two French professional figure skaters, carried out their performance to "Si demain...(Turn Around) ", in "Stars sur glace", at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy, broadcast on Paris Première (the song features on the programme of their 2006–2007 figure skating season). This song was featured briefly in the 2003 film Old School. It was sung by the wedding singer, Dan Finnerty, at Will Ferrell's character's wedding reception.

Formats and track listings