Yeah I have to agree with you, I do like her voice and attitude.

Agreed. She can sing!

Why we're not talking about how cute she is ? I can't stop smiling when I look at her.

I actually assumed they started the age limit after 1986 due to Sandra Kim's controversial win. Beyond shocked to learn that it wasn't until 4 years later lol.

Indeed, apart from her good voice & interpretation, the stage presence was quite impressive!❤ (compared, say, to Sandra Kim...)

And by the time she gets to the chorus she is just absolutely knocking it out of the park. Simply amazing.

@@realPhali One of the best of the year, along with Norway and Spain.

@@halloweenville1 Israel had a 12 year old boy called gili natanel who sung derech hamelech that year and it was very good aswell

​@@nifty512 Yes he was one of my favorites, even the middle part where he slips up a bit, makes it even more endearing, The whole of Eurovision 1989 was brilliant, Spain- UK and Norway were also fantastic. only one i didn't like was the winning song.

@@halloweenville1 and Sweden also.

*30 years, no?

@@JeSuisRene showing my age there

And what age rule now?

@@PAINNN666 contestants can only be older than 16

@@lexezlao Ok.

Same here. Discovered it June 19th and instantly fell in love with this song. ESC was so good in the '70-'80-'90...

hazen ghannen haian gannen ?

The Spanish song was the best, then the UK one and then this. The official winner I would have had at the bottom!

​@@TIGERDO100 your mother would have be on bottom

Riva is the BEST ,greetings from croatia

U.K. was the best

Me too

C'était le candidat d'Israël qui avait 11 ou 12 ans aussi. Il chantait avec une fille un peu plus âgée que lui. L'Espagne a été répresentée par Nina avec "Nacida para amar".

@Philos999. Je crois que vous vouliez parler du candidat israélien et non espagnol.

@@Christophevalere a tout à fait d'accord avec toi. La chanson israélienne est interprétée par le jeune Gili Netanel qui a 12 ans, et qui change avec Galit Burg (21 ans). Il est à noter qu'il a - malgré un oubli d'une partie du deuxième couplet - réalisé une très bonne prestation vocale.

Heu...La coupe de cheveux en 1989 , non.... Vanessa Paradis ou Elsa, Charlotte Gainsbourg et toutes les ados vedettes du cinéma français de l'époque, aucunes n'étaient coiffées avec cette paillasse sur la tête, même les filles au fin fond de ma province. J'avais 17 ans et je me souviens avoir éclaté de rire quand elle s'est pointée chez Drucker ou Jacques Martin en me demandant ce que c'était que ce truc qui allait nous représenter pour l'eurovision (dont je me contrefichais, soit dit en passant mais enfin... ). Maintenant , je la trouve choupine, même avec (ou malgré) ses minauderies de singe-savant bien apprises pour ce show qui a toujours été un monument de ringardise et de kitsh , sauf peut-être dans les années 60 et par la suite pour quelques candidats ci et là ( la chanson "si" de Gigliola Cinquetti en 1974 par ex, elle qui avait déjà gagné en 64. La variété italienne , pas les quelques produits ultra-commerciaux qu'on nous balance de temps en temps, étant vraiment formidable, la meilleure d'Europe continentale et de loin...). Elle a une très bonne voix ceci étant mais le style était tellement dépassé déjà, il n'y avait encore qu'à l'eurovision qu'on voyait ça...

Thank God. Seeing children performing alongside adults does look stupid. People were annoyed by Sandra Kim lying about her age and by 1989 they were outraged and decided enough was enough. Besides, from what I've read this poor girl was convinced she was going to win and broke down following her 8th place finish. That kind of thing can scar a child mentally and follow them for years.

EquestrianGirl Y I used to hold a different opinion on this subject, but now looking into the mental side, imagine the pressure knowing you carry a nation in a contest just to place 8th. I’m glad they introduced the age rule and jesc contest. Where children can be children.

@@smophie6260 yeah, tho I dont think the pressure is really needed, its only contest and it's not that big frankly, it happens every year and it only affects Europe in general for like a week, maximum a month, the rest of the year everyone forgets frankly and no one seems to care enough.

Isn’t she also the youngest soloist in the ESC?

@@JeSuisRene You're right! So that's two distinctions she holds.

Top 5 but definitely not the best. U.K. delivered its best entry

Noah Bowie 11

@@JeSuisRene 12 I'm pretty sure they said on British TV on the night. Very good song in any case

@@TIGERDO100 No she wasn’t 12,I don’t know what the British tv said but her birthday (12) would be in 5 days,she was 11 at that time.

@@rainbowveil yes

Waow , les 5 là qui avaient liké ce commentaire , vous êtes forts! Moi y'en avoir rien compris à ce sabir ! " Comme on a le fait a moi" ? Et en français, ça donne quoi?

+Oliver Dragovic Yes, no wonder they introduced the minium age of 16 at the next ESC. 11 is way too young. She could sing but she still sounds like a child, looks like a child and has the stage performance of a child. As such she really had no place in the contest and those who entered her in France should have known better.

Even though I can agree with the minimum age rule in general, I have to disagree with you about Nathalie Paque. She did a very professional performance and could rightfully compete with the older entrants.

She had no place in the competition, that's a bit harsh, who cares what age she was, are you saying that a child is not worthy to stand on a stage and sing, she completely OWNED that stage and had the best voice of the night, children have watched this show for generations and it's nice to occasionally see them being represented by young singers, you sound a bit jealous to me.

Halloweenville No one said she wasn't good. Calm down. They said she was too young and the majority of people wanted an appropriate age for Eurovision. You don't know how many responsibilities a child must have in an adult competition. Reflect about that.

She turned 12 two days later.

I guess you're thinking of JESC, right ? In 1989, Nathalie Pâque was almost 12 years old (she was born in 1977 May 11th and the contest took place on May 6th).

This was pre jesc

Switzerland 1989

L'eurovision. C'était ça. Après 2024. Le show doit finir. Hélas. Toute chose a une fin.

There's Junior Eurovision so that kids could take part.

I think the massive variable that is the orchestra made it harder back then. With a backing track it's not so difficult. Israel's kid had sound problems and crumbled somewhat, but Nathalie does a great job here and is better than some of the adults.

@@spannamatronic Why was the orchestra problem?

@@spannamatronic Agreed. The Israeli entry that year makes me uncomfortable

jlhabitan50 not back then

Yes, Guy Matteoni the conductor , had worked with early Celine, signing and conducting, arranging and producing "Visa pour les beaux jours" , side B to "D'amour ou d'amitié", Celine's first successful single in France back in 1982/1983.

That wouldn’t work considering Sandra Kim did exactly that years prior so a rehash wouldn’t favour her much

xD

En effet, on pourrait presque le croire, d'autant plus que Nathalie Pâque était plus jeune (à peine 12 ans) que certains vainqueurs du JESC. Le représentant israélien avait lui aussi 12 ans, et suite à des protestations de plusieurs pays, l'UER décida de modifier le règlement en imposant aux candidats d'avoir 16 ans révolus.

Um

She turned 12 years the week after the contest.

11

?

Rules were different then

It's funny, because there was another (forgotten) kid in the contest that same year, Gili, representing Israel, who was 12 years old, only 5 months older than Nathalie... 1989 was definitely the year of the kids in Eurovision... lol

Ha ha ha !!!

Yes , Guy Matteoni , the conductor and composer , was one of the early producers , arrangers , songwriters of Celine Dion. B-side to Celine's first successful single in france back in 1982 "D'amour ou d'amitié " was by Matteoni , a song called "Visa pour les beaux jours" , same style , a little bit more uptempo. It could have been a eurovision song actually.

Elle est en boucle , chantant la marseillaise!

Et alors La même chose est arrivé en 2004 (Jonathan cerrada représentait la France alors qu'il était belge)

@@escpikayohann4760 Calme toi, c'est juste un remarque. Mon Dieu !

@@filipcarpentier860 désolé je ne voulais pas te vexé Je voulais juste dire une remarque aussi :/

@@escpikayohann4760 Pas de soucis. Je te souhaite déjà une excellente 2021 !!!

In France, and also in Belgium I suppose (This Young girl singer is native from Belgium), you must believe me, in the last 80's, nearly between 1987 and 1990, there were a lot of Young girls aged between 8 and 16 who were haired like this. It was the fame. Also, this Young singer Nathalie Paque was chosen to represent France at the Eurovision song contest of 1989 because in 1986, the song contest winner was the Young singer Sandra Kim with the song "J'aime la vie" who represented Belgium, but also because in France, during the last 80's, it was the fame of Young teenage singers, as Elsa (Who's complete real name is Elsa Lunghini) with her big hits : "T'en va pas" (In English "Papa, please Don't go") in 1986, "Quelque chose dans mon cœur" ("Something in my heart") in 1987, "Un roman d'amitié" (A friendship novel) (Friend you give me a Reason)" (Duet sang in English and french with the haiwaian singer Glenn Medeiros), "Jour de neige" ("Snow's day") in 1988, and who was only 16 years old in 1989, and Vanessa Paradis with her big hits "Joe le taxi" in 1987 who also made a hit in England later, and "Marylin et John" ("Marylin and John", song about the relation between Marylin Monroe and John Kennedy) in 1988 and who was also 16 years old in 1989. You probably know her because she was the wife of the famous actor Johnny Depp during the 90's and 2000's year, until 2012. So, Nathalie Paque who was only 12 years old in 1989 was a lot chosen to represent France at the Eurovision song contest because it was the fame of Young singers at that time. Also, in 1989, in France, another Young singer coming from Belgium, Melody, who was also 12 years old, made a big hit with the song "Y'a pas que les grands qui rêvent" (In English "Adults are not the only ones persons to dream" or, if you want "Children or teenagers also can dream as adults").

Nah, just the 80s

Bad hair decade

​​@@famicom_guyDon't believe the guy who says girls in france were styled like this back in 1989 ( Nathalie is actually belgium). I'm french , was 17 at the time and burst into laughter when she first appeared on french TV and I saw her with that...mane. " What's that ???" Was my reaction " Is that chipmunk with hair down to her feet going to represent france in ESC ???' ( by the way , the interest for the contest in france was already crumbling at that time, and understandably so in my opinion but I thought "Couldn't they at least cut her hair in a nice way???") I don't know about Belgium but neither our many teenagers in pop at the time nor those even more numerous in films were styled that way. Vanessa Paradis was the big thing back then in 1989 and she certainly didn't sport such a horrid haircut , not even during her first appearances in 1987, neither did her more "classical" rival , Elsa in 1986 when she released her first big hit.

​​@@philos9997yeah...and both Elsa or Vanessa Paradis or Charlotte Gainsbourg sported such a horrid haircut, did they ? ESC used to send contestants that are pure products who must abide by very conventional and conservative rules they thought were what the general audiences expected ( in contradiction with everything that could be observed everywhere..1989 !!! Honestly, the years of Madonna and the cure etc ..) Even Sandra kim has since then confessed that if she could have tossed those ridiculous neckties and bows and pinkish trousers you didn't see anywhere else other than ESC , she'd gladly have done so! Just to look the nearest she could to Vanessa Paradis...

Depends how you see it, Sandra Kim was in the same situation, wonderful singers but the audience was primarily older people which is spine tingling, thank god jesc exists now

C'est ce que l'on dira aussi de nous dans 20 - 30 ans !