Tonia (born Arlette Antoine Dominicus, 25 July 1947,

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

) is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation in the 1966

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

Early career

Tonia released her first single, "Mon p'tit copain de vacances", in 1963, and went on to release numerous further singles. She would often record both

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and French

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of popular German songs.

Eurovision Song Contest

In the 1966 Belgian Eurovision selection, Tonia performed four songs and the winner, " Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel" ("A Little Pepper, A Little Salt"), was chosen by postcard voting as the representative for the 11th

, which took place on 5 March in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Gr ...

. "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel" finished in fourth place of 18 entries, Belgium's highest placing in Eurovision to that date, which would not be bettered until 1978. In 1968, Tonia again participated in the Belgian selection with the song "Il y avait", but failed to place in the top two. In 1973, Tonia took part in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Eurovision national final with two songs, and narrowly missed out on a second Eurovision appearance when her song '"Sebastian" finished in second place, just one point behind the winning song " Junger Tag" by

Gitte Hænning Gitte Hænning (born 29 June 1946) is a Danish singer and film actress, who rose to fame as a child star in the 1950s. She was known primarily monomously (without a surname) in Europe. She moved to Sweden in 1958. Her first hit in Swedish was ...

. Tonia's other song, "Mir gefällt diese Welt", came seventh.

Later career

After her 1966 Eurovision appearance, Tonia turned her attention to the German market, where she enjoyed a measure of success for several years. By the mid-1970s her career was winding down and releases became sporadic. Her last recordings date from the early 1980s, although a compilation CD of her most successful tracks was released in 1990. Tonia has been married twice, to musicians Albert Mertens and Paul Bourdiaudhy.Biography
(in Dutch)

Discography

Singles *1963 "Mon p'tit copain de vacances" *1963 "Avant de t'embrasser" *1963 "

L'école est finie "L'école est finie" (English translation: "School is out") is a song by French singer Sheila Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name ''Síle'', which is believed to be ...

" *1963 "Trois mousquetaires" *1964 "La fin d'un amour n'est pas un drame" *1964 "Pour mon anniversaire je voudrais un beatle" *1965 "Wie heeft" *1965 "Ce n'est pas loin, domani" *1965 "Toujours les beaux jours" *1965 "Ist denn alles aus?" *1966 "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel" *1966 "Un grand bateau" *1966 "Vorbei sind die Tränen" *1967 "Un tout petit pantin" *1967 "Joli petit poisson" *1967 "Der Gedanke an Dich" *1967 "Bonsoir, Chéri" *1968 "Karussell" *1968 "Weiter, immer weiter" *1969 "Texascowboypferdesattelverkäuferin" *1969 "Wenn die Nachtigall singt" *1971 "Ich will leben nur mit Dir" *1972 "Ein grünes Kleeblatt" *1973 "Sebastian" *1974 "Iedere Nacht is..." *1976 "Jahrmarkt der Eitelkeit" *1977 "Schönes Theater" *1980 "Warum rufst Du mich nicht an?" *1982 "Ich will nach Afrika" Albums *1981 ''This Is My Day'' *1990 ''Les plus grand succès de Tonia''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tonia 1947 births Living people People from Anderlecht Belgian women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Belgium Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1966