Sandra Caldarone (born 15 October 1972), better known as Sandra Kim, is a Belgian singer of Italian descent who won the
Eurovision Song Contest 1986 in
Bergen, Norway. Her father was an Italian immigrant from
Torrebruna in the Province of
Chieti
Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region.
In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...
in the
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...
region of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.
At the time of her Eurovision win, she was only 13 years old, making her the youngest winner of
the contest, even though the lyrics of her song "
J'aime la vie" ("I love life") imply that she is 15; the Swiss petitioned to have the song disqualified after her real age was revealed. This petition ended up failing and Kim went on to win that year's Eurovision Song Contest. Kim also represented Belgium at the
Yamaha Music Festival in Tokyo during the autumn of 1986 and sang the title song for the French animated television series ''
Il était une fois... la vie''. Kim's
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
album ''Make Up'' was released on 12 May 2011, containing songs written by famous Belgian artists like
Salvatore Adamo,
Dani Klein (Vaya Con Dios),
Ozark Henry, Anthony Sinatra (Piano Club), Jacques Duval and David Bartholomé (Sharko). She also won the first season of the Belgian version of The Masked Singer as “Queen”.
In March 2023, Kim was a guest celebrity judge in the episode ''A deux c’est mieux'' of the Belgian French-language reality television series ''
Drag Race Belgique'', which was broadcast on
Tipik.
Early life
Kim was born in Montegnée, near
Liège
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
to a hairdresser mother and accordionist father, and started singing when she was seven.
Personal life
In 1994, Kim married Olivier Gerard. They divorced a year later. She has been married to Jurgen Delanghe since 2001.
Discography
Albums
*''J'aime la vie'' (1986, French)
*''Bien dans ma peau'' (1988, French)
*''Balance tout'' (1991, French) / ''Met open ogen'' (1991, Dutch)
*''Les Sixties'' (1993, French) / ''Sixties'' (1993, Dutch)
*''Onvergetelijk'' (1997, Dutch)
*''Heel diep in mijn hart'' (1998, Dutch, 2-track single)
*''Make Up'' (2011, English and French)
Singles
*''Ami-ami'' (French, 1985)
*''Tokyo Boy'' (French, 1986)
*''Sorry'' (French, 1987)
*''Bel me, schrijf me'' (duet with Flemish singer Luc Steeno, Dutch, 1989)
*''Anyway The Wind Blows'' (2010, English)
*''Who Are You'' (2020, English)
*''INNER HERO'' (with Celien Hermans, English, 2025)
References
External links
* (Dutch, French)
Website about Sandra Kim's discography(French - Dutch - English)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kim, Sandra
1972 births
Living people
People from Saint-Nicolas, Liège
Belgian people of Italian descent
Eurovision Song Contest winners
Masked Singer winners
French-language singers of Belgium
Dutch-language singers of Belgium
Belgian child singers
21st-century Belgian women singers
21st-century Belgian singers
People of Abruzzese descent