"Zora sourit" (meaning "Zora smiles") is a song by Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

from her sixteenth studio album, ''

S'il suffisait d'aimer ''S'il suffisait d'aimer'' (English: "if only love could be enough") is the sixteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her eleventh French-language album. It was released by Sony Music on 31 August 1998. The album was mainly writ ...

'' (1998). It was written by

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a retired French singer-songwriter and record producer whose work remains hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017, he has been the highest-grossing ...

and J. Kapler, and produced by Goldman and

Erick Benzi Erick Benzi (born 1 March 1959) is a French musician, songwriter, composer, and record producer from Marseille. He was previously part of the duo Die Form, with Gildas Arzel, and the group Canada (with Arzel, Jacques Veneruso, and Gwenn Arzel) ...

. The song was released as the album's lead single on 7 September 1998. "Zora sourit" topped the chart in Quebec for five weeks. Elsewhere, it peaked at numbers seven in Poland, 12 in Belgium Wallonia, 20 in France and 25 in Switzerland. It was also certified Gold in France and Belgium. The song's lyrics and music video denounce

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and advocate tolerance.

Background and release

After ''

D'eux ''D'eux'' (French for "of them, "about them", or "from them"; homophonic with , meaning "two") is the thirteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, and her tenth French-language album. It was released by Sony Music on 30 March 1995 in ...

'' became the best-selling French-language album of all time, Dion reunited with

to record another album together. ''

'' was recorded between September 1997 and July 1998, and produced by Goldman and

. "Zora sourit", written by Goldman and his brother J. Kapler, was chosen as the lead single and premiered on the radio on 3 August 1998. Commercially, "Zora sourit" was released on 7 September 1998 in Belgium and Switzerland, and 14 September 1998 in France and the Netherlands. It was planned to be released in the UK as part of a double A-side single with "

To Love You More "To Love You More" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, written by David Foster and Edgar Bronfman Jr., writing under the pen-name Junior Miles. It was released as a single in Japan on 21 October 1995 and became a hit, reaching number one o ...

" on 21 September 1998, but this release did not materialise. In 2005, it was included on Dion's greatest hits album, ''

On ne change pas ''On ne change pas'' ( ''We Don't Change'') is the first comprehensive French-language greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released by Sony Music on 30 September 2005. It features songs recorded between 1981 and 2005, including t ...

''. The song is dedicated to Algerian women. According to Dion, for her Zora represents not only Algeria, but all women from countries where they do not have the chance to be free and happy. The lyrics put in light the example of a woman who fights for herself and others, resists insults and keeps her dignity in spite of difficulties.

Commercial performance

In Quebec, "Zora sourit" entered the chart on 15 August 1998, topped it for five weeks and spent 33 weeks there in total. It also reached number seven in Poland. Commercially, the single was released one week after the album ''

'' in Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and two weeks after the album in France. It reached numbers 12 in Belgium Wallonia, 20 in France, 25 in Switzerland, 48 in Belgium Flanders and 67 in the Netherlands. It was certified Gold in France and Belgium. On the airplay charts in these countries, it peaked at numbers 1 in Belgium Wallonia, 2 in France, 13 in the Netherlands and 20 in Belgium Flanders.

Music video

"Zora sourit" music video was directed by Yannick Saillet and released on 1 September 1998. The scenes with Dion were filmed on 30 July 1998 in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, while others were shot in

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis departments of France, department, Île-de-France regions of France, region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. Geography Localisation Aubervilliers is one of th ...

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobi ...

. The video is dedicated to Algerian women. It shows the titular character Zora walking down the street with a package, meeting with different reactions of people passing by. At the end, Zora sends her package to Algeria. The music video denounces

and advocates tolerance. In 2005, it was included on Dion's greatest hits DVD collection, ''

''.

Track listing and formats

* French CD single # "Zora sourit" – 3:52 # "Sur le même bateau" – 4:25 * French 12-inch and CD maxi single # "Zora sourit" – 3:52 # "Sur le même bateau" – 4:25 # "

Pour que tu m'aimes encore "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (meaning "so that you'll love me again") is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, from her thirteenth studio album, '' D'eux'' (1995). It was written by Jean-Jacques Goldman, and produced by Goldman and Erick Benzi. ...

" – 4:14

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

External links

* * {{authority control 1998 singles 1998 songs 1990s ballads Celine Dion songs Songs in French Pop ballads Songs written by Jean-Jacques Goldman Songs written by Robert Goldman (songwriter)