| L'amour toujours | |
| Cover: | Gigi Amour single.jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Gigi D'Agostino |
| Album: | L'Amour Toujours |
| Released: | July 2000 |
| Recorded: | 1999 |
| Genre: | Italo dance |
| Label: | |
| Producer: | Gigi D'Agostino |
| Prev Title: | La Passion |
| Prev Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | Super (1, 2, 3) |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
"L'amour toujours" (also named "I'll Fly with You") is a song co-written and recorded by the Italian DJ Gigi D'Agostino. The song was released to American clubs and dance radio in July 2000. In Europe, the song was released in October 2000. The song is from D'Agostino's 1999 album of the same name. Ola Onabule is the vocalist of this song. He performs all the vocals on the track and on all versions of the song. It became an international success and a huge hit throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia and Canada. In 2001, the song became extremely popular in the American dance club scene, peaking at number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 15 September 2001. The album version has a different mix, which was used as the single version in the United States except with vocal samples from "Bla Bla Bla" added.
The French title (in French pronounced as /la.muʁ tu.ʒuʁ/) translates to "Love Always". However, the song is recorded entirely in English, and the title does not appear in the lyrics. The song's popular title comes from its refrain.
The music video for the song contains footage taken from live performances of D'Agostino performing throughout Europe at rave parties. The version used in the music video is called "Small Mix" and is the last four minutes of the album version.[1]
Europe CD maxi (2001)
| Peak position | |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[3] | 11 |
|---|---|
| Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[4] | 14 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[5] | 18 |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100)[6] | 1 |
| Peak position | |
| Poland (Polish Airplay New)[7] | 2 |
|---|---|
| Position | ||
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] | 29 | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] | 76 | |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[10] | 75 | |
| Germany (Official German Charts)[11] | 36 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[12] | 15 |
| Chart (2002) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13] | 49 | |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14] | 31 | |
| Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[15] | 140 | |
| Ireland (IRMA)[16] | 93 | |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] | 26 | |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] | 6 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[20] | 8 |
|---|
As reported by several German media, since at least November 2023 the melody to "L'amour toujours" has been co-opted by far-right groups in Germany, as various videos of people joining in public chants replacing the song's original lyrics with a reprise of the anti-immigration slogan, "German: Ausländer raus, Ausländer raus, Deutschland den Deutschen, Ausländer raus" (Foreigners out, foreigners out, Germany for Germans, foreigners out) surfaced online.[21] [22] [23] Members of the youth wing of far-right party Alternative for Germany were reportedly seen engaging in similar chants on several occasions,[24] [25] while the party's TikTok account started posting clips featuring the song's melody as a background theme.[26] [27] In response to the reports, in March 2024 German record label ZYX, who holds the copyright for "L'amour toujours", filed a criminal complaint against unknown figures, with the charges involving hate speech and copyright infringement.[28]
In May 2024, a retweeted video showing a group of people singing the aforementioned slogan over "L'amour toujours" during a party at a club on Sylt, in which one man appeared to perform the Hitler salute, sparked widespread outrage; the regional police of Schleswig-Holstein opened an investigation about the case, while the clip's content was widely condemned by various political figures. D'Agostino reiterated that his song is apolitical, stating that it is about "a beautiful, big and intense feeling [of love] that unites people".[29] [30] After the incident, the song re-entered the German singles chart at number 8.[31]
In June 2024, Sweden Democrats politician David Lång was audiotaped by an Expressen journalist while singing "German: Ausländer raus, Ausländer raus" over "L'amour toujours" during a post-electoral party for the 2024 European Parliament election in Sweden.[32]
As a result of its use by right-wing extremist groups, the song was banned from being played at the Oktoberfest in Munich.[33] The Austrian Football Association also decided to ban the song from being used as a stadium anthem, in order to avoid further incidents. In an interview with Kronen Zeitung, D'Agostino criticized bans of the song by radio stations and festivals, saying, "You can't stop racism by banning music".[34] [35]