Runaway (Eurovision song)

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Runaway was the Estonian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2002, which took place in Tallinn, Estonia. It was performed in English by Sahlene (Anna Cecilia Sahlin). It was composed by Pearu Paulus, Ilmar Laisaar and Alar Kotkas and the lyrics were written by Jana Hallas - the same group of authors who wrote Once In A Lifetime for the 2000 and Through My Window for the 2006 contest. [1]

The song was performed eighth on the night (following Russia's Prime Minister with Northern Girl and preceding the Republic of Macedonia's Karolina with Od Nas Zavisi). At the close of voting, it had received 111 points, placing it 3rd in a field of 24.

The song is a love song, with the singer telling her lover that he needs to open his mind to other possibilities and not just live his life the way he has been doing.

While the authors of the song were Estonians, Sahlene was from Sweden. It would not be the only occasion on which a foreign singer would represent the country, with Sandra Oxenryd (also a Swede) performing in 2006.

It was succeeded as Estonian representative at the 2003 Contest by Ruffus with Eighties Coming Back.

The song became a major hit in Sweden, where the single peaked at #20, that year