diff --git a/pandora/item/utils.py b/pandora/item/utils.py
index 0ad804cfc..a2ea33bd0 100644
--- a/pandora/item/utils.py
+++ b/pandora/item/utils.py
@@ -167,6 +167,8 @@ def sort_title(title):
     title = re.sub(u'[\'!¿¡,\.;\-"\:\*\[\]]', '', title)
 
     #title = title.replace(u'Æ', 'Ae')
+    if isinstance(title, str):
+        title = unicode(title)
     title = unicodedata.normalize('NFKD',title)
 
     #pad numbered titles