Belgium: Gustaph unveils Eurovision staging details

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Belgium’s representative Gustaph has set in train his intense preparations for the 2023 contest as he explicitly states in Liverpoolecho:

“I can’t tell you too much but when we first saw the stage, I knew we had to make something much more dynamic than what we did in Belgium.It’s going to be different. The idea of static stairs won’t be there anymore and there will be much more interaction with the visuals and the performance as well. Adding to that, we’re now going to have three backing vocalists. The song is written from a gospel perspective so three voices are going to make it bigger than it already is.”

In the interview, Gustaph cites Eurovision 1998 UK’s entry Where are you now? by Imaani as one of his all-time favorite Eurovision performances,as the song’s strong house-music elements and “deep lyricism” played a determining role in his turning into a Eurovision aficionado.

Last weekend,Gustaph made an appearance in RTL’s show Humberto in order to promote his 2023 entry called “Because of You”.The show,which aired on RTL4, received quite a positive response from the audience as it was watched by an average of 488,000 viewers and even reached a high of 1.400.o00 viewers throughout the course of its broadcast.

Gustaph was chosen to represent Belgium after having being crowned the winner of  Eurosong 2023,Belgium’s first national final in seven years.Despite the fact that he did not manage to win the televote,the jury’s votes were more than enough to give him the golden ticket to Liverpool.However,he is already familiar with the Eurovision stage,as he was a backing vocalist both for Sennek (2018) and Hooverphonic (2021).

Gustaph is going to sing his song “Because of You” in the first half of the second semi-final in this year’s Eurovision,scheduled to take place on May 11.

 

What do you think of Belgium’s entry?Could the performance be impactful enough to bring Belgium back in the top 10 after 6 whole years?

Stay tuned in Eurovisionfun for more Eurovision news!

Do not forget to check our team’s reaction video to Belgium’s entry here:

source:eurovoix.com

 

 

 

Belgium: Watch the Music Video of “Because Of You”!

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Two months after winning the Eurosong in Belgium Gustaph is heading for the next big thing and drops the music video for his Eurovision dance song “Because Of You”.

The official music video for “Because of You” was released on the official Eurovision YouTube channel this morning.

Watch the music video of this year entry of Belgium:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORhEoS6d8e4&embeds_euri=https%3A%2F%2Feurovoix.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Gustaph was selected to represent Belgium after winning Eurosong 2023, the first Belgian national selection for Eurovision since 2016. This year Belgium will be on 2nd Semi-Final (11 May) and on the 1st Half of the show.

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates regarding Belgium’s participation in Eurovision 2023, in Liverpool!

Belgium: The Starlings would like to go to Eurovision if internally selected!

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The Starlings would like to represent Belgium in Eurovision.  However, it seems that after their experience in the Belgium national selection they would only do it if they are internally selected.

The Starlings ended in second place at Eurosong 2023, only one point behind the winner, Gustaf.  The Starlings were the favourites of the public.  However, the jury placed “Rollercoaster” in fifth place ending their chances to represent Belgium.

The couple seemed particularly unhappy with the choice of the jury and Alexander Rybak ‘s remark about the alleged similarity of their song to a well-known Ed Sheeran song.

In an interview with radio station MNM, the duo talked about their experience at Eurosong 2023.  They also commented on the possibility of representing Belgium in the competition, only if they are internally selected.

“The disappointment is better now. It was a very stressful period in which we worked hard.  It’s very bitter if you lose by just one point. On the one hand we wanted to participate, but on the other hand we didn’t. Not with a national selection anyway. As a household name you have everything to lose in such a qualifying round. That would stop me now. We say no to a national final, but a yes to an internal selection.” The Starlings

Rollercoaster may not be heading to Liverpool.  However, the song has been positively received in the radios.  The Starlings ended their interview mentioning that, although they did not make it, they support Belgium candidate Gustaph.

Source: songfestival.be

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the updates regarding Belgium’s participation in Eurovision 2023, in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: The Semi-Final Allocation Draw Results!

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Liverpool’s Saint George’s Hall with a very nice event hosted a few minutes ago the draw for the semi-finals of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest.

The analyzes of the fans and not only, have been on fire for a few minutes now. Since the theories based on the pre-history of the countries in the competition, it is a first insight into how passable the qualification to the final is or not. In other words, it’s time to make our predictions, about who will go through to the final and who are the favorites to say goodbye to Liverpool early…

The presenters and the handover ceremony

The Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw was hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan. Both are on the staff of the BBC, being some of the most loved faces of British public broadcasting.

During the draw, the ceremony of handing over and accepting the emblem of the contest took place. The mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, formally handed over the “keys to the event” to the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Draw Procedure

The 31 countries competing in the semi-finals were divided into five pots, based on the scores they have exchanged in recent years with each other. This is done in order to avoid, as much as possible, the alliances that appear every year in the voting.

Big 5 and Ukraine

With the big winner of last year’s competition, Ukraine, directly in the final, along with the Big 5 (UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain), the first part of the draw determined the semi-final that the direct finalists would vote for.

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Germany
  • France
  • Italy

Will vote in the 1st Semi-Final:

  • Ukraine
  • Spain
  • United Kingdom

In the semi-final that the six aforementioned countries were drawn to broadcast and vote for, the video from their dress rehearsal will also be shown. This was done at Eurovision 2016 for the first time, for reasons of equal exposure of the countries directly in the final and the countries that qualify from the semi-finals. Essentially, viewers see each entry twice during the shows.

Semi-Final Allocation Draw

The allocation draw for the two semi-finals had two parts. In the first part the 31 countries participating in the semi-finals were drawn in which of the two they will compete in. Fifteen countries will compete in the first/second semi-final and sixteen in the first/second semi-final.

In the second part, each country learned whether it will appear in the first or second half of the semi-final in which it will compete. The exact order of appearance will be determined by the EBU and the show’s producers at a later date.

1st Semi-final (9 May):

1st Half

  • Serbia
  • Latvia
  • Ireland
  • Norway
  • Portugal
  • Croatia
  • Malta

2nd Half

  • Sweden
  • Moldova
  • Switzerland
  • Israel
  • Netherlands
  • Finland
  • Azerbaijan
  • Czech Republic

2nd Semi-Final (11 May):

1st Half

  • Armenia
  • Cyprus
  • Romania
  • Denmark
  • Belgium
  • Iceland
  • Greece
  • Estonia

2nd Half

  • Albania
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Lithuania
  • San Marino
  • Slovenia
  • Georgia
  • Poland

Liverpool will host the 67th Eurovision Song Contest from 9 to 13 May at the Liverpool Arena. The motto of this year’s event, as chosen by the organizers, is “United by Music“.

You can see the draw again through the link below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Eurovision 2023: Today the semi-final draw!

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At 20:00 CET and live from Saint George’s Hall in Liverpool, the Eurovision 2023 semi-final draw will take place.

During today’s event, there will also be the delivery-receipt of the emblem of the organization from the city of Turin to that of Liverpool. For this reason, today’s draw will be attended by both the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo, and the mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson.

Presenters

The draw is expected to be hosted by AJ Odudu and Rylan, both BBC presenters.

Draw Procedure

The first part of the draw will determine the semi-final that each of the six countries that are directly in the final (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, Ukraine) will broadcast and vote for.

The second part of the draw will determine which semi-final and which half the other 31 participating countries will compete in. As in recent years, the exact order of appearance will be determined by the event’s producers at a later date.

The 31 countries have been divided into five pots, based on historical voting patterns as calculated by official TV partner Digame.

Pot 1
  • Albania
  • Austria
  • Switzerland
  • Croatia
  • Serbia
  • Slovenia
Pot 2
  • Denmark
  • Australia
  • Finland
  • Iceland
  • Norway
  • Sweden
  • Estonia
Pot 3
  • Armenia
  • Azerbaijan
  • Georgia
  • Israel
  • Latvia
  • Lithuania
Pot 4
  • Cyprus
  • Greece
  • Ireland
  • Malta
  • Portugal
  • San Marino
Pot 5
  • Belgium
  • Czech Republic
  • Netherlands
  • Moldova
  • Poland
  • Romania

In the evening, therefore, we all tune in for the draw of the semi-finals of our favorite competition. You can watch the draw on the official Eurovision YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HAY-qpDTnY

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

Belgium: Eurovisionfun Reacts to Eurovision 2023 Entry ”Because of You” (video)

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The national final of Belgium “Eurosong 2023” has ended with Gustaph and the song “Because of you” receiving at the end of the night the ticket to Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool!

The Eurovisionfun team couldn’t help but see and comment on Belgium’s entry for the upcoming Eurovision contest! Enjoy Matamis Apostolis, Barboutis Paschalis and Roupakias Christos in a delightful reaction video with detailed commentary for the third entry for the 2023 competition!

Gustaph and “Beacause of You” will wave the Belgian flag in Liverpool and will attempt to claim victory in the upcoming competition. Listen to the entry below:

Will Belgium manage to get back into the top ten after 6 years? Make your prediction in the comments!

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for more reaction videos of our favourite contest!

Belgium: The Starlings are dissatisfied with the result of Eurosong 2023!

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The Starlings (Tom Dice, Kato Callebaut) in last night’s show of the Belgian national final Eurosong 2023, very narrowly took the second place in the standings with only one point separating them from the winner Gustaph. The result was formed like so because, regardless of the fact that they were the audience’s favourites, the jury didn’t vote for “Rollercoaster” enough. Detailed results and information about the performances can be read in our Eurosong 2023 article.

More specifically, Tom Dice seemed particularly unhappy with the jury’s voting and said the following in an Instagram post, not leaving Alexander Rybak‘s remark about the similarity of “Rollercoaster” to a well-known Ed Sheeran song unchallenged:

“Thank you so much for voting us up so massively! 1 out of 4 people voted for “Rollercoaster” yesterday, which is insane.

(Part of) the 15-member jury had a different opinion. So we are very disappointed. There was barely any talk about our performance, voices and music.

It felt like a lack of respect for the work that went into this.
We are asking ourselves a lot of questions.
Whether we will get an honest answer from those people, I doubt it.
It doesn’t feel right.

If it depends on you, “Rollercoaster” will be on every music channel and streaming playlist in Flanders starting today, and that’s a nice consolation. You guys are the sweetest people and we prefer to have them close to us.”

At the end he will not forget to congratulate Gustaph on his victory with a beautiful message:

“@stefgustaph you deserve this and I love you! You are a great man and after 2 times being under or behind the stage it may now be FULL in the spotlight. I will traditionally support and be proud of you in “me and my guitar” suit. You worked hard!”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tom Dice (@tomdiceofficial)

Gustaph got the ticket to represent Belgium in Liverpool for Eurovision 2023 with his song “Because of You”, receiving 121 points from the jury and 157 from the audience.

https://youtu.be/uYWhh-E_VPo

Source: Songfestival.be

Belgium: With Gustaph and “Because of You” at Eurovision 2023!

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Belgium’s national final Eurosong 2023 has just ended, having chosen Gustaph with his song “Because of You” as the big winner that will take the ticket to Liverpool in May for Eurovision 2023.

The show took place at Palais 12 in Brussels with Peter Van de Veire as the host and Duncan Laurence as the guest act.

The participants

In the national final, seven artists presented their proposals for Eurovision 2023 in the following order:

  1. Hunter Falls –  Ooh La La 
  2. Cherine – Ça m’ennuie pas 
  3. The Starlings – Rollercoaster
  4. Ameerah – The Carnival 
  5. Gustaph – Because Of You
  6. Gala Aliaj Dragot – T’lnquiete
  7. Loredana De Amicis – You Lift Me Up 

The jury is made up of 15 members, including Alexander Rybak (Norway 2009 and 2018), Laura Tessoro (Belgium 2015), Jeremie Makiese (Belgium 2022) and Nikkie Turtorials (Eurovision 2021 Presenter).

The competitive part

1. Hunter Falls –  Ooh La La 

First on stage is Hunter Falls dressed in black with two dancers synchronized with the rear LEDs which are in orange, yellow and red tones. Pretty good vocally in a decent performance.

https://youtu.be/w_j6bH8BO7Y

2. Cherine –Ça m’ennuie pas 

Definitely one of the favourites of the night as her song is number one on Spotify Belgium. Cherine is on stage in a pink dress and two dancers, one dressed as an octopus and one as a flower. The stage look is quite childish and reminiscent of Junior Eurovision but she is quite good vocally. Will her childish approach cost her a ticket to Liverpool?

https://youtu.be/Zy5zx79QUPc

3. The Starlings – Rollercoaster

Next up was the duo of the night in a dark black and white performance. A minimal show with some effects, a little subdued of course. The Starlings are decent vocalists. The juries pointed out their similarity to Ed Sheeran’s song.

https://youtu.be/E3rng9rC6Ks

4. Ameerah – The Carnival 

It’s Ameerah’s turn with her carnival! Dressed in red with five dancers and costumes that refer to the title of the song without being “costumes”. She is quite good vocally and comfortable on stage with the show ending with confetti and her extending to the catwalk part of the stage. A pretty well worked out performance.

https://youtu.be/uQWMGgoJkYg

5. Gustaph – Because Of You

Gustaph comes on stage in a hat and a kimono type of clothing in shades of purple and pink. With him are two women on vocals who, with their support, make the song live sound almost identical to the studio version. Simple and unpretentious appearance.

https://youtu.be/J90sSoNKTHA

6. Gala Aliaj Dragot – T’lnquiete 

Next up is the winner of the Junior version of the country. Gala in white with 5 dancers behind her in a modern choreography that doesn’t distract from her and the piece. Excellent vocals from the 17 year old singer in a highly atmospheric performance that is sure to get the judges and audience excited.

https://youtu.be/Zm_yfMR2Jbo

7. Loredana De Amicis – You Lift Me Up 

Loredana closes the curtain in a very “Eurovision” performance. She wears a black jumpsuit with rhinestones and has two male dancers. At the finale a large robot appears in the centre with various lights. The look and the singing are reminiscent of the contest of earlier times unfortunately, despite the fact that she is quite good vocally.

https://youtu.be/Rp-4eAlMVxs

The results

The winner was decided by the vote of the 15 jurors and the television audience, which has one free vote via the channel’s website and one payphone vote. The jury distributed 780 points among the seven candidates and the 780 votes from the public were divided by percentages accordingly. That is, if one of the candidates receives 10% of the public votes, he or she will receive 78 points.

The jury voted:

  1. Gala 146
  2. Cherine 145
  3. Gustaph 121
  4. Ameerah 107
  5. The Starlings 94
  6. Hunter Falls 84
  7. Loredana  83

The audience voted:

  1. The Starlings 183
  2. Gustaph 157
  3. Cherine 123
  4. Gala 146
  5. Loredana  84
  6. Ameerah 64
  7. Hunter Falls 44

Therefore, the final result is as follows:

  1. Gustaph 278
  2. The Starlings 277
  3. Gala 146
  4. Cherine 145
  5. Ameerah 153
  6. Loredana  167
  7. Hunter Falls 128

Gustaph and “Beacause of You” will wave the Belgian flag in Liverpool and will attempt to claim victory in the upcoming competition. Listen to the entry below:

https://youtu.be/J90sSoNKTHA

Will Belgium manage to get back into the top ten after 6 years? Make your prediction in the comments!

Belgium: Eurosong 2023 Final tonight!

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The big moment for Belgium has arrived as the Western European country chooses its Eurovision 2023 representative tonight.

Seven years after their last national final in 2016, Belgium returns to this format again in order to get back on track after mediocre results in recent years.

Seven artists are competing in tonight’s Eurosong 2023 final, vying to represent Belgium at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in May in Liverpool.

Finalists

Τhis is the running order of the artists that will take part in the Belgian national final tonight:

  1. Hunter Falls –  Ooh La La 
  2. Cherine – Ca m’ennuie pas 
  3. The Starlings – Rollercoaster
  4. Ameerah – The Carnival 
  5. Gustaph – Because Of You & The Nail
  6. Gala Aliaj Dragot – T’lnquiete 
  7. Loredana De Amicis – You Lift Me Up 

Eurosong 2023

A total of 14 songs were selected for Eurosng 2023 after selection by the relevant VRT jury, with two songs belonging to each artist. Then the artists themselves were asked to choose one of the two to compete in the national final.

  • The outcome of tonight’s final will be decided by a combination of public voting and a panel of judges. The weight of the vote of both is 50%.
  • 1560 points will be shared among the seven artists, with 780 going to the audience and 780 to the panel respectively.
  • The 780 jury points will be determined by fifteen members selected by the Belgian state broadcaster. Each member will give 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5 and 4 points to each of the seven songs.
  • Regarding the public vote, which also counts for 780 votes, if a song gets 20% of the votes, that means it will receive 156 points in the final score.
  • In case of a tie, the jury’s vote prevails. If there is a tie in this criterion as well, then the song with the most 12 or 10 points prevails.

The Eurosong 2023 final will take place tonight at 20:20 CET and will last just under two hours. You can watch it through the official website of VRT, by clicking HERE.

The presenter of Eurosong 2023 will be the well-known radio producer from Flanders, Peter van de Veire, who in recent years has also been the Eurovision commentator for the Dutch-language broadcast in Belgium.

So today we will learn the third song ahead of Eurovision 2023, as well as Jérémie Makiese‘s successor to represent Belgium. The young singer took 19th place in Turin with the song “Miss You“.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB09advfF6E

Stay tuned to Eurovisionfun for all the developments regarding Belgium’s participation in Eurovision 2023, in Liverpool!

Belgium: Listen to the songs of Eurosong 2023!

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We now know all the songs that are going to compete in the Belgian national final, while the seven competing songs are now available on Spotify in their full versions!

 

The songs of Eurosong 2023

You can listen to the competing songs of Eurosong 2023 by clicking each song’s title:

How is the winner going to be revealed?

  • There are 1560 points in total, that are going to be divided in half; 780 for the public and 780 for the jury
  • The jury will be consisted of 15 members where each member will award 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 (52 points in total)
  • The public vote will also give 780 points to the contestants. If, for example, a song gets 10% of the televote, it will receive 78 points.
  • In case of a tie, the jury vote will be the one to be counted. In case there is also a tie, the winner will be the one with the most 12 points, 10 points etc.
  • Each voter can make a free vote through the website of VRT and only one vote per phone number with the cost of 0,75€

The Grand Final of Eurosong 2023 will take pace in Paleis 12 / Palais 12 in Brussels on January 14.

You can also watch our interviews with two of Eurosong 2023 contestants, Ameerah and Gala Dragot:

Stay tuned on Eurovisionfun for all the news regarding the Belgian participation at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, in Liverpool!