Last weekend, our Deban met up with Eliot from Belgium at the Eurovision Party Madrid. He was excited to perform there and slayed that blue carpet. He made time for us in Madrid to talk about preparations for Eurovision, his musical inspirations and why he sometimes plugs in his earphones without connecting them.

Eliot interview — Eurovision Party Madrid

Eliot’s journey to Eurovision

Eliot believes the biggest challenge in his journey to Eurovision is the rushing and getting to places. He enjoys the contact with people. He is impressed by how kind people are and how much people are into Eurovision.

Eliot has also done his homework and we are quite impressed. From the top of his head, he was able to hum the melodies of a wide variety of Eurovision entries, including Serhat, SuRieSandra Kim and Sennek. He’s still working on getting the hang of Madonna’s songs though. And we have to admit, we get a few goosebumps at the way Eliot pronounces ‘Eurovision’ with his French accent…

Bringing emotions on stage

In terms of bringing emotions on stage, Eliot says it’s a matter of just letting it out. He knows that emotions are what people expect when on stage but it’s not always easy. It also depends on the public and the place, he tells us.

Performing and nerves

Although confident enough to walk on stage, Eliot admits that he does get nervous sometimes. The Eurovision pre-parties were a testament to that. He had to kick off the London Eurovision Party and it’s never easy to go first. He tried to create a silent environment for himself to stay relaxed. He sometimes puts his earphones in without plugging them into anything. This is to create a quiet bubble for himself. Once in that relaxed mode, don’t bother to talk to him. He admits he doesn’t answer anything when he’s in that space. At that time, he just focuses on the song and warming up his voice.

His musical inspiration and… S&M?

Eliot tries to broaden his musical taste as much as possible, to inspire him with his own music. His big musical inspiration is Boy Epic, an American slightly BDSM/S&M inspired noir-pop act. Iceland’s Hatari. in that regards, has also not gone unnoticed to Eliot. Boy Epic is not as BDSM-centred as Hatari, but it moves in the same direction. Belgium’s cutest has a dark side too, y’all!

What do you think of “Wake Up”? Do you think Eliot will take Belgium back to the final? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch more of our interviews on wiwi.tv

Read more Belgium Eurovision news

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bastian
bastian
4 years ago

He is so adorable and the song is underrated imho. Its such a quality track. Unfortunately he didnt convince me yet with his live performances. I expect the performance in tel aviv to be a lot more convincing

WannaEatMySpaghetti
WannaEatMySpaghetti
4 years ago

I think he is the nicest guy we’ve sent in the last years! Always smiley, ready to talk with anyone. He’s really cute, he has a good song (not incredible but still good), he has a good voice and just need to be more self confident. I really hope Europe will support him enough to go through. Tbh, I hope a place between 10 and 15 in final. Anything more is bonus but at least he deserves a spot in the final 🙂 PS: seeing all the strange songs that will pass after Eliot in semi final, I’m already nervous… Read more »

Koen
Koen
4 years ago

I hope he gains some more confidence. It would be a shame if Belgium were to miss out on the final twice in a row. Sennek deserved to go through even if her act was non existent. This song isn’t better than Sennek’s but it’s enough to go through for me in the (lesser) first semi final. I feel for Eliot, he’s kind and has a good voice, but I sometimes fear he’s too young for this. I’m not sure if he realised what he was getting into. Blanche had the same problem but she had a way better song… Read more »

Ioa Ioa
Ioa Ioa
4 years ago
Reply to  Koen

Belgium has missed the final 6 times in a row. Whats the problem with 2?

ESCFan2009
ESCFan2009
4 years ago

Our beautiful Eliot! <3
To quote William in our German songcheck about Finland: "There is hope, she emerges and she slays!" This with "he" instead of "she" and you've got a suitable message! Go Eliot! You have it all!

Kosey
Kosey
4 years ago

I really like Eliot. He seems so genuine in his interviews. Sure he is young, sure he looks nervous sometimes, but I am backing him all the way to the final. It is such a great song with a great message, and you can tell he is putting everything into it so I really hope he connects with as many people as possible and makes it through!