The Wiwi Jury — our in-house team of music unprofessionals — is reviewing and rating the 40 competing songs in Eurovision 2022. Next we review Belgium, who have chosen Jérémie Makiese with “Miss You”.
Were we missing it after the song finished? Read on to find out!
Jérémie Makiese – “Miss You” (Belgium Eurovision 2022)
Review: Jérémie Makiese – “Miss You”
Renske: The Walloons are again thinking out of the box by not choosing an obvious genre for a newer artist. “Miss You” is a raw piece of vocal power that will definitely find its public among the jury at Eurovision. The track is not overly produced or autotuned, which helps to transmit the rawness of the lyrics, which deal with a difficult break up. The fact that Jérémie Makiese sounds the same live as in the studio track also says a lot about his vocal potential.
Score: 8
Angus: The last time Belgium tried Bond influences it ended in disaster and while “Miss You” is not disastrous per se, it is hamstrung in places by some of the production choices. Lush Bond strings and twinkly piano keys give way to a Bieber-esque pop production which is all going its way…until you reach the chorus, which feels whiny and as though it belongs in another song. Doubling down on a particular genre and sonic style would have helped things here immeasurably.
Score: 4
William: Sometimes he moves, sometimes he falls, and sometimes Jérémie absolutely slays. “Miss You” plugs an important hole at Eurovision — American-style R&B-soul. The song lends itself well to choreography and drama, and the chorus has a unique, in-your-face quality that will loop easily in viewers’ heads (and during the voting recap). Jérémie is among the most telegenic stars of the year and I’m looking forward to seeing him in the grand final.
Score: 6.5
Ron: One major advantage this song has is that it really stands out in the field of Eurovision 2022 songs – there’s not another song with that kind of sound in the competition. Jérémie has a great voice, a very interesting warm tone with a great range, and he is quite impressive live as well. The delivery is very convincing and impactful, and “Miss You” just feels really sincere. I love the groove of this song and can’t wait to see how they will translate it on the big Eurovision stage.
Score: 7
Jonathan: “Miss You” has an intriguing start. The Bond-style, dark-ballad intro lays a nice foundation of mystery to draw the listener in. Then we get to the second chorus and the building comes crashing down. The R&B from here onwards falls flat and feels rather anti-climatic after the momentum that was built up. Ultimately, I don’t “Miss You”, but rather miss the pay off.
Score: 4.5
Belgium Eurovision 2022 ranking
In the Eurovision 2022 Wiwi Jury, we have 18 jurors but only have room for five reviews. The remaining scores are below:
|
Antranig: 6.5 Cinan: 6.5 Deban: 5 Josh: 7.5 Lucy: 7 Luis: 6.5 Natalie: 9 |
Oliver: 5 Pablo: 6.5 Robyn: 7 Sebastian: 5 Suzanne: 6 Tom: 6 |
We have removed the highest and lowest scores prior to calculating the average. This is to remove outliers and potential bias. We have removed a low of 4 and a high of 9.
Wiwi Jury verdict: 6.28/10
What do you think of Belgium’s Eurovision 2022 entry? Share your own score and review for Jérémie Makiese’s “Miss You” below!
Nice R&B tune that brings me back to my Craig David era. Yeah, it’s outdated but I appreciate they bring this style in Eurovision. I hope it’s appreciated and it can go through. 6,5/10.
Im always surprised how underwhelming is this song to some of you. Its literally one of my 3 favorites this year. I give it a solid 9/10.
The song for me sounds super generic and uninspired. It sounds like a song that was submitted to an American R&B singer and was later rejected. I really don’t understand why the bookies seem confident in its chances of qualification.
7/10 With my initial listen I was a little disappointed, however I have grown to appreciate this song quite a lot more. I love that Belgium have their own style in the contest which to me is Dark-Pop. I do think this song needs a wow moment, but we may see that in the performance.
It’s R&B style that just does not quite ignite the way it could have. Very radio friendly , but not much more.
Jeremie can’t sing live, those Noooooowwww notes are so weak. He should practice more.
Natalie: 9 ?
0.5/10 is ok
15.Belgium – This is modern. His voice is amazing and he uses it.
A big NO for me. Often love the songs from Belgium. Not this boring song.
I think is one of those tunes that juries are going to enjoy a lot more than the general public. With a good live performance, I can’t imagine it not qualifying.
Just want to ask though, when you describe it as “mediocrity” are you referring to the musical quality of it or something more relating to how you connect to it as a listener? I have more of a problem with the latter than the former, to be honest.
Jeremie is a great vocalist. I just wish he had a song I felt more positively about. As with most Belgian entries, the production is on-point and instrumentally, everything is professionally handled. I think most of the problems come from the original concepts being thrown about during the songwriting process. It’s quite hard to grasp what this song is actually trying to be. The bond-esque string opening, the run-of-the-mill r’n’b section that takes up everything until the gospel-inspired break. The song is just crying out for one of these to be committed to properly instead of the chopping and the… Read more »
Rating: 5.5/10.0
I like the song but something about it makes it hard for me to remember it after a while. If Jeremie can perform the song well with good staging this will surely qualify, but until now, I think it’s one of the borderline qualifiers of the 2nd semifinal for me. Not bad, but could be better. A 6/10 for me
this will probably be a major jury favorite. the song is good, and he’s a strong, charismatic performer.
Jeremie is a very competent performer and he has a voice but the song doesn’t live up to it, unfortunately. It’s is too steady and doesn’t really go nowhere. It may qualify if staged wisely though. it will need something to attract the televote. As it is right now it would only appeal to the jury, I think.
Belgium is in y 21st place.
13. France (7)
15. Armenia (7)
21. Belgium (6.75
27. North Macedonia (6.25)
32. Romania (5)
34. Israel (4.5)
Jérémie has a great voice and his performance will slay in May! That’ll be enough for him to make it through, but the song, while being catchy, isn’t my cup of tea, unfortunately :):
Listen to his live performances in preparties, his vocals are weak.
Are you for real?
His vocals are stunning. Weak vocals would be weak Ireland
Weak vocals are Ireland and Austria. LOL
People are SLEEPING on this song I swear! It will do well with the juries at least and the live performance will have some SLICK dance moves!
I think people aren’t connecting with this song but I don’t know if they’re sleeping on it. Generally, from what I’m seeing, most people believe it’s a comfortable qualifier.
Belgium have had a couple of high-profile slip-ups in recently years so I think they’d take that result. :3
Neither you like it or not but this guy can sing. And most of all Jérémie has one of the best voices in this year’s contest. I recently heard him sing Miss You live and I have to admit it was amazing. But….I still have a problem with the song . Thé song just doesn’t do it for me. Nevertheless I wish Jérémie all the best!-
Belgium 3,5/12
8.0/10
Jeremie has amazing live vocals and the production is very slick and high quality. While this is no winner, to me it’s a sure qualifier and one of the rare good songs in SF2. Hilarious that this joke jury is giving him a lower score than Romania…
Studio track isn’t a favorite, but this feels like a song that could exceed expectations on stage. Would not at all be surprised for this to qualify despite the lack of hype among fans.
Belgium: Vocally he’s amazing, but I think he could’ve gotten a much bigger song than this. Sadly to me this song is forgettable, but it could be a borderline qualifier. It’s just not for me – sorry, Belgium! 5/10
Sure finalist, impressive vocals. 9/10. One of my favorites this year
This going to be a surprise NQ for many people.
Except for Poland, Sweden, Estonia there isn’t even any competition in this SF. It’s not the weak Ireland who will qualify instead of him.
32. Belgium – Jeremy Makiese – Miss You – 5/10 – this is the type of song that I just don’t connect with unfortunately. The dramatic strings are not my thing, the extravagant vocal runs are not my thing and the lyrical content feels flat. It is not offensive to my ears in any way and I appreciate that Jeremy has vocal ability, but unfortunately the song generates very little emotional connection and therefore scant repeat button appeal.
I’ve almost got this ranked in the exact same position that you do! That doesn’t seem to be happening much this year so I’m taking it. Having said that, your actual reasons for ranking it low are, against, completely in opposition to my own! Honestly, the dramatic strings and the vocal runs are totally my thing. I just don’t think they all come together in this particular song. Oh, and I think the lyrical content, particularly in the verses, is a major strength of the song compared to others this year. You are right however in that I don’t think… Read more »
BELGIUM – Jeremie Makiese is very charismatic, and the song feels tailored to work to his strengths. He’s an impressive vocalist who can easily pull this off live. I am more fond of the Bond-ish intro, outro, verses, and bridge, than I am of the R&B chorus. As the hook ”no” repeats, it can become a bit flat. Some appeal is there, but I’d prefer if they had stuck with the soulful formula all the way through. A more impactful climax is needed to complete the strong build-up this song has. The message feels balanced and empowering, even if the… Read more »
I feel the same: the intro and outro are between the best of the lineup, verses and bridge are good, but the chorus stops the song from getting to a climax.
I’m not actually as disappointed with the chorus on the whole as you are. I really like its final line and how it finishes musically before transitioning back to verse. It’s actually one of the smoothest transitions in the song. The hook is an issue for me as a listener. I feel like it’s thrown in just to show that Jeremie can hit x note and he can hit y note, too! It’s almost entirely directed at juries to me in that way, as I can’t imagine many listeners are enjoying them.
His vocals are really something else.
No wonder he is a voice winner.
But unfortunately the song is too “average” for my liking.
7/10
Though most people are pointing to emotional ballads as frontrunners to win the jury vote (myself included), I think this one can do surprisingly well with the music professionals. Jérémie has great vocal skills and he has a lot to play with in this track, from its classy Bond theme start to the cool showy runs in the final act. It’s true that the more radio friendly portion of the song is quite average and R&B is not the most successful genre in Eurovision, but I feel Belgium deserves more attention than it’s getting. 7.5/10
I actually had never considered Belgium as a song that can potentially rank high with the juries but now that you mention it you’ve got a point. This song has the kind of vibe juries go with sometimes. A similar (yet in a more pop-soul vibe rather than RnB) example was Austria 2018 and I think I like Jeremie’s song better than Cesar’s though I am not crazy about any of these tunes.
“Nobody but You” is exactly what I have in mind when I say this one can do well with the juries. Nobody was paying attention to Cesar back then, but he always had the vocals and the respectable universal sound that juries like to reward. Plus both songs had no internal competition, since R&B isn’t a thing in ESC. Jérémie has much more competition this time though, there are maybe a dozen of countries I can see getting to the juries’ top 5.
I agree. And the fact that he will be having competition as far as the jury votes are concerned, means that his televoting score will be extremely crucial. And how a song like “Miss You” will be perceived by the viewers at home is something I can’t predict as of now.
With only 0.5 difference for Israel (and we were both generous, I feel, especially me), only 1.25 difference for France, and only 1.00 difference for Belgium, this is another day of us thinking fairly alike. 🙂 If I go back to the day I heard it, I’d probably give Miss You over a 7 too. It fell off a bit since, and I find the chorus to be less interesting than the rest of the song (even if not bad by any means), but I am also keeping it on high alert when it comes to the jury score. They… Read more »
Yeah, no big differences between our rankings so far (You had Armenia higher than Belgium and I did the opposite, but that was it). Besides the big difference concerning our friends from outer space, I’m expecting that we’ll share 2 entries in the top 5 and that your remaining 2 will finish in my top 10 (France was the first of this couple). I don’t know exactly how mine remaining 3 will be reviewed by you, but I guess they’ll be at least in your top 15.
I feel like I know four of your top 5, and if they are who I think they are, one is in my top 5, other two in top 10, and one is currently my 11th, edging on entering my top 10. I’m not sure who the fifth one is, but knowing your usual taste, I am assuming it’s an entry I still gave a favorable review to. I am curious to find out.
This was probably a higher rating than I was expecting. What # did you end up having Belgium in your ranking if you don’t my asking?
Strong vocals, top class production and every part of the instrumental track being played up to a top-notch professional standard are always in that recipe for jury favourites.
Belgium is currently my 12th, but could perfectly be 13th or 14th the next time I rank the entries. It’s one of the leaders of the huge middle pack, with all the songs I think do a good job on what they’re intending to do, even if I don’t have a strong connection with them (there are 3 big fan favorites among them, by the way). So if I give from 6.5 to 7.5 to a song, you can expect the margins between them being tiny. As I said Colin a while ago, this year it’s been hard for me… Read more »
I feel that Belgium is one of the most underrated this year and will do way better than people think
17. Belgium: A crossover between soul, pop and RnB done in an interesting way. Personally I am not the biggest fan of RnB and soul but I have to admit that Belgium’s song is very well-made: albeit it can sometimes sound as two or three different songs put together but in this particular case this adds to its charm. Jeremie’s vocal capabilities are also very good. Belgium needs to have a good staging (we know they sometimes struggle on this department) and they will surely qualify.
Similar thoughts to my own in that I’m also feeling it’s a cut-up and paste-together of three different song concepts rather than a smooth transition between distinct elements that can fit together. I also agree that the vocals and professional production mean that qualification is still likely. It’s what juries tend to go for.
6/10 A great singer with an OK song that lacks a decent chorus. Jérémie’s talent might take this to the final, but I would be surprised if it does well beyond that.
Here we have a great vocalist who is singing basic RnB for James Bond. It’s quite good for this year’s overall lower standard, but it is nowhere near at the same level as prior entries sent from Belgium such as the songs for Loïc Nottet, Laura, Blanche, Sennek, Eliot and Hooverphonic. Even so, I think Belgium should make the Grand Final with this one, whereas Sennek and Eliot did not. Yey for 2022 I guess.
I love “A Matter of Time.” 🙂
A Matter of Time is a masterpiece. Studio version obviously
That would be simply amazing! Jeremie + A Matter of Time could be a top 5 position in 2022, and even in 2018. Perhaps even a winner.
I prefer this to Hooverphonic. Didn’t like either of their songs but I think Eliot’s is probably the most like-for-like comparison for this one. I’d imagine Jeremie is unlikely to have Eliot’s vocal/confidence issues though.
The song is definitely not at the level of Sennek, Loic or Blanche’s entries, yet, doesn’t feel too out-of-place being placed on that list.
Thanks, that’s interesting. I find Eliot’s song “Wake up” more musically emotive than “Miss You,” especially with the harmonies and counter-melodies going on in “Wake Up.”
N.B. I don’t include Hooverphonic 1 (“Release Me”) in the list because we never had a contest, but Hooverphonic 2 (“The Wrong Place”) is an absolute classic.
It’s a nice song I guess. Jèrèmie has a good voice and the song is enjoyable. My only issues are that it isn’t that memorable and it doesn’t really go anywhere. A song like this should have a climax, but it doesn’t…
This does feel like it’s a demo. But for some reason I like it! What I wanted to see more in it is a James Bond influence which exists only at the start of the song. It’s acc my least fav Belgian entry since 2014. Can see the juries placing it in Top3 in its semi.
Rating: 7/10 (19th)
Silver star.
It’s a bronze from me.
I won’t comment. I don’t want to say anything rude. And that would be my whole comment
Cute. 🙂