VRT kicks off Eurosong this week – Belgium’s national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. Seven acts will sing for a ticket to the show in May and the honour of representing Belgium. Who are you most excited for?
VRT broadcasting schedule for Eurosong week
According to Belgian Eurovision web site Songfestival.be, the songs will not all be revealed on the same day. Instead, they will be released over the course of the five days leading up to the grand final in Brussels’ Palais 12 on Saturday 14 January. Each day will focus on one or two acts revealing songs in that programme. At the end of the week, each of the seven acts will choose the song they want to take to the grand final.
- 9 January – Loredana’s songs
- 10 January – Chérine’s songs and Hunter Falls’ first song
- 11 January – Hunter Fall’s second song and Ameerah’s songs
- 12 January – gala dragot’s songs and Gustaph’s first song
- 13 January – Gustaph’s second song and The Starlings’ song
Eurosong 2023 acts
Loredana
Flemish diva Loredana last participated in Eurosong in 2014, with the Ovi-penned song “She’s After My Piano”, which scored her a hit together with Pat Krimson. This year, the flame-haired songstress will take up the stage alone with two new eurodance tracks – “You Lift Me Up” and “Dream in Colours”.
Chérine
Named “perfectly trilingual” by Flemish broadcaster VRT, Chérine previously took part in The Voice in both Flanders and France. The Antwerp native is bringing the French language to the Flemish preselection with her entries “Ça m’ennui pas”, a modern uptempo pop song, and and a ballad titled “Mon étoile”.
Hunter Falls
Although less experienced than most of the other acts, Hunter Falls is brining a mix of flavours to the Eurosong stage. In the competition, he is performing two uptempo tracks. One is a more classic Eurosong song, “Home”, whereas “Ooh La La” seems reminiscent of a scandipop track that could have been found at Sweden’s Melodifestivalen in recent years.
Ameerah
Singer-songwriter Astrid Roelants, better known as Ameerah, previously worked with Jennifer Lopez and Tiësto and featured in a Madcon song. In her two Eurosong tracks, “The Carnival” and “Armageddon”, Ameerah shows off her vocal range as well as delivering a slick pop effort.
gala dragot
Already experiencing stardom in Albania, 17-year-old gala dragot is turning towards a mature audience in Belgium after earlier winning the Flemish edition of The Voice Kids. Her songs don’t fully show themselves well in the snippets that VRT provided, but it seems that “emotion ollie” and “t’inquiète” will have a more gothic and more experimental sound.
Gustaph
An outspoken queer artist, Gustaph finally tries to the take the Eurosong stage himself with two self-written songs, “Because of You” and “The Nail”. In 2018, he worked as a background singer for Sennek’s entry, while in Rotterdam in 2021, Gustaph helped Hooverphonic’s Geike Arnaert as a vocal coach.
The Starlings
The Starlings – that’s Tom Dice and Kato Callebaut – have enjoyed some commercial success in Belgium ever since their founding in 2019. With “oceanside”, The Starlings bring a country-inspired offering to Eurosong that stands out from the rest. “Rollercoaster”, the duet’s other song, was written by Melfest 2023 participant Laurell Barker among others, and has a more distinct Eurovision sound.
Which Eurosong 2023 act are you most excited about? Who would you like to see represent Belgium at Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool? Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments down below!
I join Groot on this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X5K_jANH7lE
It’s shocking to me how alive the Songclub version of “t’inquiète” felt and how dead the studio cut is. I get to the end of the studio version and think “that can’t possibly be it?”
I also love the studio cut of “Armageddon” but that’s already been left behind. :/
Now that all seven artists have chosen their songs, I wish them all good luck for tomorrow night, and may the best artist win. We all have our favorites, but whatever the outcome is, I hope that we can all respect the winner, even if it isn’t our first choice. With this along with Eesti Laul and MGP airing tomorrow, it’s going to be an exciting Saturday.
1. Chérine: Ca m’ennuie pas
2. Ameerah: The Carnival
3. The Starlings: Rollercoaster
4. Gustaph: Because of You
5. Loredana: You Lift Me Up
6. Hunter Falls: Ooh La La
7. gala dragot: t’inquiète
Everyone except The Starlings picked songs I hoped they would. I still think that Oceanside would’ve been a far more interesting choice, but fine. I love Tom Dice, and I cherish Me and My Guitar, but in this selection, I have different favorites: Cherine, Ameerah, Gala. I’d go with Cherine if they want to have something completely different from them. Gala would be a very respectable choice if they want to continue with that really dark and mysterious vibe. I’d be happy with Ameerah too. Overall, a quite solid selection.
When the snippets were released I said the selection is disappointing, but now I can’t stop listening to ‘The Carnival’ and ‘Ça m’ennui pas’ I’d be happy with either winning.
Now that I’ve heard the songs, I finally have an opinion on the Belgian selection. Overall it’s a little too dance pop heavy pour moi, but they have, of course, counterbalanced it with this weird jazzy electro stuff from Gala Dragot, still, something a little more alternative instead of the 4th dance song would have been nice. But in this sea of happy-clappy, Gala Dragot stands out all the more. I can’t even say which one of her songs I would have preferred, they are both structurally very similar but an equally fascinating listening experience. I’d be down for choosing… Read more »
Allright, Gustaph picked Because of You and The Starlings went with Rollercoaster. The lineup of the national final is complete!
Two great options now. I’m crossing my fingers for a third tomorrow.
I never thought I would say this…but the song of Gala is AWESOME!!! But yet again it’s one of those songs you either like or hâte. But like the majority here , Cherine is the more obvious choice…so far.
Gala picked t’inquiète. Two candidates left for tomorrow!
Five down, two more to go. Do you think she made the right choice?
I personally prefer Emotional Ollie, it feels more… coherent? t’inquiète can’t seem to decide if it is a James Bond-Billie Eilish song or a 2019-Billie song. I like both styles, don’t get me wrong, but the transitions feel a little sudden in this one.
*Emotion Ollie 🙂
I have to say, I also prefer emotion Ollie, but I didn’t really care which song she was going to pick. I’m good with either.
Gustaph’s Because of You feels very San Marino, but in a good way. It will probably turn into my guilty pleasure of this NF season.
I agree. I’ll be honest – I expected both of Gustaph’s song to be weak from the snippet, but I actually find this charming. It doesn’t feel very competitive next to Cherine, Ameerah, and Gala, but I’d actually put him ahead of Loredana with this song. Now only question remains whether he’ll pick this one or The Nail, and whether The Nail is indeed as weak as the snippet suggests. But Gustaph seems like a really nice man.
“Because of you” actually turned out better than I expected. I don’t see it representing Belgium but it’s nice to listen to. I don’t know what the nail will be like in full, but I hope he picks because of you.
We need these kinds of songs between all the serious stuff IMO. So I am happy with the VRT’s line up this year
Ameerah’s song isn’t bad, but it isn’t ‘it’ for me either. Still Cherine for me. Next!
I’ll be honest, I didn’t care which song Ameerah was going to choose any way. I think so far the artists are picking the right songs for Saturday and I think it’s shaping up to be a pretty good national final. I have yet to be disappointed with their choices.
Ooh La La and The Carnival have entered the chat. The finals is shaping-up nicely. The artists seem to be on the same page as fans so far.
I was just about to post about that. They’re definitely the songs I wanted from both Hunter falls and Ameerah so I am happy.
2 new songs today! Hunter Falls chose Ooh La La, while Ameerah chose The Carnival.
Ça m’ennuie pas for the win! But i think I wouldn’t mind if gala won too (the snippets are quite unhelpful but both the songs sound nice) And then Ooh la la is a guilty pleasure! I don’t know why, but it’s just so catchy. Other than these three, I don’t like the others much. The Starlings are fine, but i don’t think either of the songs would stand a chance at esc.
I think Chérine can even win Eurovision. I love the song (from Spain)
Chérine with « ça m’ennuie pas » is a absolut banger! I wish her to win and to represent Belgium with this entry. 12 points de la Suisse.
Cherine or Ameerah. Normally I like Gala too but actually I´m not in the mood for “dark pop”.
First Loredana, and now Cherine have both chosen well. I am charmed by the full version of Ca M’ennuie Pas. Both have listened to the reception, and so far, others are actually being helpful. Can you imagine this level of comradery in *certain other selections* (which will remain unnamed, but will be hinted as already passed this season, and being a part of the Balkans)? But in Belgium it surprisingly works so far. Tomorrow we get two more in the line-up, right? (Hunter and Ameerah)
*not being a part of the Balkans*, geez… these typos… Wiwi, please return the edit button. You’ll save one in ten new messages for sure.
LOL, not having an edit button was a conscious choice? 🙂
You’re not the only one that wishes the edit button was back. I can’t tell you the number of times I submitted a comment without properly checking if there are any errors. It’s always embarrassing.
If the Belgians don’t chose chérine I will riot
It’s so charmingly retro. I’m also charmed by Gustaph bobbing his head to it in the video while Gala sits there stone-faced
Watching contestants move enthusiastically or not is the second attraction besides the songs
Chérine’s Ca M’ennuie Pas has potential to be Belgium’s best result since Blanche, it’s so nostalgic but current at the same time, for me this is a clear top 10 spot at Eurovision. And I love the French! However, I’m keeping an eye on Ameerah and Gala too, their snippets had lots of potential, it’ll be between those three I guess. Hunter Falls and Loredana have okay songs, but will have trouble qualifying if they go to Liverpool. Belgium actually has a really strong selection this year, people have been sleeping on it. I’m proud!
The song actually does remind me a lot of Belgium’s only winning song, j’aime La vie. The upbeat brightness would be something different for Belgium after a string of dark moody songs. Nothing wrong with them, but it’s not a bad idea to switch things up so you don’t get stale sending in a particular type of music year after year. I also think that since there’s only televote in the semi finals this year, Ca M’ennuie Pas might be Belgium’s best shot to grab a lot of televote points.
The second show is over and we’ve got our second song. Chérine has chosen to sing “Ca m’ennuie pas” on Saturday which makes me very happy because it’s my favorite song of this selection. Good luck to her.
I personally think this was the best decision. Man, but the current theme is “Fan Faves getting 2nd”, so I’m scared of what’ll happen to it.
Well, I have a second choice in case Ca m’ennuie pas doesn’t win–The starlings if they chose the song Oceanside.
The first show is over and Loredana has chosen her song—she Selected “You Lift Me Up” to perform on Saturday. That was the song I wanted for her anyway.
I see it’s on YouTube with the audio pulled from the show. Kind of an underwhelming start IMO
Well, I don’t think she was ever a real contender to represent in Belgium in the first place.
For me Its between Ameerah/Gala/Starlings/Gustaph or Cherine up tempo song
Chérine ”Ça m’ennui pas” is the only contender here lol…
Don’t dismiss the possibility of the Starlings winning, especially if they pick Oceanside as their song. I wouldn’t mind it, but it’s my second choice. Chérine is obviously my favorite, but Saturday will tell if I put her song in my Eurovision playlist or my Eurovision national final playlist.
gala dragot is the only option for belgium…the rest have bad songs imo. Cherine is sweet but her songs are very dated. gala is unique, has stage presense and strong voice..her second song is my favorite. Good luck from israel
At first I thought Gala or Cherine but now I’m team Gustaph aaaallll the way. Eurovision needs this kind of electronic, Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears inspired vibe!
I very love Chérine “Ca m’ennuie pas”‘ but please not “Mon étoile”…
I prefer “Oceandide” than “Rollercoaster” by The Starlings !
I prefer “Ouhh La la” than “Home” by Hunter Falls
I love the 2 songs by Gala Dragot
I prefer “The Carnival” than “Armageddon” by Ameerah
Loredana & Gustaph are not my cup of tea…
Good Luck beautiful artists ! Belgium have a good selection this year !
That’s interesting Gala Dragot is SO high. I think Cherine and Ameerah for sure are good performers to bank, though Hunter Falls and the Starlings might give Belgium a decent result too! It seems as if the songs, which were previously slept on, have really GREW on people including myself, just from the snippets. Hopefully Cherine chooses her first song, which COULD be a hit outside of Eurovision!
Recently the songs in this selection really grew on me. Particularly Ça M’ennuie Pas and Oceanside are two big growers
Those are my two favorites from the selection too. I hope those are the songs that Shareen and the starlings choose for the live show, and I hope it’s one of those two that goes to eurovision.
i liked the snippets from cherine and the starlings. let’s see if the full songs are any good!
Well I’d like to actually be able to hear the songs fully before making a decision. I’m not sure I like any of them yet. There are two I am interested in based on the snippets but I wanna hear the full songs to really know.
none. Belgium out. Im sorry, but too many drug addicts, sex traffickers from there lately. im disgusted at that country how their bloggers are promoting unfaithfulness, abusive behavior, sexism. blergghh. a country of perverts and prostitutes.
What..?
Gurl wut…?
And what about your country? Or are you too cowardly to say where you come from?
i think he is a Belgian
Ah yes because by that same logic every Russian is addicted to vodka, every Swede only eats knäckebröd every morning and every Dutch person smokes weed and wears wooden clogs every day… It’s a very close-minded perspective you have.
Most likely you are a Belgian yourself
For me if Belgium want to go to final, choice are between Cherine with uptempo song or Hunter with ballad.
Belgium will bring us our third Eurovision song this Saturday, but we’ve got some action this week. The songs for the first semi finals of melodi Grand Prix will be released tomorrow, and we will know who will compete for Serbia tomorrow as well. Estonia will air Both semi finals this Thursday and Saturday, Malta will air its first Quarter final on Friday, and MPG will start Saturday as well.
Croatia will release the songs from Dora on the 12th.
That’s right. I completely forgot about Croatia.
Finland will make its artist reveal on the 11th and the first 2 songs will be released on the 12th and 13th too
I just can’t keep track of everything, can I?
The Belgian songs this year sound surprisingly good to me!
Pretty disappointed with the Belgian selection if I’m being honest. I think Belgium will struggle to qualify for the grand final this year.
Two songs format isn’t the best, especially since none of the songs are released in full. How to pick the performer when it’s so dependent on the song? In cases of Gala and Ameerah, it seems to matter less, as the former has two very similarly sounding songs, and the latter has two songs which sound to be of a similar quality. However, if we are talking about The Starlings, I’d much prefer Oceanside, and for Cherine, it’s Ça m’ennui pas (even if Mon etoile also sounds nice). With Hunter, I’d say that the song with a stronger immediate hook… Read more »
Gonna hold off til I get the whole thing. I feel like I’d be voting more for a vibe than a song at this point
For me, it’s between “Armageddon” and “Ça m’ennui pas”. I think both could do very well at Eurovision: I think Ameerah would bring production and staging that Chérine’s entry wouldn’t. Then again, Chérine might not need it, considering her high energy entry that would be sure to stick in the heads of televoters. However, I suspect Ameerah will end up selecting “The Carnival”, so as a whole I would prefer Chérine. Best of luck to all the participants, glad to see Belgium putting in some work, even if it’s a bit haphazard!
Having said what I just said, the songs you highlight have the vibes that I like 🙂
Gala Dragot, by far the best choice and the only one that could actually do something at ESC, could even be this year’s Amanda Tenfjord.
Boring song with 100 % televote in semi, is not good idea.
Only typical narrow-minded eurofans can dismiss Gala so easily, shame.
Strange format to introduce the songs (ik we heard them already) but having them release all the songs over the week and then at the end of the week before the selection, half of them are discounted is just strange.
Out of the songs I heard, I dont really mind either or chérine’s or gala’s songs so I hope that their performances will be good in the selection because all of the snippets felt unfinished to me but these seemed the most promising.
Also not related to this but I saw somewhere that the Irish songs are getting released over the course of the week too (I’m assuming the radio format but it might just be on yt,Spotify etc).
Someone posted the artists and songs in a yt community post, one of the songs is available (says demo) on Spotify.
Chérine’s ”Ça m’ennui pas” is the only song I remember from these, which speaks volumes.
I could actually see it placing very well in the final too!
It’s my favorite of the Belgian selections too (I hope it’s the song Cherine will pick to perform live on Saturday). But I suspect the Starlings could win this because of name familiarity, but I hope they pick Oceanside if that’s the case.