Belgium: Gustaph wins Eurosong 2023 – to Eurovision with "Because of You"

For the first time in seven years, the Belgium broadcaster hosted a national selection and let the public have a say in who should sing for the country at the world's biggest music competition.

Seven artists were announced back in November, and tonight it was time to decide who will represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool.

After the seven songs were performed live, it was time for the voting. A professional jury along with public voting decided that Gustaph will sing "Because of You" on the Eurovision stage in May this year.

Gala Dragot won the jury vote, The Starlings won the public vote, but it was Gustaph who picked up the most combined points. Just one point in front of The Starlings!

Eurosong 2023

The final of Eurosong 2023 took place live from Paleis 12 in Brussels, hosted by Peter Van de Veire. This was the first time since 2016 that Belgium selected their representative through a national selection when the Belgian people opted for Laura Tesoro's "What's The Pressure."

The task was carried out by VRT – one of the two Belgian Eurovision broadcasters that rotate every year. The submission of songs was supposed to be an open call. Nonetheless, due to production delays, an A&R team did the hunt themselves, and found the seven candidates.

The whole week has been dedicated to Eurosong 2023. Each of the seven artists had two songs each that were presented from Monday to Friday in five shows called "Songclub." The artists then had to choose which one of the two songs they would sing at the final of Eurosong.

Gustaph

Gustaph aka Stef Caers from Antwerp has already performed in Eurovision two times as backing vocalist. In 2018 (Sennek - A Matter of Time) and in 2021 (Hooverphonic - The Wrong Place).

Right after his victory on Saturday, Gustaph couldn't believe what just happened:

– I'm speechless, I really didn't expect this. But I'm super happy. Thank you to everyone for voting. I can’t believe this. I have an out-of-body experience. Am I tripping or something, am I sleeping on the couch?

Because of you is a positive battle song about the acceptance of yourself and being who you are. At the same time, it is a song where it is difficult to sit still.

– I wrote the song together with Jaouad Alloul who's also a queer artist and singer. The song is about self-acceptance and the people who brought you to that place in your life. In our case, that was about the queer community, I'm a gay man. That's the initial message, but it can go very broad.

The host of Eurosong 2023, Peter Van de Veire, described Gustaph and his two songs for Eurosong 2023:

– Gustaph is building a huge party in both his songs, with a pronounced act. Both songs have the advantage of the recognizability and clarity in the lyrics, although one song is darker than the other.

– Gustaph unequivocally draws the LGBTQI+ map, which is the logical extension of his own story. With his experience and the choice of an act that fits perfectly with the Eurovision Song Contest, he catches the eye in a positive way.

Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest

Belgium has participated 63 times in Eurovision since the beginning in 1956.

They won the contest in 1986 (Sandra Kim – J'aime La Vie), but have finished in last place 8 times (two of them with nul points).

Since the introduction of the Semi-finals in 2004, Belgium has qualified for the Grand Final 8 out of 18 times (in 2010 they even came in first in Semi-final 1).