BELGIUM 2023

The Belgian final "Eurosong 2023" was held on January 14th at Paleis 12 in Brussel and was presented by Peter Van de Veire. In the week leading up to the final, the seven acts performed their 2 potential entries in full then self selected their favourite to perform on the Saturday night final. The winner was chosen by a 50/50 split of televoting and jury ranking. Going to Liverpool is Gustaph singing "Because of You"

Stef Caers - also known under the pseudonyms of Steffen or Gustaph -  is a singer, musician, producer and singing teacher. Back in 2000 he released "Gonna Lose You" which placed number 22 on the Flemish Ultratop chart. He then released a small number of songs - solo and in collaboration-  but with less commercial success. From then on his focus shifted to production and songwriting but also kept up some stage work by playing piano and providing backing vocals for other acts and DJing.  In the mid 2010s he worked with the dance music group Hercules & Love Affair providing some vocals and writing credits on their album "The feast of the broken heart". He also currently teaches pop, rock and jazz courses at schools in his home town of Gent. Gustaph is no stranger to the Eurovision experience. He was a backing singer for both Sennek and Hooverphonic although both times he was off stage.

Gusaph is centre stage dressed in his trademark wide brimmed hat, an extremely frilly pink shirt and a black and pink patterned over jacket. His is backed by 2 singers (who had live mics) dressed in black who weave their way around the stage at different points and add real power to the song. Words from the lyrics are interspersed on the backdrop with shots of dancers in shadow and close ups of the artists. The song begins with a version of the chorus but under a pino backing. but soon this is joined by a '90s club beat and synthesized ear worm. The song follows a verse-pre chorus-chorus formula twice over before a slower bridge and then a final elongated chorus to finish. 

Gustaph's soulful voice suits this retro dance tune very well and performs the whole thing with gusto and confidence. He moves well although I feel his chorography could be a lot more over the top without straying too far away from his gestural moves. His sartorial choices are eye-catching if not a little odd but seemed rather tame compared to some of the other finalists on show. The whole concept could be easily worked on and I think the backdrop in particular is very apt to the sound and feel. The two backing singers add some well needed interaction. I almost feel like they should add more backing singers to the mix to really emphasise that ensemble approach. It also goes against the new notion of backing vocals on tape!

During the final Gustaph scored only 3rd with the juries but clear 2nd with the public vote, However, because of the way the other votes went he ended up winning the final by one point. The pre-final fan faves ended 3rd and 4th. There seemed much consternation at this 'accidental' win but the diversity of the finalist's songs were echoed in the distribution of all the votes. Gustaph had a solid and accessible performance. There is a familiarity to the genre and Gustaph also seems like a very likeable and talented person. One also needs to remember that the juries are now no longer voting in the semifinal. Having a solid audience score will probably be enough to qualify - and I hope it does too.

ARTIST - Gustaph

SONG - Because of you

WRITING/PRODUCTION CREDITS - Jaouad Alloul, Stef Caers