Introduction

• Participant(s): Hooverphonic
• Song: The Wrong Place
  
• Writer(s): Alex Callier, Charlotte Foret
• Composer(s): Alex Callier, Charlotte Foret
• Broadcaster: VRT
  
• Social media:          
• Team review: 

The band Hooverphonic has been selected as representative for the Belgian entry again. Last year they have been picked as well, but the Corona pandemic has caused the cancellation. Not every country is sending their artists again, so the band can be lucky to show their interesting music to the world.

The band exists since 1995 and the original name was “Hoover”, to avoid confusion with the vacuum cleaner company the name has been changed to Hooverphonic. Until now the band has released ten albums and singles. The interesting music style of electronic trip hop creates a special atmosphere. These songs have reached good placings in the Belgian charts “Amalfi”  and “Badaboum” . There are also a lot of live concert recordings as well with orchestra such as “Mad About You” in the Koningin Elizabethzaal in Antwerp.

The band consists of Alex Callier (bass) und Raymond Geerts (guitar) and Geike Arnaert (vocals). The female singer has been exchanged again, as last year there was Luka Cruysberghs, now one of the early members Geike has re-joined the band. The years, but the two founding members Alex and Raymond have never left the band.

Geike Arnaert has been awarded as best female singer in Belgium from 2000 – 2003. She sang in various bands and even supported the rapper Vijvenveertig who is suffering from cancer. The song is called “Mijn Leven”  and it’s beautifully arranged.

This year’s song “The Wrong Place” is another even more sophisticated song with a sense of dark humour, what’s happing when you wake up in a wrong place?

You're lying next to me, I don't know where to hide
I see his smiley face that makes me wanna cry
What was I thinking? 'Cause all we did was fight
Don't you еver dare to wear my Johnny Cash t-shirt

The calm and a bit melancholic song has not been written to enter the Eurovision Song Contest initially. It was one out of 25 songs the band has been looking into and it took several versions to come to the final one, which can be watched in the video clip. The orchestral part is hardly noticeable, it would not have harmed the song, like in other great songs of the band.

The band emphasize that the only way to succeed is being authentic, not playing a role to please others. With this attitude Hooverphonic will go to Rotterdam.

History

• Debut: 1956
• Participations: 63
• Victories: 1
• Finals: 52 (6 since 2004)
• Top 10: 26
• Chances for Top 10: 41%
• Chances for Final: 35% (since 2004)

For Belgium it’s the 63rd time in the Eurovision Song Contest this year. The Belgian representatives Hooverphonic will have been chosen last year, but they have the right to start again in 2021. The Corona crisis has led to the cancellation of the entire event, for the first time in Eurovision history. Due to the fact the Belgium has two languages and regions Flanders and Wallonia the Belgian representative is being provided alternately each year. Well, it cannot be said, which part of Belgium is sending more successful songs, both Wallonia and Flanders are eager to deliver the best quality, which is visible in the good results especially in recent years. The Belgians are on a good way, but not always successful. In 2018 and 2019 both Belgian entries did not make into the Grand Final, while the years before were quite successful, Blanche in 2017 could achieve a wonderful 4th place in Kiev with “City Lights”, as well as Loïc Nottet with “Rhythm Inside” in Vienna 2015 and Laura Tesoro made a 10th place in Stockholm with “What’s The Pressure”

For the first and so far only time, Belgium could win the ESC back in 1986 with “J’aime La Vie” sung by Sandra Kim. Over all these years there have many good places in the top 10.

By virtues of the introduction of the Semi Finals in 2004 some countries are struggling to qualify for the Grand Final. Belgium is one of the countries which had some difficulties in the noughties, only six times Belgium could qualify in the last fourteen. It has also to be taken into consideration that the competition has grown over the years. The Eastern European countries are making the half of the participating countries nowadays, so therefore some well-established countries have to make the way for the new countries and even the non-European country Australia takes part regularly now. The positive thing about it is that it forces the composers to bring higher quality songs into the competition; there is less place for weak songs.

Biggest successes

• 1x 1st place
  “J'aime La Vie” |Sandra Kim (Bergen 1986)
• 4x 2nd place
  ”Messieurs Les Noyés De La Seine” |Fud Leclerc (Lugano 1956)
  “Le Plus Beau Jour De Ma Vie” |Mony Marc (Lugano 1956)
  ”L'amour ça Fait Chanter La Vie” |Jean Vallée (Paris 1978)
  ”Sanomi”|Urban Trad (Riga 2003)

Video Nostalgia

• “A Million In One, Two, Three” | Dream Express
  Rank 7, London 1977
• “Laat Me Nu Gaan” | Linda Lepomme
  Rank 19, Gothenburg 1985
• “Like The Wind” | Vanessa Chinitor
  Rank 12, Jerusalem 1999