Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country	Belgium
National selection
Selection process	Eurosong 2016
Selection date(s)	Shows: 3 January 2016 10 January 2016 Final: 17 January 2016
Selected entrant	Laura Tesoro
Selected song	"What's the Pressure"
Selected songwriter(s)	Sanne Putseys Louis Favre Birsen Uçar Yannick Werther
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016

Belgium will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "What's the Pressure" written by Sanne Putseys, Louis Favre, Birsen Uçar and Yannick Werther. The song will be performed by Laura Tesoro. The Belgian entry for the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden was selected through the national final Eurosong 2016, organised by the Flemish broadcaster Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT). The competition featured five competing acts and consisted of two presentation shows and a final, where the Belgian entry was ultimately selected. In the final, the winner was selected over two rounds of voting: the first selected the top two via the votes of ten international jury groups and a public televote, while the second selected the winner solely by public televoting. "What's the Pressure" performed by Laura Tesoro was the winner after coming in first place during both rounds of voting.

Background

Prior to the 2016 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-seven times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural contest.^[1] Since then, the country has won the contest on one occasion in 1986 with the song "J'aime la vie" performed by Sandra Kim. Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, Belgium had been featured in only four finals. In 2015, Loïc Nottet represented the country with the song "Rhythm Inside", qualifying to the final and placing fourth—Belgium's best result in the contest since placing second in 2003.

The Belgian broadcaster for the 2016 Contest, who broadcasts the event in Belgium and organises the selection process for its entry, was Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT). The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: the Flemish VRT and the Walloon Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF). Both broadcasters have selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. In 2014, VRT organised the national final Eurosong in order to select the Belgian entry, while in 2015, RTBF internally selected a contestant from the reality singing competition The Voice Belgique to represent the nation. On 26 May 2015, VRT confirmed Belgium's participation in the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest and announced that the Eurosong national final would be held to select their entry.^[2]

Before Eurovision

Eurosong 2016

Eurosong 2016 was the national final that selected Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition consisted of two live showcase shows that took place on 3 and 10 January 2016 followed by a final on 17 January 2016 where the winning song and artist were selected.^[3] All three shows took place at the AED studios in Lint, hosted by Peter Van de Veire and broadcast on Eén.

Competing artists

VRT announced on 26 May 2015 that five young musical talents were being sought to compete in Eurosong with an application period being opened on the same day.^[2] On 16 November 2015, the broadcaster announced the names of the five artists selected for the competition during the radio MNM programme De Grote Peter Van de Veire Ochtendshow.^[4] The five artists were selected by an A&R Team (Arts and Repertoire) consisting of music experts from VRT: Gerrit Kerremans (general music coordinator), Els Germonpré (Eén music manager) and Hans Snijders (radio MNM music manager), who were accompanied by artist manager Christopher Cocquyt.^[5] The five artists were coached and groomed by a team of experts in preparation for the national final. This team consisted of musical guidance from Christopher Cocquyt, vocal coaching from Lady Linn, media training from Geena Lisa and act staging/choreography from Ish Ait Hamou.^[5] Between 16 and 20 November 2015, the five artists were each presented and interviewed on the radio MNM programme De Grote Peter Van de Veire Ochtendshow as well as on the Eén television programme Iedereen beroemd.^[5]

The five competing artists were:^[3]

Format

Two non-competitive showcase shows took place on 3 and 10 January 2016. The 3 January show introduced the five artists and allowed them to showcase their singing skills, stage presence and personality by performing a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest song. The programme also showed how each artist progressed through their preparations and coaching. On the 10 January show, each artist presented their candidate Eurovision song. The final took place on 17 January 2016 where the winner was chosen by ten international jury groups and public televoting.^[6] During each of the three shows, two experts provided commentary and feedback to the artists. These experts were:^[7]

• Stijn Kolacny – conductor of the Belgian women's choir Scala
• Alexander Rybak – Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
• Tom Helsen – Belgian singer-songwriter
• Beverly Jo Scott – American-born singer-songwriter, coach on The Voice Belgique, lyricist of Belgium's 2015 entry "Rhythm Inside"
• Hadise – Turkish Belgian singer, participated in Idool 2003 and represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009
• Christer Björkman – Swedish singer, represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 1992, the Swedish Head of Delegation

Show 1 (3 January 2016)

The first show, held on 3 January 2016, introduced the competing artists. Each artist performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest song. The two experts that provided feedback to the artists during this show were Stijn Kolacny and Alexander Rybak.^[8] A televote held during the show to poll the audience's opinion on the artists following their performances was won by Amaryllis Uitterlinden.^[9]

Show 2 (10 January 2016)

The second show, held on 10 January 2016, introduced the competing songs. Each artist performed their candidate song for the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest. The two experts that provided feedback to the artists during this show were Tom Helsen and Beverly Jo Scott.^[8] The titles of the songs were announced on 5 January 2016.^[10] A televote held during the show to poll the audience's opinion on the artists and songs following their performances was won by Laura Tesoro.^[11]

Final (17 January 2016)

The final took place on 17 January 2016. Each artist performed their candidate Eurovision song. The two experts that provided feedback to the artists during this show were Hadise and Christer Björkman.^[8] The winner was selected over two rounds of voting. In the first round, ten international jury groups consisting of five members each and a public televote determined the top two. Each of the ten jury groups awarded points in the following manner: 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12. The jury points were added together and combined with the results of the televote which awarded points in the following manner: 60, 70, 80, 100 and 120. The top two, "What's the Pressure" performed by Laura Tesoro and "I'm Not Lost" performed by Tom Frantzis, proceeded to the superfinal where the winner, "What's the Pressure" performed by Laura Tesoro, was selected solely by public televoting.^[12][13]

The following ten international jury groups were selected for the following reasons to provide their votes:^[12]

• Sweden – Most recent winner and host of the 2016 contest
• Hungary – Best forecaster of the winner, averaging the most points to the eventual winner since 2000
• Ireland – Has the most victories at the Eurovision Song Contest
• Netherlands – Has provided the highest amount of points to Belgium in the history of the contest
• Azerbaijan – Has achieved great success in recent years at the contest with five top 5 placings in the last eight years; has never voted for Belgium
• United Kingdom – Has awarded their top score (12 points) to the winner of the contest eight times since 2000
• Latvia – Has awarded their top score (12 points) to the winner of the contest eight times since 2000
• Montenegro – Has never voted for Belgium
• France – Has provided the highest number of top scores (12 points) to Belgium in the history of the contest
• Greece – Has always qualified to the final since the introduction of semi-finals to the contest in 2004

Detailed International Jury Votes
Draw	Artist	Song											Total
1	Adil Aarab	"In Our Nature"	8	10	7	8	7	10	8	7	7	7	79
2	Laura Tesoro	"What's the Pressure"	10	8	10	12	12	12	7	12	12	12	107
3	Tom Frantzis	"I'm Not Lost"	12	12	12	10	10	8	12	8	8	8	100
4	Astrid Destuyver	"Everybody Aches"	6	6	8	7	8	6	6	6	6	6	65
5	Amaryllis Uitterlinden	"Kick the Habit"	7	7	6	6	6	7	10	10	10	10	79

At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.^[14] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. Belgium was placed into the second semi-final, to be held on 12 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the second half of the show.^[15]

References

Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest   Participation 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016   Artists 1950s Fud Leclerc Mony Marc Bobbejaan Schoepen Fud Leclerc Bob Benny 1960s Fud Leclerc Bob Benny Fud Leclerc Jacques Raymond Robert Cogoi Lize Marke Tonia Louis Neefs Claude Lombard Louis Neefs 1970s Jean Vallée Lily Castel & Jacques Raymond Serge & Christine Ghisoland Nicole & Hugo Jacques Hustin Ann Christy Pierre Rapsat Dream Express Jean Vallée Micha Marah 1980s Telex Emly Starr Stella Pas de Deux Jacques Zegers Linda Lepomme Sandra Kim Liliane Saint-Pierre Reynaert Ingeborg 1990s Philippe Lafontaine Clouseau Morgane Barbara Dex 1994 Frédéric Etherlinck Lisa del Bo 1997 Mélanie Cohl Vanessa Chinitor 2000s Nathalie Sorce 2001 Sergio & The Ladies Urban Trad Xandee Nuno Resende Kate Ryan The KMG's Ishtar Patrick Ouchène 2010s Tom Dice Witloof Bay Iris Roberto Bellarosa Axel Hirsoux Loïc Nottet Laura Tesoro   Songs 1950s "Messieurs les noyés de la Seine" "Le plus beau jour de ma vie" "Straatdeuntje" "Ma petite chatte" "Hou toch van mij" 1960s "Mon amour pour toi" "September, gouden roos" "Ton nom" "Waarom?" "Près de ma rivière" "Als het weer lente is" "Un peu de poivre, un peu de sel" "Ik heb zorgen" "Quand tu reviendras" "Jennifer Jennings" 1970s "Viens l'oublier" "Goeiemorgen, morgen" "À la folie ou pas du tout" "Baby, Baby" "Fleur de liberté" "Gelukkig zijn" "Judy et Cie" "A Million in One, Two, Three" "L'amour ça fait chanter la vie" "Hey Nana" 1980s "Euro-Vision" "Samson" "Si tu aimes ma musique" "Rendez-vous" "Avanti la vie" "Laat me nu gaan" "J'aime la vie" "Soldiers of Love" "Laissez briller le soleil" "Door de wind" 1990s "Macédomienne" "Geef het op" "Nous, on veut des violons" "Iemand als jij" 1994 "La voix est libre" "Liefde is een kaartspel" 1997 "Dis oui" "Like The Wind" 2000s "Envie de vivre" 2001 "Sister" "Sanomi" "1 Life" "Le grand soir" "Je t'adore" "Love Power" "O Julissi" "Copycat" 2010s "Me and My Guitar" "With Love Baby" "Would You?" "Love Kills" "Mother" "Rhythm Inside" "What's the Pressure" (Note: Entries scored out are when Belgium did not compete)