Brussels, 10 March 2022
He was the first artist to be announced for the 2022 contest, back when we didn’t even have a host city. Now, a few days before the delegation meeting, Belgium’s Jérémie Makiese is finally ready to release his Eurovision song. He will perform “Miss You” in Turin.
The song can be listened to below:
The song starts out as a Bond theme, in the usual Belgian style, before transitioning into an R&B style-ballad. A vocally demanding song, it would seem the Belgians are banking heavily on a powerful vocal performance. As Jérémie Makiese is the latest winner of The Voice Belgique, RTBF may have found the voice to carry them into the finals.
Belgium will perform in the second half of the second semi-final, alongside countries like Sweden, Ireland and Romania. Their song directly competes with the entries by Poland and Azerbaijan (the latter of which is said to be an “Emotional Powerballad”) and is one of several ballads / midtempo songs in the semi-final.
Belgium has a mixed track record at the contest, having reached the final five times in the past 10 contests. Their inconsistency, in part comes, due to their double broadcasters, the Flemish VRT and the French-speaking RTBF alternating between years, with the two broadcasters having different selection policies. RTBF, who are in charge of this year’s entry, have been consistently selecting young The Voice Belgique alumni since 2013, with Jérémie Makiese the latest addition to that list. VRT, meanwhile, had traditionally being holding national finals, before switching to internal selections in 2018.
Last year’s Belgian entrants, Hooverphonic, one of the largest Flemish bands, managed to secure a spot in the finale, placing 19th after a very underwhelming televote score. Belgium won Eurovision once, when Sandra Kim claimed the country’s sole victory in 1986. Kim is the youngest winner of all time, having won the contest at the age of 13
Do #YOU like Belgium’s song. How well do #YOU think he’ll do in Turin? Let us know in the comments, on social media or on our forum HERE. Alternatively, join the discussion on our Discord HERE.
