Brussels, 20 February 2024
After five months, the wait is finally over – Mustii, Belgium’s entrant for the upcoming Eurovision song contest has officially released his song, “Before the party” is over. The dark electropop song has been co-written by Mustii himself, by Nina Sampermans (Tout l’Univers, Bridges) and by Pierre Dumoulin, the composer of “City Lights” (2017, 4th place) and “Wake up” (2019, DNQ) and follows a similar moody line.
Listen to “Before the party’s over” before:
Belgium is set to appear in the second half of the second semifinal on 9 May 2024, where they will face the likes of Norway, Estonia, The Netherlands and Israel. The semifinal has sixteen participating countries as of now, ten of which will qualify for the Grand Final on 11 May in Malmö, Sweden. France, Italy and Spain are set to vote in this semifinal, as well as showcase their entries.
About the artist
Mustii is the stage name of Thomas Mustin, a 33 year old singer-songwriter from Brussels who has been active in the business since the end of 2014. Mustii was the first act announced for the contest all the way back in July, and has been working on his entry since. Aside from his music, Mustii, who identifies as queer, is also known for being a judge on Drag Race Belgium and acting in a few musics. His sexuality plays an important role in his work, which mirrors that of the previous Belgian entrant, Gustaph.
Gustaph went to place 7th in Liverpool with his song “Because of you”, and it would seem that RTBF have the ambition to replicate the similar result in Malmö. He and Mustii met after the latter’s selection, with the former giving him tips and tricks for Eurovision – every little bit of preparation, helps.
Belgium at the Contest
Belgium have had moderate successes at the contest, winning only once, in 1986 with Sandra Kim’s “J’aime la vie”. Since the re-introduction of juries in 2009, they have qualfied for the final 8 times out of a possible 14, in 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Five of these were top ten placements, while another – Roberto Bellarosa’s “Love Kills” – finished on the left hand-side of the scoreboard. It’s an inconsistent, but respectable track record for the Benelux nation.
Due to the way Belgium is structured, media are split according to language communities, with the Flemish VRT and the French-speaking RTBF alternating between years ever since 1957. Since the pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of Eurovision 2020, RTBF have been in charge of picking the entrant on even-numbered years. Regardless of broadcaster, Belgium have sent songs in English each year from 2006 onwards, with the last Flemish-speaking entry appearing in 1996 (Lisa del Bo’s “Liefde is een kaartspel“).
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