TvGustaph, Stef Caers (42) from Antwerp, will represent our country in May at the Eurovision Song Contest with his song ‘Because of you’. With a total of 278 points, he won by one point against The Starlings. The singer couldn’t believe his ears. “Am I tripping or something?”
It’s a big surprise. With an uptempo dance number ‘Because of You’, Gustaph fell completely into the public’s favor. The voters at home gave him 157 points, the jury had 121 points for him. With a total of 278 points, Gustpah stayed just one point ahead of The Starlings. The Starlings scored 183 points at home, but only got 94 points from the judges. Gala Dragot completes the top three with a total of 271 points.
Gustaph has already appeared on the Eurovision stage twice, but each time as a backing vocalist for Senek and Hooverphonic. “This is a personal vendetta,” he says in a first response. “I have a out of body-experienceam i tripping or something? I totally did not see this coming, but I am incredibly honored to represent our country. The first thing I’m going to do now is clear my schedule and fine-tune the act.”
battle song
In his act, Gustaph appeared as a cowboy with a pink shirt and black hat and pants. He performed his song flawlessly and afterwards the judges were also very enthusiastic. “Oooooohhh, this is so delicious!”, Nikkie De Jager laughed afterwards. “Rupaul to the next level. I just want more of this.” And Jérémie Makiese didn’t hide his enthusiasm either. “Wow. What soul in your voice. Not normal, thank you for this energy”, he beamed.
‘Because of You’ is a positive battle song about accepting yourself and being who you are. The ‘you’ represents your self-chosen family, which supports and strengthens you in life. That can be your family, but also your best friend or your partner. In short: all the people who have made you who you are in life. With the song, Gustaph wants to shake people up: “It’s not because you bring a serious message that there can’t be a party on stage.”
Gustaph wrote his first song when he was barely seven years old. At nineteen he scored a hit with his first single ‘Gonna Lose You’, a song he produced and wrote himself. In 2000 he won the Zomerhit for best debut with it. Gustaph’s soulful voice is also internationally sought after. He sang for six years for the band Hercules & Love Affair, who scored a world hit in 2006 with ‘Blind’.
VRT Max overloaded
This year’s Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Liverpool, England. Last year, the victory went to the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra, but due to the war, the Eurovision Song Contest is moving to the United Kingdom. The two semi-finals are scheduled for Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May, the grand final on Saturday 13 May. On Tuesday 31 January it will become clear in which semi-final our country will perform.
Remarkable. During the show you could vote in two ways. By sending an SMS to number 6000 or via the VRT Max website or app. However, the latter blocked. “Overloaded”, it sounded at the public broadcaster.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.