Belgian broadcaster RTBF have announced that the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be released on March 10. Jérémie Makiese will represent the country at the contest in Turin, Italy.
Jérémie will be a special guest on radio show ‘Vivacité’ between 08:00 and 09:00 CET, when the song will be played for the first time. The music video will also be revealed on Belgium’s ‘La Une’ TV channel. The singer earlier posted a teaser of his song on Instagram.
Who is Jérémie Makiese?
Hailing from Berchem, Jérémie is currently studying geology as he hopes to become a geologist one day. He is also a keen footballer, playing in goals for D3 Amateur team Wallonia Walhain.
As a musician, Jérémie performs music with a soul and R&B vibe, which could be heard in many of his performances on The Voice Belgique. In the live shows, he performed several songs including James Arthur’s “You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You” and Bruno Mars & Anderson Paak’s “Leave The Door Open”.
In the final, he performed songs by Michael Jackson, Gregory Porter and Labrinth which helped him pick up the win. He received 53% of the public vote and beat Alice Van Eesbeeck who finished as runner-up. He plans to release his debut single later this year, and then he plans to record an EP and his first album.
Belgium at Eurovision 2021
Hooverphonic were formed in 1995, with Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts at the helm. Although the band have since had six lead singers, Geike Arnaert (who joined in 1997) is their longest-serving and is the vocalist behind their biggest international hit “Mad About You”. She rejoined the band last year during the preparations process for their 2021 entry.
Flemish broadcaster VRT selected Hooverphonic in the second half of 2019 to represent Belgium in 2020. The band had planned to go to Rotterdam with “Release Me”, but unfortunately COVID-19 threw a spanner in the works. However, the group got a second chance and instead brought “The Wrong Place” to Rotterdam this year. They placed 19th in the Grand Final with 74 points.
Prior to the contest, the band celebrated their 25th anniversary in their hometown Sint-Niklaas. They also released their latest album Hidden Stories to mark the occasion.
Are you looking forward to hearing the Belgian entry for Eurovision 2022? Let us know! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter, @escxtra on Instagram and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify and YouTube to see our reactions to the news in the run up to the 2022 national final season!42
