A little bit of history...
Belgium have had a very long run at Eurovision, being one of the original participants. Despite this run, they
have only managed one win, in 1986. From we entered the new millennium, Belgium have had a very mixed string of results,
doing very well (2nd in 2003) and very poorly (22nd in 2004). Many other results have been mid table, and last year
they didn't make it through the Semi-Final, and hence, we find them there again. Belgium is proof that Western Europe
tend not to stick together when it comes to voting, so they're going to need one hell of a song to get to the Final...
Singer & Song
Kate Ryan Je t'adore
...And thank goodness they do! This is one of this year's hot favourites and it's no surprise really. With
a strong vocal and performance from Kate, she makes a really good song into an even better one. It's typical western
pop and it works oh so well indeed. Catchy chorus, beautiful girl and what's destined to be a very professional performance
and presentation, it would be a big surprise if Belgium weren't in the final.
Prediction
Definate Qualifier, Possible Winner: 1st - 3rd in Semi, 2nd - 5th in Final
It would be one of the big surprises of the contest if this didn't qualify, but then again, stranger things have happened.
The question is will she win the Semi and can she go on to win the whole thing? I would say direct entry to the
2007 final is definately on the cards, but I'm not sure about an overall victory. She'll do well, but my main reservation
is will Eastern Europe (ie. two thirds of the voters) like it? We'll just have to wait and see!
Prediction after Semi-Final
In a major shock Belgium failed to make the Final.
Review of the Eurovision Performance
Well it turns out that my reservation about Eastern Europe not voting for this was right. Belgium got 69 points
from 17 countries (Andorra, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden) 11 of these countries are all Western Europe, while 4 of them (Estonia, Lithuania,
Poland and Malta) aren't that far east at all really, Cyprus have western tastes in music and Sloevnia are the only country
close to the Balkans that gave Belgium points. There were no points from FRY Macedonia, Croatia, Romania, Macedonia,
Moldova, Ukraine... See what I'm getting at? The tastes just aren't the same, and you really do need to pick up points across
the board to qualify.
Appart from who voted for it, the actual performance is always going to be a key factor in whether or not a song qualifies,
and let's face it - the Belgian performance wasn't great at all, in fact, I'd say it was a big let down. Kate's vocal
was good, but not great, she really needed the backing singers to lift the song, otherwise it would've sounded rather ropey,
and slightly harsh and abrupt. The outfit was great, she looked lovely. The stage was well set out, with enough
room for everything that was going on. The big shambles of the Belgian performance was the choreography. Whoever
choreographed the dance to Je t'adore with those microphone stands should be shot dead on the spot. When Kate switched
from mic to mic it looked clumsy, they really got in the way. The dancers could've been put to better use, just dancing
in the background, but the mic stands took away from everything, at one point in the song they really got in the way of the
camera and it all just looked horribly wrong.
So, shame on you Belgium - you had a fantastic song worthy of one of the top spots, but you totally ruined it with the
choreography - and it's not the first time you've done it either. Better luck next time.
As for the prediction - wrong again I guess, oh well!
