Belgium in Eurovision
2022 will mark Belgium's 63rd participation in the Eurovision Song Contest, over six decades after its debut at the inaugural edition in 1956.
Sandra Kim's bop 'J'aime la vie' in 1986 remains the country's only win to date. Over the past ten Contests Belgian entries have had very mixed success, with five failures to qualify for the Grand Final outweighing three consecutive top 10 results in 2015-2017.
Last year, Hooverphonic's 'The Wrong Place' did make it to the Saturday night final but scored just three points in the televote ultimately placing 19th.
2022 entry: Jérémie Makiese - 'Miss You'
Semi-final: Jérémie will compete in the second half of semi-final 2
My Eurovision Scoreboard ranking: 21st
Odds to win ranking: 13th
(Rankings as of 23 March 2022)
About the artist
Jérémie Makiese is a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Antwerp (Belgium).
He rose to fame after winning 'The Voice Belgique' in 2021. During the show's blind audition stage, all four judges turned their chairs around for Jérémie within seconds of hearing him sing.
He comes from a musical family (both parents sing and play instruments) and began his journey in music from an early age in a church choir, before taking singing lessons at school.
In addition to his victory in the ninth edition of the francophone TV talent show, he is also a skilled footballer (having signed a one-year contract to play goal for a national team) and a geology student (although he has suspended his studies to focus on his music).
About the song
The song 'Miss You' is co-written by Jérémie together with Silvio Lisbonne, who has written songs for two previous Eurovision participants (Amir and Céline Dion), and Mamon Romiti.
It is performed in English, opens with a soaring instrumental and a "Bond-esque" feel, before transitioning into a more modern and radio-friendly soul/R&B track.
'Miss You' reached a high of #2 on Flanders' 'Ultratop 50' chart earlier this year.
How was Jérémie chosen for Eurovision?
Jérémie was announced as Belgium's internally-selected entrant for Eurovision 2022 by national broadcaster RTBF on 15 September 2021. However, a further six months would pass before 'Miss You' was revealed as the chosen entry for Turin.
Internal selection has been the preferred option by both alternating broadcasters (Dutch-speaking VRT and French-speaking RTBF) since 2017.
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Belgium will compete in semi-final 2 on May 12 (European time) in Turin.