Belgium is first, once again, to announce their Eurovision 2020 representative – they have chosen Hooverphonic. The group will be off to Rotterdam, Netherlands in May 2020. This is the second time that Belgium has been first and technically the second time in a row for the Flemish broadcaster VRT as they share the Eurovision duties with their counter-part broadcaster RTBF; in 2018, they announced Sennek (Laura Groeseneken) as their act but being announced first didn’t help her and she failed to make it through to the Grand Final, coming 12th in her Semi-Final with 91 points for her song “A Matter Of Time“. VRT is hoping to do better this time around with Hooverphonic.
So, who is Hooverphonic? Well, they’re a Belgium ambient-pop group consisting of Alex Callier, Raymond Geerts, and Luka Cruysberghs, and they’ve been around since 1995. Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts have been a part of Hooverphonic since the start, whilst vocalist Luka Cruysberghs joined in 2018 following her success on the fifth season of The Voice van Vlaanderen, which she won, with Alex Callier coaching her to the final – which explains how she became the vocalist of the group.
They’ve had a lengthy career to-date, but made their name known when Geike Arnaert was the vocalist, with the single “Mad About You” charting in various countries, including Australia, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the UK, as well as their home country of Belgium. Their follow-up singles had moderate success throughout Europe.
They hit number one in Belgium on the Ultratop chart as a feature on Andy Sierens A.K.A. Vijvenveertig’s single “Mijn leven”. Other chart hits include “The Night Before” and “Badaboum (feat Émilie Satt and Litlo Tinz)” which both charted at number three, “Amalfi” which charted at number four, “Anger Never Dies” which charted at number five, and “Eden” which charted at number 12.
As for their albums, they’ve released a total of 10 studio albums, plus two live albums, and three compilation albums (including an anthology album of singles, an orchestra collaboration, and a “Best Of” album). All of the albums have charted well in Belgium, with a few charting in the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland.
Check out some of Hooverphonic’s hit songs below:
With Luka Cruysberghs as the vocalist of the group, they’ve released four singles – “Romantic”, “Uptight”, “Looking For Stars”, and “Horrible Person” – and one album Looking For Stars. All of which charted in Belgium, with “Romantic” peaking the highest at number 14, whilst the album managed to peak at number four.
Check out Hooverphonic’s music videos for “Romantic” and their latest release “Horrible Person”:
We reckon with a good song, Hooverphonic could do well on the Eurovision stage, and depending on their competition, they could even win it, if the staging is also done right. Now, we’re just waiting for all the other countries to announce their acts… We wonder who will be next… On top of that, we await to hear Hooverphonic’s Eurovision 2020 song, we have a feeling Belgium may well have turned it around by announcing Hooverphonic as their act, and they’ll hopefully make it to the Grand Final – we’ll have to wait and see who they’re up against in the following months.
Belgium has had an up-and-down time with Eurovision, with the country last winning in 1986; Sandra Kim was their act back then with the song “J’aime la vie”. After a long spout between 2005 – 2012, with only one act reaching the Grand Final – Tom Dice with “Me and My Guitar” which came sixth – Belgium started to do well in the Eurovision Song Contest from 2013-2017 where four out of five acts made it to the Grand Final, with Loïc Nottet and Blanche both placing fourth with their songs “Rhythm Inside” and “City Lights” in 2015 and 2017 respectively, and Laura Tesoro placing tenth in 2016 with her song “What’s The Pressure”. But the last two years, 2018 and 2019, has seen the country fail to make it through to the Grand Final, with Sennek placing 12th in her Semi-Final with the song “A Matter of Time” scoring 91 points, and last year’s act Eliot placing 13th in his Semi-Final with the song “Wake Up” scoring 70 points. Belgium’s hoping Hooverphonic will change their luck, and we have a feeling they will.