Brussels, (Brussels Morning) – The second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin, Italy, will take place on Thursday evening with a Belgian on stage. Our country will be represented by Jérémie Makiese, winner of season 9 of The Voice Belgium. The young singer, born in Antwerp into a family of musicians, currently lives in Uccle.
At the Eurovison Song Contest, Makiese will perform the song ‘Miss You’, a ballad with a pop and soul sound and a touch of hip-hop. He comes in sixteenth. Facing him, 17 participants will give everything to shine on the stage of the Pala Olimpico. These are Finland, Israel, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Malta, San Marino, Australia, Cyprus, Ireland, North Macedonia, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Montenegro, Sweden and the Czech Republic.
The Eurovision Song Contest is organised by the European Radio Union (ERU), in which the public broadcasters of Europe are united, reported BRUZZ. To participate, each country must present an unreleased song, no longer than three minutes in length, and performed live by a maximum of six people. Belgium has only won once, with Sandra Kim ‘J’aime la vie’ in 1986.
This year, Ukraine is predicted to be in the lead, a position that would sound symbolic at a time when the country is literally under fire from Russian bombing. In any case, Ukraine has already qualified after the first semi-final on Tuesday, along with Switzerland, Armenia, Iceland, Lithuania, Portugal, Norway, Greece, Moldova and the Netherlands. It remains to be seen whether the votes of the public and the professional juries will agree with the bookmakers.
The grand final is scheduled for Saturday, May 14.
Makiese has certainly not gone unnoticed in the foreign press. The Dutch newspaper ‘Trouw’ wrote the following about him: ‘The gospel influences are clearly audible in his nice soulful voice; Makiese once sang in a church choir. He pulls out all the stops in the song. Maximum R&B, but without getting too silky, with a pinch of Justin Bieber here, and a lick of Bruno Mars there. He also has a high gun factor with his blond afro.’
