Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

Belgium was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 by Xandee and the song "1 Life". VRT (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep, the Flemish broadcaster) organized the national final Eurosong '04, which took place on February 15, 2004.

Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Country Belgium
National selection
Selection processEurosong '04
Selection date(s)Semi-finals:
18 January 2004
25 January 2004
1 February 2004
8 February 2004
Final:
15 February 2004
Selected entrantXandee
Selected song"1 Life"
Finals performance
Final result22nd, 7 points
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2003 • 2004 • 2005►

Before Eurovision

Eurosong '04

Eurosong '04 was the national final that selected Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The competition consisted of four semi-finals that took place on 18 January, 25 January, 1 February and 8 February 2004, followed by a final on 15 February 2004 where the winning song and artist were selected. All five shows took place at the VRT studios in Schelle, hosted by Bart Peeters and broadcast on Eén.

Format

Four semi-finals took place on 18 January, 25 January, 1 February and 8 February 2004. From each semi-final, seven entries competed and the winning entry proceeded to the final. After the semi-finals, the three highest scoring second-placed entries also proceeded to the final. The final took place on 15 February 2004 where the winner was chosen. The results of all five shows were determined by five voting groups: a four-member expert jury, an international jury, two radio juries in Radio 2 and Radio Donna, and public televoting. Each jury had an equal stake in the result and the public televote had a weighting equal to the votes of two juries.

During each of the five shows, the expert jury provided commentary and feedback to the artists and selected entries to advance in the competition. These experts were:[1]

  • Dana Winner – singer
  • Marcel Vanthilt – singer and television presenter
  • André Vermeulen – Belgian commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest
  • Serge Simonart – journalist

Competing entries

On 19 September 2003, VRT opened a submission period for artists and composers to submit their songs, with the deadline concluding on 24 November 2003.[2] A record number of 360 entries were submitted, and on 10 December 2003, the broadcaster announced the twenty-eight entries selected for the competition. Among the selected artists were former Eurovision Song Contest participants Nicole & Hugo and Barbara Dex.[3]

Artist Song Composer(s)
Amaryllis Temmerman "God in alle eenvoud" Amaryllis Temmerman, David Poltrock
Astrid "Don't Stop the Music" Dirk Paelinck, Marc Paelinck
Barbara Dex & Alides Hidding "One Life" Alides Hidding, Barbara Dex
Biba Binoche "Je chante pour toi" Marianne Velvekens, Marc Requile, Frank Jordens
Chris D. Morton "Every Dead Soldier" Chris D. Morton, Dick B. Morton, Alain Croisy
CLIC "Vieze ouwe venten" Alain Vande Putte, Tracy Atkins
De Egels "Maria Maria Maria" Thomas Selis
Elsie Moraïs "Amorè loco" Piet van den Heuvel, Roel de Ruijter
Eva "Angels" Dirk Paelinck, Marc Paelinck
Garry Hagger "I Will Choose You" John Terra, Daniel Gijbels, Guy Balbaert
Katia Berlingieri "Don't Be Scared" Katia Berlingieri, Wim Claes
Kurt "My Heart" Kurt Lotgiers
Marjolein "Say Love" Dirk Paelinck, Marc Paelinck
Natalia "Higher Than the Sun" Yurek Onzia, Vincent Pierens
Nicole & Hugo "Love Is All Around" Miguel Wiels, Alain Vande Putte, Peter Gillis
Peter Elkins "Cry Love" Peter Elkins, Sebastiaan Bouckaert
Quatro "Never Say Goodbye" Gregory Bilsen, Marc Paelinck
Raf van Brussel "Chemistry" Raf van Brussel
Raffaele "Freakin' Destiny" Raffaele Vertrugno, Fred Bekky
Roxane "Television Game" Danny van Wauwe, Edmond’s Jegers
Sodapop "Time To Party" Lex De Groot, Piet Van Den Heuvel, Roel De Ruijter
Sofie Van Moll "Kerosene" Piet Van Den Heuvel
Spring "Jan zonder vrees" Danny Verbiest, Hans Bourlon, Gert Verhulst
Storm "Jij (hoort bij mij)" Niels Megens, M. Flamman
The Acrolls "The Happy Song" Marino Van Ysacker
X-Elementz "Innocent" Nima Farbod, Nary Farbod
Xandee "1 Life" Dirk Paelinck, Marc Paelinck
Yanah "Yes Or No" Eric Geurts, Nathalie Vangronsvelt
Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 18 January 2004. "1 Life" performed by Xandee proceeded to the final.

Semi-final 1 – 18 January 2004
DrawArtistSong Jury Radio TelevoteTotalPlace
1Yanah "Yes Or No" 5 8 4 175
2Chris D. Morton "Every Dead Soldier" 10 8 10283
3De Egels "Maria Maria Maria" 2 5 6137
4Katia Berlingieri "Don't Be Scared" 10 7 8254
5Xandee "1 Life" 18 18 18541
6Storm "Jij (hoort bij mij)" 6 8 2166
7Nicole & Hugo "Love Is All Around" 11 8 14332
Semi-final 2

The second semi-final took place on 25 January 2004. "Amorè loco" performed by Elsie Moraïs proceeded to the final. "Chemistry" performed by Raf van Brussel also proceeded to the final as one of the three highest scoring second-placed entries.

Semi-final 2 – 25 January 2004
DrawArtistSong Jury Radio TelevoteTotalPlace
1Quatro "Never Say Goodbye" 8 10 8264
2Kurt "My Heart" 5 2 297
3Sofie Van Moll "Kerosene" 8 18 10363
4Raf van Brussel "Chemistry" 14 4 14422
5CLIC "Vieze ouwe venten" 3 5 4126
6Biba Binoche "Je chante pour toi" 6 6 6185
7Elsie Moraïs"Amorè loco" 18 7 18431
Semi-final 3

The third semi-final took place on 1 February 2004. "Television Game" performed by Roxane proceeded to the final. "Don't Stop the Music" performed by Astrid also proceeded to the final as one of the three highest scoring second-placed entries.

Semi-final 3 – 1 February 2004
DrawArtistSong Jury Radio TelevoteTotalPlace
1Astrid "Don't Stop the Music" 14 14 10382
2Raffaele "Freakin' Destiny" 5 5 2127
3The Acrolls "The Happy Song" 4 8 8205
4Roxane "Television Game" 18 13 18491
5Garry Hagger "I Will Choose You" 7 2 4136
6Marjolein "Say Love" 9 6 6214
7Spring"Jan zonder vrees" 5 14 14333
Semi-final 4

The fourth semi-final took place on 8 February 2004. "Higher Than the Sun" performed by Natalia proceeded to the final. "One Life" performed by Barbara Dex & Alides Hidding also proceeded to the final as one of the three highest scoring second-placed entries.

Semi-final 4 – 8 February 2004
DrawArtistSong Jury Radio TelevoteTotalPlace
1Eva "Angels" 7 7 6204
2Sodapop "Time To Party" 2 6 4126
3Amaryllis Temmerman "God in alle eenvoud" 5 5 2126
4Peter Elkins "Cry Love" 10 8 8263
5Natalia"Higher Than the Sun" 14 18 18501
6X-Elementz "Innocent" 6 4 10204
7Barbara Dex & Alides Hidding "One Life" 18 14 14462

Final

The final took place on 15 February 2004. "1 Life" performed by Xandee was selected as the winner.

Final – 15 February 2004
DrawArtistSong Jury Radio TelevoteTotalPlace
1Roxane"Television Game" 6 8 6205
2Barbara Dex & Alides Hidding"One Life" 9 11 10303
3Elsie Moraïs"Amorè loco" 12 6 8264
4Astrid"Don't Stop the Music" 2 4 287
5Xandee"1 Life" 18 14 18501
6Raf van Brussel"Chemistry" 5 5 4146
7Natalia"Higher Than the Sun" 10 14 14382

At Eurovision

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest. Since Belgium placed 2nd in the previous contest year, Belgium automatically qualified to compete in the final. Before ESC, Belgium was considered the favourite to win the whole competition and received a good amount of pre-contest promotion. Xandee even sang the song in a Turkish version for a visit to Istanbul. She performed 13th, following Bosnia and Herzegovina and preceding the Russia. However, the performance was considered by many as poor and flat, which may have led to a complete fail during the voting procedure. Xandee reproduced her Eurosong performance with a few minor changes, but it did not seem to help as she only managed 22nd place with 7 points. As Belgium failed to reach the top 12 in the final, the country was forced to compete in the semi-final of the 2005 contest.

Points awarded by Belgium[4]
Points awarded to Belgium (final)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

References
  1. "EUROSONG 2004". Songfestival.be.
  2. Bakker, Sietse (19 September 2003). "Eurosong 2004: a five-programme show". Esctoday.
  3. Bakker, Sietse (10 December 2003). "The 28 songs and names for Eurosong 2004". Esctoday.
  4. Eurovision Song Contest 2004
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