Eurosong '06
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Belgium was represented at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was the 51st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Athens, Greece, following the country's victory at the with the song "My Number One" by Helena Paparizou. Organised by the European Broadcas ...
with the song "", written by
Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of ...
, Niklas Bergwall, Niclas Kings, and Lisa Greene, and performed by Kate Ryan herself. The Belgian participating broadcaster, Flemish (VRT), selected its entry for the contest through the national final ''Eurosong '06''. The competition featured twenty-eight competing entries and consisted of seven shows. In the final on 19 February 2006, "" performed by Kate Ryan was selected as the winner via the votes of seven jury groups and a public televote. Belgium competed in the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 18 May 2006. Performing during the show in position 7, "Je t'adore" was not announced among the top 10 entries of the semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belgium placed twelfth out of the 23 participating countries in the semi-final with 69 points.


Background

Prior to the 2006 contest, Belgium had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest forty-seven times since its debut as one of seven countries to take part in . Since then, they have won the contest on one occasion with the song "", performed by
Sandra Kim Sandra Caldarone (born 15 October 1972), better known as Sandra Kim, is a Belgian singer of Italian descent who won the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 in Bergen, Norway. Her father was an Italian immigrant from Torrebruna in the Province of Chie ...
. Following the introduction of semi-finals for , Belgium had been featured in only one final. In , "" performed by
Nuno Resende Nuno Resende (born 25 June 1973) is a Portugal, Portuguese singer. Biography Early life Nuno was born in Porto, and is an only child. He enrolled at the French school of Porto when he was 5. His family moved to Belgium when he was 12. He is ...
placed twenty-second in the semi-final and failing to advance to the final. The Belgian participation in the contest alternates between two broadcasters: Flemish (VRT) and Walloon (RTBF) at the time, with both broadcasters sharing the broadcasting rights. Both broadcasters –and their predecessors– had selected the Belgian entry using national finals and internal selections in the past. VRT and RTBF in 2005 both organised a national final in order to select their entries. On 19 June 2005, VRT –who had the turn– confirmed its participation in the 2006 contest and announced that the ''Eurosong '06'' national final would be held to select its entry.


Before Eurovision


''Eurosong '06''

''Eurosong '06'' was the national final organised by VRT to select its entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. The competition consisted of seven shows that commenced on 8 January 2006 and concluded with a final on 19 February 2006 where the winning song and artist were selected. All shows took place at the Studio 100 in
Schelle :''Schelle is also the German name for Šaľa, Slovakia.'' Schelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemi ...
, hosted by
Bart Peeters Bart August Maria Peeters (born 30 November 1959) is a Belgian singer, musician, television presenter and actor. Biography Early years Peeters studied Germanic philology and drama in Antwerp. There, he met Jan Leyers and Hugo Matthysen, wit ...
and were broadcast on
Eén VRT 1 is a public Dutch-language TV station in Belgium, owned by the VRT, which also owns Ketnet, VRT Canvas and several radio stations. Although the channel is commercial-free, short sponsorship messages are broadcast in between some programm ...
.


Format

Twenty-eight entries were selected to compete in ''Eurosong''. Four heats took place on 8, 15, 22 and 29 January 2006 with each show featuring seven entries. The top three as determined by an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups from the stations Radio 2 and Radio Donna and public televoting qualified to the semi-finals. The expert jury also selected two wildcards out of the non-qualifying acts in the heats to advance. The qualifying artists were then coached and groomed by a team of experts in further preparation for the national final. This team consisted of stylists Lien Degol and Jani Kazaltzis, choreographer Marvin Smith and advertiser Peter Ampe. Two semi-finals took place on 5 and 12 February 2006 with each show featuring seven entries. The top three as determined by the four jury groups and public televoting qualified to the final, while the expert jury also selected a wildcard out of the non-qualifying acts in the semi-finals to advance. The final took place on 19 February 2006 where the winner was chosen by an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups from the stations Radio 2 and Radio Donna, three international jury groups and public televoting. Each jury group had an equal stake in the result during all shows, while the public televote had a weighting equal to the votes of two jury groups in the heats and the semi-finals and three jury groups in the final. Each show was broadcast in two parts: in the first part, the songs were performed and the results of the expert jury were announced; after the first part an episode of '' Flikken'' and then an episode of ''
Witse ''Witse'' is a Dutch language crime drama produced by Belgium, Belgian broadcaster Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep, VRT and broadcast on their één channel. It is also shown on BVN. It was first broadcast in 2004 and was popular enough to run ...
'' was aired while the rest of the results were being collected; and in the second part, the results of the public televoting and three other jury groups were announced. During each of the seven shows, the expert jury provided commentary and feedback to the artists as well as selected entries to advance in the competition. The experts were: *
Yasmine Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to: People * Yasmin (name), a feminine given name, and sometimes a surname * Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ * Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French actress ...
singer and television presenter *
Marcel Vanthilt Marcel Céline Gerard Edgard Vanthilt (; born 24 August 1957) is a Belgian singer and television presenter.Heerema, Y.Marcel Vanthilt – Presentator Marcel Vanthilit NCRV-gids 1, 5 till 11 January 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2011. Early life Ma ...
singer and television presenter * André VermeulenBelgian commentator at the Eurovision Song Contest * Johnny LoganIrish singer-songwriter, who won Eurovision for and


Competing entries

A submission period was opened on 19 June 2005 for artists and songwriters to submit their entries until 28 September 2005. The twenty-eight acts selected by VRT for the competition from 321 entries received during the submission period were announced on 6 December 2005. Among the competing artists were former Eurovision Song Contest participants
Barbara Dex Barbara Maria Karel Deckx (born 22 January 1974), better known by her stage name Barbara Dex, is a Belgian singer who represented her country in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993 with the song " Iemand als jij". Dex had qualified via the Belgian ...
, who represented , and Vanessa Chinitor, who represented .


Shows


Heats

The four heats took place on 8, 15, 22 and 29 January 2006. In each show seven entries competed and the combination of results from an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups and a public televote determined the top three that qualified to the semi-finals. An additional two entries were awarded wildcards by the expert jury from the remaining non-qualifying acts in the heats to proceed to the semi-finals.


Semi-finals

The two semi-finals took place on 5 and 12 February 2006. In each show seven entries competed and the combination of results from an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups and a public televote determined the top three that qualified to the final. "P.O.W.E.R." performed by Brahim was awarded a wildcard by the expert jury from the non-qualifying acts in the semi-finals to proceed to the final.


Final

The final took place on 19 February 2006 where the seven entries that qualified from the preceding two semi-finals competed. The winner, "
Je t'adore "Je t'adore" (; "I adore you") is a song by Belgian singer Kate Ryan. It was the entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed in English (with only the title and the phrase on the chorus in French). It was the seventh song to be performe ...
" performed by
Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of ...
, was selected by the combination of results from an expert jury, a press jury, two radio jury groups, three international jury groups and a public televote. The international jury groups were selected following a study conducted by two independent professors in statistics on the three best forecasters of the Eurovision Song Contest in recent years.


Ratings


Promotion

Kate Ryan made several appearances across Europe to specifically promote "Je t'adore" as the Belgian Eurovision entry. Ryan took part in promotional activities in Macedonia on 7 April and performed during the
HRT 1 HRT 1 (HTV 1, ''"Prvi program"'') is a Croatian television channel, operated by public broadcaster Hrvatska Radiotelevizija (HRT).Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. - Annual Report, 2007'. Kuching: Acquisdata Pty Ltd. Accessed July 28, 2024. â ...
programme ''Studio 10'' in Croatia on 8 April. On 9 April, Ryan appeared in and performed during the TV SLO1 programme ''Spet doma'' in Slovenia. Ryan also took part in promotional activities in Greece on 13 and 14 April which included performances during the ANT1 show '' Proinos Kafes'', and in Malta between 15 and 17 April where she appeared during the special Eurovision shows ''Lejn il-Eurovision'' on NET TV and ''Eurovision Fever'' on Super One TV. On 22 April, Ryan performed in Turkey during the Star TV show '' Popstar Türkiye''. On 4 May, Ryan completed promotional activities in the Netherlands where she appeared during the talk shows ''
RTL Boulevard ''RTL Boulevard'' is a daily television programme on the Netherlands, Dutch TV channel RTL 4. It was set up as a television equivalent of a tabloid, with a lot of airy subjects, news items and gossip about the stars, fashion and criminality. ...
'' on
RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...
and ''Jensen!'' on
RTL 5 RTL 5 is a Dutch free-to-cable television channel that was launched on 2 October 1993, during the 4th anniversary of its sister channel. It mainly broadcasts American films and hit series but also reality shows, comedy, travel, international show ...
. The promotional tour also featured television and radio appearances in Cyprus, Germany, Latvia, Sweden and Switzerland, and was financially supported by Flemish Minister of Culture
Bert Anciaux Bert Jozef Herman Vic Anciaux (born 11 September 1959) is a Belgian politician and Vooruit faction leader in the Belgian Senate. He was one of the founders of Spirit (later known as the Flemish Progressives, then the Social Liberal Party, or ...
and Kate Ryan's record company
EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...
with each of them allocating a subsidy of €60,000.


At Eurovision

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country, the " Big Four" (France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom) and the ten highest placed finishers in the are required to qualify from the semi-final on 18 May 2006 in order to compete for the final on 20 May 2006; the top ten countries from the semi-final progress to the final. On 21 March 2006, a special allocation draw was held which determined the running order for the semi-final and Belgium was set to perform in position 7, following the entry from and before the entry from . At the end of the semi-final, Belgium was not announced among the top 10 entries and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that Belgium placed twelfth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 69 points. The semi-final and the final were broadcast in Belgium by both the Flemish and Walloon broadcasters. VRT broadcast the shows on
één VRT 1 is a public Dutch-language TV station in Belgium, owned by the VRT, which also owns Ketnet, VRT Canvas and several radio stations. Although the channel is commercial-free, short sponsorship messages are broadcast in between some programm ...
with commentary in Dutch by
Bart Peeters Bart August Maria Peeters (born 30 November 1959) is a Belgian singer, musician, television presenter and actor. Biography Early years Peeters studied Germanic philology and drama in Antwerp. There, he met Jan Leyers and Hugo Matthysen, wit ...
and
André Vermeulen André Leopold Adiel Vermeulen (born 25 October 1955 in Bruges) is a Belgian-Flemish journalist and television personality for VRT. Between 1991 and 2013, Vermeulen following Luc Appermont had been the Flemish commentator for the Eurovision So ...
. RTBF televised the shows on
La Une La Une () is a Belgian national television channel, owned and operated by the French-language public-service broadcasting organization RTBF. La Une is the equivalent of Flemish station VRT 1, of the Flemish broadcaster VRT. History INR ...
with commentary in French by
Jean-Pierre Hautier Jean-Pierre Hautier (18 October 1955 – 12 October 2012) was a Belgian television presenter and broadcaster for RTBF. Hautier was known for his long-time commentary for RTBF viewers on the Eurovision Song Contest which he had done since the 19 ...
. All shows were also broadcast by VRT on Radio 2 with commentary in Dutch by
Michel Follet Michel Follet (born 16 December 1959) is a Flemish radio and TV host and a film critic. Follet started his radio career for Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, VRT as a disc jockey on Radio 2 (Belgium), Radio 2 in 1982. In 1992 Follet ...
and Sven Pichal, and by RTBF on La Première with commentary in French by Patrick Duhamel and Thomas Gunzig. VRT appointed
Yasmine Yasmin, Yasmine, or Yasmina may refer to: People * Yasmin (name), a feminine given name, and sometimes a surname * Yasmin (musician) (born 1993), English singer, songwriter, and DJ * Yasmine (pornographic actress), Yasmine Lafitte, French actress ...
(who held up a placard with the words "We Love Kate Ryan" during the voting) as its spokesperson to announce the Belgian votes during the final.


Voting

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to Belgium and awarded by Belgium in the semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to in the semi-final and the final of the contest.


Points awarded to Belgium


Points awarded by Belgium


References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 2006
2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...