Tonight he first semi-final of Belgium’s Eurosong will be taking place after weeks of auditions, and here at escXtra we’ve been talking to the participating artists.
We had the pleasure of talking to the lovely Eva Jacobs over the phone ahead of her appearance on the semi-final one, taking place at 20:30CET on Eén. Here is what she said:
escXtra.com: Hi Eva, thank you for taking some to speak to us today! Firstly we’d like to congratulate you on making it to Eurosong 2014!
Eva: Thank you so much!
X: How does it feel to being one of the Belgian Eurosong finalists?
E: Very very exciting! It’s a great feeling to make it through to the semi-finals and I am looking forward to the performing my song on the night, it’s a huge opportunity.
X: For your audition you performed a beautiful piano rendition of Niamh Kavaghnah’s In Your Eyes (Ireland 1993), how did this song chosen? Had you performed it before?
E: I had never performed the song before, and I was actually quite last minute to participate in Eurosong so I had to choose the Eurovision song to cover very quickly, but I came across “In Your Eyes”. When I heard it I knew right away that that was the song I wanted to cover. I love the song, it’s very strong and also has a very strong singer, and it suited my style of song and singing, I had to choose it!
I have been playing piano all my life and when I do a cover, I do it in my interpretation and with “In Your Eyes” I felt that piano would complement it well.
X: And it certainly did! So what have you been doing to prepare for the live shows so far?
E: The next step is the semis of course and I have been very busy preparing for that! We are working with the song, this will be the final song – no more covers, and we are working on the act/stage. Just constant practice, also teach at some Music Schools, and write for my career outside of Eurosong, which is crazy busy!
X: Can you tell us a bit more about you and your music career?
E: Sure! Well I have played the violin for two years, but I had to quit because unfortunately I didn’t have the time anymore to continue with it. I have started to play the guitar since a couple of months ago and that’s been nice. Since I was little, and still now, I have been listening to R&B, Blues and Soul, some of my great female inspirations have been Lauren Hill, Aretha Franklin, Kelly Clarkson and strong singers like that, so I have picked a little bit up from them.
When I was 14, I started working with professional musicians; it was just an honour at such a young age to be invited to work with them as they were interested in me in as an artist, a singer and a writer! I started to write my own songs when I was about 13 years old, I had previously composed music on the piano when I was younger and when I learned to sing it was a progression to start songwriting.
X: And you recorded your first album in London?
E: That’s right; it was a crazy time for me when I got the chance to record my album, which was in the Abbey Roads Studio in London with the amazing composer, Andrew Powell! My first release, Shine, was picked up by the big radio station Radio 2 in Belgium, which was a big deal for me. After that I took part in The Voice which was an amazing experience that I will never forget, and I have no regrets, it was a big step for me because I reached a lot of people.
X: What would representing Belgium at Eurovision in Copenhagen mean to you?
E: It means a lot! It is an honour to come this far already to be in a position of even being considered to represent Belgium so it’s something very special to me. And also important because I love music, music is my life! I am trying my best for so many years, all my life it has grown more and more, it’s become my work now and it takes a lot to have a breakthrough, Eurovision would be a great platform to do that. I’m very excited!
X: Lastly do you have any final messages for your fans and our escXtra readers?
E: I hope everyone enjoys my performance I will bring to Eurosong, and my music also, as it plays a big part in my life and I want to share my passion and love of it with you all. Thank you for your support!
X: Eva, thank you so much for the interview, we wish you the best of luck in Eurosong 🙂
You can find out more from Eva by following her on https://twitter.com/evajacobsmusic and on https://www.facebook.com/EvaJacobsmusic and also on her website (which she is currently updating to include an English translation)
Eva will perform her song “Nothing Is Impossible” written by Mick Lee, Pernille Georgi & Chris Robinson tonight.
Here is a sample of what’s in store; Eva’s performance of “In Your Eyes” for the auditions: Eva Jacobs – In Your Eyes
The final of Eurosong will take place on March 16th in Antwerpen.
