During the week we had the pleasure of speaking over the phone to Patrick Claesen, the man behind 2Fabiola and on Sunday night he, along with the amazing Loredana, will be participating in the second semi-final of Belgium’s Eurosong! Here is what Pat had to say:
escXtra.com: Hi Pat, thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions from us!
Pat: Thanks!
X: How does it feel to being one of the Belgian Eurosong finalists?
P: It is a great feeling, we are very excited to be here.
X: And how did Loredana come to join 2Fabiola?
P: We actually started this together from 2009 onwards, but we met in Ibiza and have been working together since.
X: For your Eurosong audition, you performed Euphoria, why did you choose that song?
P: Yes, Loreen’s song is a very good song, we like a lot with its good dance sounds so we made a remix of it, it’s not an easy song to sing – it’s sometimes a bit trancy, a bit off beat but it was a challenge and real opportunity for us to try something new! It was a very pleasant thing to do. Only thing that was a little bit crazy was that Ruslana and DJ Basto, who may be more into the dance-stuff gave us the lower points, but Bart Peeters who would be into pop, gave us higher points!
X: How was it performing before Ruslana?
P: Fun! Ruslana was moving her head and moving with her hands, and was enjoying it with us, but then the points she gave were not that good, so it was stange!
X: So your song, “She’s After My Piano” was written by Swedes, what can you tell us about it?
P: That’s right, but we produced it ourselves, it is a great combination because we put the 2Fabiola sound on it with the Nordic sound – it’s a poppy/dance song, it’s a very catchy tune and I think it can work from Scandinavia to Greece and all over Europe! We want to make people laugh, dance and most importantly make them happy, it’s like a big party on stage!
X: Can you tell us what we can expect for the stage performance on Sunday?
P: I can’t tell you much, but on Sunday when you tune in, just relax, sit down and be prepared for the surprise! I’m sure when you see it you’ll want to rewind and re-watch what has happened!
X: Have you been busy with rehearsals?
P: Today we rehearsing and it was very special because a friend of mine, who is a musician, is also going to be doing some illusions and some tricks – it’s like something from Las Vegas – we want to surprise people! On Saturday we have the dress-rehearsal; we are very excited about the make-up and outfits, it’s going to be a little bit kinky, the style it’s a little gypsy, street musician and that so you’ll see on Sunday!
X: Pat, some people may be familiar with 2Fabiola’s success over the years, but for the others can you tell us about your music career from the start?
P: Oh that’s a long story, do you have a few hours!? Haha! Well, I started in 1989, almost 25 years ago – I started as a promotion manager for a record company and after that I started my own label; Dance Opera, which was really successful. Then I managed two clubs, and after that I had a band, called Leopold3 which was a boyband and we had 9 number1 hits in a row in Belgium. In 1996 I began with 2Fabiola which was also a great success, especially in the southern part of Europe and Belgium of course, we’ve played in Japan, Moscow, even Copenhagen we’ve played already three times! “Play This Song” was #1 in Spain, #2 in Italy and in Germany and Denmark, and around Europe also it reached the dance charts!
We also another band Nunca, which had a few hits and I finished this in 2000 where I left for Ibiza. That was planned for only 3 years break but turned into 9!
X: Who do you think your biggest competitors will be on Sunday?
P: Our biggest competitors will definitely be ourselves, we are used to playing for the public, we do a lot of shows so playing is normal for us but this is like a game, a competition and you never know how the public are going to vote so we will see, sometimes the best may not win but that’s what make it a bit more exciting! I am very hopeful that we will make it to the final!
We have a lot of support in Belgium, Holland and France also!
X: What would it mean for you to represent Belgium in the Eurosvision?
P: Well, I love the support from all the people and I am very thankful for this! I’m very happy that I am 25 years in the music business and still every weekend I can go out and play my songs and tunes to people and that I can enjoy myself! We want to make a good performance; I think we have a song that will work quite well with kids from 7 to people who are 77! My daughter, who is 1½ years old loves the song and runs into my office when I play the song, as does my son, who is 11, he is a big fan of She’s After My Piano. So I have a good feeling that when kids like it, it translates well to any age group and will be fun for everyone!
X: Have you any concluding messages for your supporters and escXtra readers?
P: Yes, please send an SMS for 2Fabiola to win Eurosong, and you will have a lot of fun in Copenhagen with us!
X: I’m sure we will! Really appreciate your time Pat, thank you so much and best of luck on Sunday!
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And don’t forget to tune into the second semi-final of Belgium’s Eurosong this Sunday night – and catch all the happenings on escXtra!
