There has been an exciting announcement in Belgium this afternoon as Walloon broadcaster RTBF announced their Eurovision act for 2017. The lucky artist is 16-year-old Ellie Delvaux, who will perform under her new alias Blanche. The song she will perform in Kyiv in next May’s Eurovision Song Contest is yet to be announced.
Who is Blanche?
Blanche first rose to prominence in Belgium after reaching the semi-finals of the fifth season of The Voice Belgium which crowned Laura Cartesiani as its winner early this year. Then competing under her real name Ellie Delvaux, she was coached by French duo Cats on Trees on the show. Also competing on the season were Olivier Kaye and Pierre Lizée, who were heavily rumoured to be Belgium’s 2017 Eurovision representative prior to today’s surprise announcement of Blanche.
As explained on her official website, following the show she took part in some writing sessions with Pierre Dumoulin. RTBF then heard one of the finished products, and encouraged Blanche to enter the track into the Eurovision Song Contest. Blanche accepted, leading to today’s announcement.
Belgium: A Eurovision superpower?
Following the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004, Belgium initially struggled to adapt to the rapidly expanding song contest. Only in 2010 did Belgium first manage to qualify from a semi-final, after five consecutive failures. It was quite the turnaround however, with Tom Dice winning his semi-final. Nevertheless, in recent years Belgium have become one of the most successful countries in Eurovision. Three top half finishes in the past four years is a record that is unmatched by many other competing countries. These finishes include Loïc Nottet’s 4th place in 2015 and Laura Tesoro’s 10th place in 2016.
Are you pleased with the selection of Blanche? Could she continue Belgium’s transformation into a Eurovision superpower? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
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