The Scoop🇧🇪 Belgium

Tom Dice of The Starlings lashes out at Eurosong jury

Eurovision 2010 star disappointed with on-air criticism

After a shocking turn of events at Eurosong 2023 in Belgium last night, the country is recovering on the day after. There’s praise galore for the surprise winner, Gustaph, but one of his fellow competitors is far from happy… Tom Dice, half of The Starlings, has lashed out at the jury members on his personal Instagram account.

Tom Dice claims “lack of respect”

In his Instagram message, Tom Dice is crystal clear about how he feels after last night. The Starlings performed “Rollercoaster” and convincingly won the televote with 183 points. However, the jury only ranked them fifth with 94 points. In the end, Tom and Kato finished just one point behind Gustaph. “Because Of You” picked up 121 jury points and 157 televotes.

Tom Dice is quoted saying he felt a lack of respect from the jury members. He criticises the jury members for hardly mentioning the performance, vocals or music. Together with Kato, he feels the jury did not respect the work the duo has put into their Eurosong effort. After last night, the duo are left with many questions, but they doubt they’ll ever get an answer to those from those responsible.

The comments Tom Dice is referring to, may be aimed directly at Alexander Rybak and Laura Tesoro in particular. Especially the “Fairytale” singer had some interesting comments for the pair. He claimed the song was highly reminiscent of Ed Sheeran and added that “bad composers borrow music, good composers simply steal”. 2016 entrant Laura Tesoro agreed with Rybak that “Rollercoaster” reminded her of Ed Sheeran.

In the end, The Starlings finished in second place with their “Rollercoaster”. Tom Dice, who previously represented his country back in 2010, is hopeful radio stations in Belgium will pick up on their song, looking at the overwhelming televote support last night.

On Twitter, Tom Dice took the time to respond to our news report. There, he clarifies Kato and himself are not angry at the jury, but rather disappointed. He went on to add the following regarding his exchange with Alexander Rybak:

What do you think about Tom Dice’s comments? Does he have a point about the jury voteLet us know by leaving a comment below! Be sure to stay updated by following @ESCXTRA on Twitter@escxtra on Instagram@escxtra on TikTok and liking our Facebook page for the latest updates! Also, be sure to follow us on Spotify for the latest music from your favourite ESC and JESC acts.

One Comment

  1. Tom, or The Starlings, should blame themselves for not winning Eurosong 2023. THEY choose the wrong song, against the advices from the other contestants. \”Oceanside\” would have been the better choice than \”Rollercoaster\”. With THAT song the would have won easily.

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