Eight artists will take part in Belgium’s national selection for Eurovision 2025, “Eurosong”, as Flemish broadcaster VRT takes over Eurovision for next year.
After bringing back Eurosong in 2023, VRT confirmed that it would return for the 2025 contest, and we recently reported on some rumours regarding the line-up.
Eurosong 2025 – the full lineup
The eight artists chosen by VRT to take part in the Belgian national selection are:
- Jelle van Deel
- former lead singer of Lasgo
- Grace
- winner of The Voice van Vlandeeren in 2021
- Lenn
- Lenn Neef, young singer and influencer, grandson of Louis Neef, who represented Belgium in Eurovision 1967 and 1969
- Mentissa
- Winner of The Voice Kids 2014 in Flanders, and finalist of The Voice 2021 in France
- Le Manou
- Runner up of Eurosong for Kids 2009 (the Belgian selection for JESC) and top-8 participant of The Voice Belgique 2013
- Red Sebastian
- Winner of Sing Again and finalist of Belgium’s Got Talent in 2013
- LEEZ
- sister of Metejoor and participant of The Voice van Vlandeeren in 2016
- Stefanie Calleaut
- Singer of “aetheric” indie pop band SX
Four of these were part of the list of potential acts hinted at by Het Laatste Nieuws a few weeks ago: LEEZ, Red Sebastian, Grace and Jelle Van Deel. Most of these acts have strong experiences with the world of music or music TV shows, which should make them prepared for what is to come for the winner.
The songs will be revealed earlier this year, with entrants presenting one song only. The artists will take part in two preliminary shows, to showcase their song in a so-called “pure version” (possibly acoustic, or with very little staging, similarly to 2023’s “Songclub” shows). The winner will be selected through a mix of televote and professional jury voting, during a final show, to be held on February 1st, 2025, which gears up to be the first “Super Saturday” of the season, with the finals of Slovenia’s EMA and Spain’s Benidorm Festival on the same evening, as well as the first heat of Sweden’s Melodifestivalen.
Peter Van de Veire, the VRT commentator for Eurovision since 2016, will once again host the shows, as he did in 2023.
The Eurovision Song Contest is the Olympic Games of music. You have three minutes to captivate Europe. And I believe that these eight talents can do it. They have an amazing voice, a great song and a lot of enthusiasm. They convinced us and have raised the bar a little higher this year. I am already certain that the winner will do inter-stellarly well in Basel.
Peter Van de Veire, quoted by VRT
Eurosong, a Belgian selection turned Flemish
Belgium takes part in Eurovision with two broadcasters: French-speaking RTBF for Wallonia, and Dutch-speaking VRT for Flanders. Both broadcasters alternate in organizing Belgium’s Eurovision participation, with RTBF organizing in even years (like 2024) and VRT in odd years (like 2023 and 2025). The alternance was inverted (RTBF in odd years, VRT in even ones) until 2020, when VRT organized Belgium’s entry for 2020, and kept the role in 2021 after the contest’s cancellation due to Covid.
“Eurosong” was not always the name of the Belgian national selection, but it was used most of the times, and appeared as early as 1959, with various formats : classic selection of full entries, and sometimes the simple selection of a song for an internally selected singer (like in 1969, with Louis Neef, grandfather of 2025 entrant Lenn). It was used by both broadcasters until 2002, when it became the distinctive selection process of VRT, used every other year almost continuously until 2016. In 2018 and 2020, VRT internally selected their artists, but came back to the format in 2023.
This comeback event remains memorable for fans, with the surprise victory of Gustaph over Chérine. Despite entering the Eurovision season in the uncomfortable position of someone having beaten a fan-favourite, Gustaph ended up gaining a lot of popularity in the Eurovision fan community, and his performance in Liverpool brought a very good 7th place to Belgium.
What do you think of this lineup? What do you expect from each entrant? Do you already have a favourite? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media at @escxtra !
