Belgium was represented in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 by Xandee and the song "1 Life". VRT (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep, the Flemish broadcaster) organized the national final Eurosong '04, which took place on February 15, 2004.
Eurosong '04 was the national final that selected Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The competition consisted of four semi-finals that took place on 18 January, 25 January, 1 February and 8 February 2004, followed by a final on 15 February 2004 where the winning song and artist were selected. All five shows took place at the VRT studios in Schelle, hosted by Bart Peeters and broadcast on Eén.
Format[]
Four semi-finals took place on 18 January, 25 January, 1 February and 8 February 2004. From each semi-final, seven entries competed and the winning entry proceeded to the final. After the semi-finals, the three highest scoring second-placed entries also proceeded to the final. The final took place on 15 February 2004 where the winner was chosen. The results of all five shows were determined by five voting groups: a four-member expert jury, an international jury, two radio juries in Radio 2 and Radio Donna, and public televoting. Each jury had an equal stake in the result and the public televote had a weighting equal to the votes of two juries.
During each of the five shows, the expert jury provided commentary and feedback to the artists and selected entries to advance in the competition. These experts were:[1]
Dana Winner – singer
Marcel Vanthilt – singer and television presenter
André Vermeulen – Belgian commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest
Serge Simonart – journalist
Competing entries[]
On 19 September 2003, VRT opened a submission period for artists and composers to submit their songs, with the deadline concluding on 24 November 2003.[2] A record number of 360 entries were submitted, and on 10 December 2003, the broadcaster announced the twenty-eight entries selected for the competition. Among the selected artists were former Eurovision Song Contest participants Nicole & Hugo and Barbara Dex.[3]
The second semi-final took place on 25 January 2004. "Amorè loco" performed by Elsie Moraïs proceeded to the final. "Chemistry" performed by Raf van Brussel also proceeded to the final as one of the three highest scoring second-placed entries.
Semi-final 2 – 25 January 2004
Draw
Artist
Song
Jury
Radio
Televote
Total
Place
1
Quatro
"Never Say Goodbye"
8
10
8
26
4
2
Kurt
"My Heart"
5
2
2
9
7
3
Sofie Van Moll
"Kerosene"
8
18
10
36
3
4
Raf van Brussel
"Chemistry"
14
4
14
42
2
5
CLIC
"Vieze ouwe venten"
3
5
4
12
6
6
Biba Binoche
"Je chante pour toi"
6
6
6
18
5
7
Elsie Moraïs
"Amorè loco"
18
7
18
43
1
Detailed Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Expert Jury
International Jury
Total
1
"Never Say Goodbye"
4
4
8
2
"My Heart"
2
3
5
3
"Kerosene"
3
5
8
4
"Chemistry"
7
7
14
5
"Vieze ouwe venten"
1
2
3
6
"Je chante pour toi"
5
1
6
7
"Amorè loco"
9
9
18
Detailed Radio Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Radio 2
Radio Donna
Total
1
"Never Say Goodbye"
5
5
10
2
"My Heart"
1
1
2
3
"Kerosene"
9
9
18
4
"Chemistry"
7
7
4
5
"Vieze ouwe venten"
3
2
5
6
"Je chante pour toi"
2
4
6
7
"Amorè loco"
4
3
7
The third semi-final took place on 1 February 2004. "Television Game" performed by Roxane proceeded to the final. "Don't Stop the Music" performed by Astrid also proceeded to the final as one of the three highest scoring second-placed entries.
Semi-final 3 – 1 February 2004
Draw
Artist
Song
Jury
Radio
Televote
Total
Place
1
Astrid
"Don't Stop the Music"
14
14
10
38
2
2
Raffaele
"Freakin' Destiny"
5
5
2
12
7
3
The Acrolls
"The Happy Song"
4
8
8
20
5
4
Roxane
"Television Game"
18
13
18
49
1
5
Garry Hagger
"I Will Choose You"
7
2
4
13
6
6
Marjolein
"Say Love"
9
6
6
21
4
7
Spring
"Jan zonder vrees"
5
14
14
33
3
Detailed Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Expert Jury
International Jury
Total
1
"Don't Stop the Music"
7
7
14
2
"Freakin' Destiny"
1
4
5
3
"The Happy Song"
3
1
4
4
"Television Game"
9
9
18
5
"I Will Choose You"
5
2
7
6
"Say Love"
4
5
9
7
"Jan zonder vrees"
2
3
5
Detailed Radio Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Radio 2
Radio Donna
Total
1
"Don't Stop the Music"
9
5
14
2
"Freakin' Destiny"
3
2
5
3
"The Happy Song"
5
3
8
4
"Television Game"
4
9
13
5
"I Will Choose You"
1
1
2
6
"Say Love"
2
4
6
7
"Jan zonder vrees"
7
7
14
The fourth semi-final took place on 8 February 2004. "Higher Than the Sun" performed by Natalia proceeded to the final. "One Life" performed by Barbara Dex & Alides Hidding also proceeded to the final as one of the three highest scoring second-placed entries.
Semi-final 4 – 8 February 2004
Draw
Artist
Song
Jury
Radio
Televote
Total
Place
1
Eva
"Angels"
7
7
6
20
4
2
Sodapop
"Time To Party"
2
6
4
12
6
3
Amaryllis Temmerman
"God in alle eenvoud"
5
5
2
12
6
4
Peter Elkins
"Cry Love"
10
8
8
26
3
5
Natalia
"Higher than the Sun"
14
18
18
50
1
6
X-Elementz
"Innocent"
6
4
10
20
4
7
Barbara Dex and Alides Hidding
"One Life"
18
14
14
46
2
Detailed Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Expert Jury
International Jury
Total
1
"Angels"
4
3
7
2
"Time To Party"
1
1
2
3
"God in alle eenvoud"
3
2
5
4
"Cry Love"
5
5
10
5
"Higher than the Sun"
7
7
14
6
"Innocent"
2
4
6
7
"One Life"
9
9
18
Detailed Radio Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Radio 2
Radio Donna
Total
1
"Angels"
3
4
7
2
"Time To Party"
1
5
6
3
"God in alle eenvoud"
4
1
5
4
"Cry Love"
5
3
8
5
"Higher than the Sun"
9
9
18
6
"Innocent"
2
2
4
7
"One Life"
7
7
14
Final[]
The final took place on 15 February 2004. "1 Life" performed by Xandee was selected as the winner.
Final – 15 February 2004
Draw
Artist
Song
Jury
Radio
Televote
Total
Place
1
Roxane
"Television Game"
6
8
6
20
5
2
Barbara Dex and Alides Hidding
"One Life"
9
11
10
30
3
3
Elsie Moraïs
"Amorè loco"
12
6
8
26
4
4
Astrid
"Don't Stop the Music"
2
4
2
8
7
5
Xandee
"1 Life"
18
14
18
50
1
6
Raf van Brussel
"Chemistry"
5
5
4
14
6
7
Natalia
"Higher than the Sun"
10
14
14
38
2
Detailed Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Expert Jury
International Jury
Total
1
"Television Game"
4
2
6
2
"One Life"
5
4
9
3
"Amorè loco"
7
5
12
4
"Don't Stop the Music"
1
1
2
5
"1 Life"
9
9
18
6
"Chemistry"
2
3
5
7
"Higher than the Sun"
3
7
10
Detailed Radio Jury Votes
Draw
Song
Radio 2
Radio Donna
Total
1
"Television Game"
1
7
8
2
"One Life"
7
4
11
3
"Amorè loco"
4
2
6
4
"Don't Stop the Music"
3
1
4
5
"1 Life"
9
5
14
6
"Chemistry"
2
3
5
7
"Higher than the Sun"
5
9
14
At Eurovision[]
For the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, a semi-final round was introduced in order to accommodate the influx of nations that wanted to compete in the contest.[4] Since Belgium placed 2nd in the previous contest year, Belgium automatically qualified to compete in the final. Before ESC, Belgium was considered the favourite to win the whole competition and received a good amount of pre-contest promotion. Xandee even sang the song in a Turkish version for a visit to Istanbul. She performed 13th, following Bosnia and Herzegovina and preceding the Russia. However, the performance was considered by many as poor and flat, which may have led to a complete fail during the voting procedure. Xandee reproduced her Eurosong performance with a few minor changes, but it did not seem to help as she only managed 22nd place with 7 points.[5] As Belgium failed to reach the top 12 in the final, the country was forced to compete in the semi-final of the 2005 contest.
Belgium
Netherlands
