Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023

Eurosong 2023 was the national final that selected Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The competition will consist of five pre-recorded songclub shows that was broadcast between 9 and 13 January 2023, followed by a live final on 14 January 2023 where the winning song and artist was selected. All six shows was hosted by Peter Van de Veire and broadcast on Eén, as well as on the broadcaster's online streaming platform VRT MAX.[4][5]

Seven artists were sought to compete in Eurosong. The competition included five songclub shows that were broadcast between 9 and 13 January 2023. The shows featured each artist presenting their two candidate Eurovision songs in front of the six other artists that provided commentary and feedback on the songs. Based on the feedback, the artist selected one of the two songs to proceed to the final.[6] The final took place on 14 January 2023 where the winner was chosen by an expert jury and public voting.[7]

The jury panel consisted of:[8][9]

The names of the seven acts selected for the competition were announced on 8 November 2022 during the radio MNM programme Kawtar & Keyaert. Among the competing artists is former Eurovision Song Contest participant Tom Dice (member of the Starlings), who represented Belgium in 2010.[10] The artists were selected by an A&R Team (Arts and Repertoire) consisting of music experts from VRT in consultation with record labels and artist managers.[11][12] Artists that were previously rumoured to be selected included Niels Destadsbader and Belgian Eurovision Song Contest 2016 participant Laura Tesoro.[13][14] The candidate Eurovision songs to be performed by the artists were announced on 15 December 2022, along with twenty-second snippets of each entry.[15]

The songclub shows were recorded in Tournai and aired between 9 and 13 January 2023 at 19:45 CET. In the shows, each artist performed their two candidate songs and selected one of them to advance to the final, taking into account the advice of the other contestants. Every act followed the advice of the fellow contestants with the exception of The Starlings, who had been advised to select "Oceanside" by the other participants.[16]

The final took place on 14 January 2023 at the Palais 12 in Brussels. The winner, "Because of You" performed by Gustaph, was selected by the combination of results from an expert jury and a public vote. The viewers and the jury each had a total of 780 points to award. Each of the jury groups awarded points in the following manner: 4–8, 10 and 12 points, while the viewer vote awarded points based on the percentage of votes each song achieved through the following voting methods: SMS and the VRT MAX app. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 780 points rounded to the nearest integer: 78 points.[17] Four of the jury members also provided commentary and feedback to the entries during the show: Alexander Rybak, Nikkie de Jager, Laura Tesoro and Jérémie Makiese.[8][9] In addition to the competing entries, each of the competing artists also performed a cover version of a past Eurovision Song Contest song.