This year Belgium has chosen Jérémie Makiese as its representative on Eurovision 2022 that will take place in Turin next May with the song “Miss You”. But who is Jérémie Makiese? In this article you will have the opportunity to know more about Belgium’s singer for Eurovision 2022.
About Jérémie Makiese
Jérémie Makiese was born in 2000 in Antwerp. Of Congolese descent, the young man became interested in music at a very early age, because although his parents were not professionally involved in music, it was always present in his family. His father was a member of a church choir and his mother accompanied on a traditional instrument, the tam-tam. At a very young age, Jérémie also participated in his church choir and won a singing competition in his hometown, so his parents decided to enrol him in singing lessons.
After winning a talent contest organised by his school, Jérémie decided to enter the 2021 edition of The Voice Belgium. There, the singer dazzled the judges gala after gala and the public eventually made him the winner of the show.
On a personal level, after his secondary education, he started studying geology, which he has now interrupted to devote himself to music and his other great passion: football. He started playing football at the age of 13, and for this season he has signed a contract as goalkeeper for the club Excelsior Virton, a team in the second division of the country’s professional league.
The song under the Universal Music Belgium label was written by Jérémie himself with Silvio Lisbonne and Manon Romiti. It is an American-sounding, drama-filled power ballad in which he shows his full vocal potential. Later on, the song transitions to R&B, also offering a soulful touch, partly thanks to the addition of the gospel chorus in the final chorus.
The song reached the Top 2 in the Ultratop list in Flanders, while in Wallonia it reached position 46. The song, entirely in English, is about a love break-up and all the feelings of depression, ups and downs, coping and forgiveness that one goes through in the aftermath.
Lyrics
Sometimes, I feel down
Sometimes, I booze
Sometimes, I fall
Sometimes, I do wrong
One day, I’m cool
One day, I’m cold
And I’ve been trying to escape my past
Give up on the sadness that you left behind
I’ve been trying to erase my mind
You stay like a nightmare when I close my eyes
Am I gonna miss you? No
Promise I won’t miss you, no
I’m gonna break through now
I’ll never hate you, never chase you
And sometimes, I feel good
Sometimes, I lose my mind and my soul
That’s when I see you
And out of thе blue, I answer your call
And I’ve been trying to еscape my past
Give up on the sadness that you left behind
I’ve been trying to erase my mind
But you stay like a nightmare when I close my eyes
Am I gonna miss you? No
Promise I won’t miss you, no
I’m gonna break through now
I’ll never hate you, never chase you
Am I gonna miss you? No, no
Promise I won’t miss you, no
I’m gonna break through now
I’ll never hate you, never chase you
I gotta make it to the bright side
I’ve been lying when I said, “I’m fine” (Said I’m fine)
Wanna find a way to feel alive
Am I gonna miss you? (No)
Promise I won’t miss you, no
I’m gonna break through now
I’ll never hate you, never chase you
I never feel bad when love is good
Life goes on
Don’t wanna live my life waiting for your call
Sometimes, I feel down
Sometimes, I booze
Sometimes, I fall
Belgium in Eurovision
Belgium is one of the founding countries of the Eurovision Song Contest, participating in the very first competition in 1956. Two public broadcasters in Belgium alternate their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest; RTBF, the French-language broadcaster and VRT, the Flemish broadcaster.
Belgium has only missed three contests to date; 1994, 1997 and 2001. Belgium’s Sandra Kim won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1986 when she was only 13 years old. As a result, the Belgians hosted the contest in Brussels the following year. The country finished second in 2003 with a song performed in an imaginary language. In 2008 they entered another song in an imaginary language but failed to qualify for the Grand Final.
Both RTBF and VRT have used national finals as well as internal selections for the Eurovision Song Contest. In recent years, Belgium has reversed its fortunes in the Eurovision Song Contest having qualified for the Grand Final on more occasions than not.