"Because of You" is a song by Belgian singer Gustaph, released as a single on 13 January 2023. The song represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 after winning Eurosong 2023, Belgium's national final for that year's Eurovision Song Contest.[1][2] At the contest in finished in 7th place at the final, with 182 points. It reached number two on the Belgium Singles Charts and was certified Platinum. Elsewhere it reached the charts in Australia, Lithuania, Sweden, Netherlands, and UK.
| "Because of You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Gustaph | ||||
| Language | English | |||
| Released | 13 January 2023 | |||
| Length | 2:59 | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Gustaph singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Because Of You" on YouTube "Because Of You" (Pride Edition) on YouTube | ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2023 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| Composer(s) |
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| Lyricist(s) |
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| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 8th | |||
| Semi-final points | 90 | |||
| Final result | 7th | |||
| Final points | 182 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Miss You" (2022) | ||||
| "Before the Party's Over" (2024) ► | ||||
| Official performance video | ||||
| "Because Of You" (Second Semi-Final) on YouTube "Because Of You" (Grand Final) on YouTube | ||||
Background
editIn an interview with Eurovision fansite ESC Bubble, Gustaph compared both of his songs for Eurosong 2023, "The Nail" and "Because of You". He described both songs as a call for celebrating freedom and "the joy to be yourself". Gustaph, who is gay, said that his experiences of being in the community and wanting to be himself inspired both songs. However, he described "Because of You" as a lighter, "club anthem" song.[3] In other interviews with Wiwibloggs, Gustaph described the song as an "ode to the queer community", stating that his song was meaningful for people in the LGBTQ+ community.[4]
Eurovision Song Contest
editEurosong 2023
editEurosong 2023 was the national final used to select Belgium's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023. The competition consisted of five pre-recorded songclub shows that were broadcast between 9 and 13 January 2023, followed by a live final on 14 January 2023 where the winning song and artist were selected.[5]
Seven artists were sought to compete in Eurosong. In the five songclub shows, the show featured each artist presenting their two candidate Eurovision songs in front of the six other artists, who provided commentary and feedback. Based on the feedback, the artist selected one of the two songs to proceed to the final.[6] Gustaph presented his two songs, "The Nail" and "Because of You" on 12 January and 13 January, respectively. On 13 January, he revealed that he had chosen "Because of You" to take to the final of Eurosong 2023.[7]
In the final, the winner was chosen by a combination of a jury vote and a public televote. Eleven jurors accounted for 50% of the vote, while the public decided the other 50%.[8] "Because of You" earned 121 votes from the juries, earning the third jury spot overall. In the televote, "Because of You" earned 157 points, placing second overall with a total of 278 points. When the full voting results were revealed, the song was revealed as the winner, beating televote favourite "Rollercoaster" by one point due to the latter's lacklustre jury score of 94 points. "Because of You" was therefore scheduled to represent Belgium at Eurovision.[9]
At Eurovision
editAccording to Eurovision rules, all participating countries, with the exception of the host nation and the "Big Five", consisting of France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final.[10] The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 31 January 2023, an allocation draw was held, which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, and determined which half of the show they would perform in. Belgium was placed into the second semi-final, held on 11 May 2023, and performed in the first half of the show in the fifth position.[11][12]
The performance featured a cameo from vogueing dancer PussCee West.[13] After qualifying from the second semi-final in eighth, they were placed to perform in the 16th position for the grand final. The song finished in seventh place with 182 points.
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA)[14] | 40 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[15] | 2 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[16] | 34 |
| Lithuania (AGATA)[17] | 15 |
| Netherlands (Single Tip)[18] | 3 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[19] | 82 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[20] | 63 |
| UK Indie (OCC)[21] | 11 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2023) | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[22] | 9 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium (BEA)[23] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
|
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ "Gustaph wins 'Eurosong 2023' in Belgium with 'Because of You'". Eurovision Song Contest. 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Christou, Costa (14 January 2023). "Gustaph wins Eurosong and will represent Belgium at Eurovision 2023". ESCXTRA. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Juhász, Ervin (8 January 2023). "Gustaph: 'I wanna celebrate freedom and the joy to be yourself'". ESCBubble. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Tudor, Ruxandra (16 February 2023). "Gustaph "Because of You" lyrics - Belgium Eurovision 2023". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "'Eurosong 2023' vanaf 9 januari week lang op tv". Songfestival.be (in Dutch). 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ^ "Verrassing: artiesten kiezen zélf eigen inzending voor 'Eurosong'-finale". Songfestival.be (in Dutch). 20 December 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Meersman, Boris (13 January 2023). "Belgium – Eurosong 2023: Gustaph and The Starlings reveal their songs for tomorrow's final!". escYOUnited. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (2 January 2023). "🇧🇪 Belgium: Fifteen Member Eurosong 2023 Jury Revealed". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Veen, Renske ten (14 January 2023). "Gustaph will represent Belgium at Eurovision 2023 with "Because of You"". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Rules–Eurovision Song Contest". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 April 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Groot, Evert (31 January 2023). "Eurovision 2023: Allocation Draw results". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest 2023 Semi-Final running orders revealed!". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (30 April 2023). "🇧🇪 Belgium: Gustaph to be Joined by PussCee West at Eurovision". Eurovoix. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 22 May 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1733. Australian Recording Industry Association. 22 May 2023. p. 9.
- ^ "Gustaph – Because of You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "Gustaph – Because of You" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ^ "2023 20-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Dutch Single Tip 27/05/2023". dutchcharts.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
- ^ "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 20". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2023" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2023". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2023.