The third artist in our Who Is series for Eurovision 2023 is Gustaph from Belgium.
Stef Caers, better known as Gustaph, was born on July 5 1980 in Leuven in central Belgium. He began his music career while studying at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent. Using the stage name Steffen, he scored a hit in 2000 with his debut single “Gonna Lose You”. He released another single later that year “Sweetest Thing”.
Following these releases, Gustaph became more focused on songwriting and producing. He wrote jingles for the Belgian radio stations Radio Donna and Q-music. He also worked as a backing singer for artists such as Natalia, Zap Mama, Willy Sommers and Mama’s Jasje.
In 2008, Stef began performing under the name Gustaph. In 2012, he joined the dance project Hercules & Love Affair as one of the main vocalists. In 2018, he left the group.
In addition to performing and songwriting, Gustaph is also a vocal coach and teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Ghent.
Gustaph was selected to represent Belgium after winning Eurosong 2023, the first Belgian national selection for Eurovision since 2016. Despite winning neither the jury vote nor the public vote, Gustaph received the highest amount of points overall and was declared the winner.
The song that Gustaph will perform in Liverpool is called “Because Of You”. It was written and composed by Jaouad Alloul and Gustaph himself.
Gustaph will perform in the first half of the second semi-final on May 11.
Image Source: VRT
SOURCE: EUROVOIX