Belgium's Backing-Vocalist-Turned-Drag-Pop-Lead Finishes Seventh

MAY 15 2023 · 12:05

Gustaph · "Because of You" · Belgium · 2023 Placement: 7 · Score: 182 · Language: English · Composers: Stef Caers, Jaouad Alloul · Venue: M&S Bank Arena · Host: Liverpool, United Kingdom · Type: performance innovation · Broadcast: streaming era Stef Caers — performing as Gustaph, 43-year-old Belgian drag-influenced vocalist — takes the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena stage in a white suit with flamboyant styling and two backing vocalists. 'Because of You' is lush 1990s-inflected house-pop thanking the queer elders who paved the way. Caers had spent decades as backing vocalist for Belgian acts Hooverphonic and others before stepping forward at 43. 182 points for 7th place. Context Caers had been a fixture of Belgian alternative-pop backing vocals since the 1990s. His Eurovision 2023 emergence as Gustaph was a specifically queer-elder-visibility gambit — middle-aged gay artists rarely front Eurovision entries. VRT's selection through 'Eurosong' was a deliberate departure from youthful pop candidates. The song's lyrical tribute to queer generational predecessors was explicit. Legacy Gustaph's 2023 card is now frequently cited in LGBTQ+ Eurovision scholarship as evidence that queer artists of all ages can find Eurovision platform. Caers continued performing as Gustaph through 2024. The 7th-place finish was a strong Belgian result; the country had not placed so highly since 2003. The card connects Eurovision's queer canon (Dana International, Conchita, Nemo) to middle-age queer representation rarely centered.