All entries in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest are known, but the actual contest is still two months away. As a warm-up, we introduce one of the entries every day in random order. Part thirteen is dedicated to the entry from Belgium.
Basic information
| Performers: | Copycat |
| Song: | Copycat |
| Language: | English |
| Music: | Miam Monster Miam (Benjamin Schoos) |
| Lyrics: | Jacques Duvall (Eric Verwilghen) |
| Draw: | 3rd in the first semi final |
The song
Copycat is a nostalgic up-tempo rock 'n' roll song in the style of Elvis Presley. Of course, the lyrics are about "the king", too. Out of envious admiration, an Elvis impersonator turns everything upside down in an ironic waysaying that the real one is in fact the "copycat":
Way down in the US of A
There's a guy doing things my way
Combing the same greasy hair
Hugging the same teddy bear
He's a copycat, trying to steal my soul
But he's too fat to rock 'n' roll
He's a copycat, trying to steal my soul
But he's too fat to rock 'n' roll
The band
Copycat, who are the third band in the Eurovision Song Contest with an eponymous song following Dschinghis Khan in 1979 and Love City Groove in 1995, center around lead singer and Elvis Presley impersonator Patrick Ouchène. He entered the music business in the 1980s with the release of two albums. Later he joined the band The Dominos, which would launch the hit song Je suis swing. Nowadays, he is best know as singer and guitarist of the band Runnin' wild, but he is also successful as a composer and lyricist.
The other members of the band are composer Miam Monster Miam, Lenn Dauphin as well as te backing vocalists MissT Blue and Miss D Lite. They are the second band that was chosen by the Walloon broadcaster to represent Belgium with a song in a nostalgic style performed in English following The KMG's with their funky song LovePower in 2007.
The national selection
It was the turn of RTBF again to select the Belgian entry and for the second time in a row, they went for an internal selection. The choice was kept a secret for a long time, although rumours were spread that a 'rock 'n' roll legend' would represent Belgium – which later turned out to be true. The song was presented at Mirano Continental in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Brussels on 10th March.
Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest
RTBF is to select the Belgian entry every second year taking turns with the Flemish broadcaster VRT. History shows that the French speaking broadcaster was far more successful having provided the only Belgian winning song in 1986 and the only two second placed entries in 1979 and 2003, which was also the last year that Belgium was in the top ten. The last entry submitted by the Flemish broadcaster that made the top ten took part in 1977. However, both broadcasters were not too successful in recent years as Belgium was eliminated during the semi finals every year since 2005.
Nous souhaitons bonne chance à la Belgique et à Copycat.Avez un bon résult à Moscou!
We wensen België en Copycat veel geluk en een goed resultaat in Moskou!
Wir wünschen Belgien und Copycat viel Glück und eine gute Platzierung in Moskau!
Videos
The preview video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHrv0TUsNe4&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0
VRT report – entry chosen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuoKiElQfWw&ap=%2526fmt%3D18&rel=0
The Domino's with Je suis swing (sound only):
Other parts of this series
Tomorrow, we will take a look at the Greek entry.
