Country Belgium Selected song "Love Kills" | Selected entrant Roberto Bellarosa | |
 | ||
Selection process Artist: internal selection
Song: Eurovision 2013: À vous de choisir la chanson!
50% jury
50% televoting Selection date(s) Artist: 16 November 2012
Song: 16 December 2012 Semi-final result Qualified (5th, 75 points) | ||
Belgium participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden. The Belgian entry was selected through a combination of an internal selection to select the artist and a national final to select the song, organised by the Belgian broadcaster Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF). Roberto Bellarosa represented Belgium with the song "Love Kills", which qualified from the first semi-final of the competition and finished in 12th place in the final, scoring 71 points. This was Belgiums's second best placing since the introduction of the semi-finals in 2004.
Contents
Internal selection
On 16 November 2012, RTBF announced that Roberto Bellarosa was internally selected to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. On 20 November, RTBF held a press conference in order to present their internal selection and to announce that a three-song radio selection would take place on 16 December 2012 in order to select the song.
Eurovision 2013: A vous de choisir la chanson!
On 16 December 2012, Roberto Bellarosa performed three songs during a live radio show that aired on VivaCité and was webcast on the official website of RTBF. Initially, record label Sony Music presented six candidate songs, and the broadcaster's jury selected three of these to go through the national final. The song titles were revealed on 11 December. The combination of public (50%) and professional jury (50%) votes resulted in the selection of "Love Kills", with music and lyrics by Jukka Immonen and Iain Farquharson, as the winning song.
At Eurovision
Belgium was allocated to compete in the first semi-final on 14 May for a place in the final on 18 May. In the first semifinal, the producers of the show decided that Belgium would perform 15th, following Cyprus and preceding Serbia. On stage, Bellarosa was joined by two female backup dancers: Cassandra Markopoulos and Manelle Jebira, and three backing vocalists: Ivann Vermeer, Magali David and Virginie Luypaerts.
Belgium qualified from the first semi-final, placing 5th and scoring 75 points. At the first semi-final winners' press conference, Belgium was allocated to perform in the first half of the final. In the final, the producers of the show decided that Belgium would perform 6th, following Spain and preceding Estonia. Belgium placed 12th in the final, scoring 71 points.