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Gustaph

© EBU/Sarah Louise Bennett

About

Quick Facts

Name
Stef Caers

Born
5 July 1980

Nationality
🇧🇪 Belgian

National Selection
Eurosong 2023

In Eurovision
2023 Liverpool

Song
Because of You (2023)

Biography

Stef Caers, born in Leuven in 1980, is a Belgian singer, musician, producer and singing teacher.He initially performed under the stage name Steffen and later as Gustaph.

Caers followed secondary education at the Academie voor Muziek-Woord-Dans in Heist-op-den-Berg. He graduated as a producer at the music conservatory of Ghent. At the age of nineteen, still during his studies, he scored a hit in 2000 as Steffen with the song “Gonna Lose You”, which reached 22nd place in the Flemish Ultratop 50. Caers won a prize at Flemish Radio 2 in the subcategory “The debut” that year with the song. His next single, “Sweetest Thing”, was a more modest success: the song got stuck in the charts. Caers later noted that his songs like Steffen, which he wrote as a sixteen-year-old, are not entirely in line with his style. The music world made it clear to him that he should keep his homosexuality a secret so as not to undermine his popularity. It therefore remained with these singles under that name.

Caers focused more on studio work and writing music. He also made jingles for Radio Donna and Q-music. However, he also remained active on stage, including as a pianist and background singer. With Mo Harcum, Sofie Verbruggen and Sandrine Van Handenhoven he paid homage to Marvin Gaye. With the latter two, he paid homage to Ella Fitzgerald in the 2021-2022 theater season, together with the VRT Bigband.

He has been performing solo since 2008 under the name Gustaph. Four years later, under that name, he began singing and writing for Hercules & Love Affair, a group best known in the LGBTQ+ community. As a result, he performed at Pukkelpop, Glastonbury and Chanel shows, among others. Caers left the group in 2018.

Caers is also a teacher at Hogeschool Gent within the jazz / pop course and at the pop and rock music course at Hogeschool PXL.

Caers went to the Eurovision Song Contest twice as a backing singer. In 2018 with Sennek and in 2021 at Hooverphonic. He also was a voice coach for Geike Arnaert of Hooverphonic.  In January 2023, he took part in Eurosong, the Flemish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.  Gustaph won Eurosong 2023, which meant that he was chosen as the Belgian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. He reached the final there and became 7th. 

Entries

Because Of You

Country
🇧🇪 Belgium

Year
2023

Language
English

Lyrics
Jaouad Alloul
Stef Caers

Music
Jaouad Alloul
Stef Caers

Backings
Monique Harcum
Chantal Kashala
Sandrine van Handenhoven

Dancers
PussCee West

Results Semi

Points: 90
Position: 8
Running order: 5

Results Finals

Points: 182
Position: 7
Running order: 16