They were the first act to be announced for Eurovision 2020 back in October last year. Now, after four months of waiting, Belgium’s Hooverphonic have finally debuted the song that they’ll be performing at the contest in Rotterdam this May – “Release Me”.

The song was premiered on radio station MNM this morning and will be subsequently presented at the headquarters of Flemish broadcaster VRT. It will also be played across several other radio stations over the course of the morning.

Hooverphonic debut Eurovision 2020 entry “Release Me”

Hooverphonic previously mentioned that their Eurovision entry would keep their vintage sound and include lots of string instrumentation. And “Release Me” certainly ticks all those boxes.

The song has a slow, moody feeling, not unlike a classic Bond movie theme song. It tells the story of a woman caught in a troublesome relationship, who seeks an end to the doomed situation. It could be about a romantic relationship, but there’s also a sense that something deeper is going on.

There’s a hint that the singer perhaps doesn’t quite want things to end just yet. Lead singer Luka Cruysberghs delivers a sultry vocal, purring “All the lies and all the pain, only you can make them go away”

Hooverphonic will perform “Release Me” in the second half of the first semi-final on 12th May.

Hooverphonic’s search for their Eurovision 2020 song

Speaking with our Esma in January, the band told us a little about their approach to picking a suitable entry.

Right after their participation was announced, it was also revealed that the Flemish broadcaster VRT had actually asked them to take part three times before. However, the trio always declined; they only wanted to go with “the perfect Eurovision song”:

For me, there are only two ways: either it’s a song that is really emotional, that can give people goosebumps, or it’s something very energetic, something very in your face… We wanted to do something very vintage Hooverphonic and then we need strings. There is no way around it.

What do you make of Hooverphonic’s song for Eurovision 2020? How do you think they’ll fair in May? Sound off in the comments below!