Stef Caers (; born 5 July 1980), known professionally as Gustaph (stylised as GVSTΛPH), is a Belgian singer-songwriter, producer and vocal coach. He represented

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was the 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, as , the winner of the with the song "Stefania (song), Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to host the eve ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, United Kingdom with the song " Because of You" and finished 7th place.

Biography

Caers was born on 5 July 1980 in

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

Flemish Brabant Flemish Brabant ( ; ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also ...

. He started his musical career while studying at the

Royal Conservatory of Ghent The Royal Conservatory of Ghent () is a historic conservatory and a royally chartered musical institution in Ghent, Belgium. It is now a part of the University College Ghent. History The Royal Conservatory of Ghent is a royally chartered music ...

, initially using the stage name Steffen. In 2000, he scored a hit with his debut single "Gonna Lose You", which reached number 22 on the Flemish singles chart. He subsequently released a second single, titled "Sweetest Thing". Following these releases, Caers began focusing more on songwriting and producing. He also became active as a backing vocalist, providing backing vocals for, among others,

Lady Linn Lady Linn (born 27 April 1981, in Sint-Amandsberg) is the artist name of the Belgian singer Lien De Greef. She does live performances with her group ''Lady Linn And Her Magnificent Seven''. The band brings a mix of jazz, pop and soul. Biograph ...

and

Willy Sommers Willy Sommers (born Willy Jeanne Jean De Gieter in Uccle, Belgium on 9 August 1952) is a Flanders, Flemish singer and television presenter. He sings Schlager music and is described as an "unsophisticated crooner". His hits include "Zeven Anjers Z ...

. In the early 2010s, he joined the band

Hercules and Love Affair Hercules and Love Affair is a dance music project created by American DJ, singer, composer, musician and producer Andy Butler in 2004. Consisting of a rotating cast of performers and musicians, the band work within the genres of house music, di ...

as one of the lead vocalists. Caers performed as a backing vocalist for

Sennek Laura Groeseneken (born 30 April 1990), also known as Sennek, is a Belgian singer and songwriter. She represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song " A Matter of Time", but did not make it to the final. Groeseneken has p ...

at the

Eurovision Song Contest 2018 The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 was the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, following the country's victory at the with the song "" by Salvador Sobral. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

and for

Hooverphonic Hooverphonic is a Belgian electronic band that was formed in October 1995. Though originally categorized as a trip hop group, they quickly expanded their sound to the point where it could no longer be described as a belonging to a single genre, ...

at the

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. In addition to his career as a singer, he works as a

vocal coach A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a music teacher, usually a piano accompanist, who helps singers prepare for a performance, often al ...

, and as a teacher at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

. In November 2022, Caers was announced as one of seven participants in ''Eurosong 2023'', the Belgian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. His entry " Because of You" won the final on 14 January 2023 and represented Belgium in the

, United Kingdom, finishing 7th place.

Personal life

Caers is gay, and

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

at the age of 14. He chose his stage name based on his father's godfather's name, Gustav.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gustaph (singer) 1980 births Living people 21st-century Belgian singers Belgian LGBTQ singers Belgian pop singers Belgian record producers Belgian singer-songwriters Belgian male singer-songwriters English-language singers from Belgium Hercules and Love Affair members Musicians from Antwerp Musicians from Leuven Vocal coaches Eurovision Song Contest entrants