Belgian broadcaster VRT has announced that Laura van den Bruel (aka Iris) will represent her country at the 2012 edition of Europe's Favourite TV Show in Baku.
Originating from Herentals, Van den Bruel is, at the tender age of just 16, the youngest artist ever chosen by VRT to represent Belgium. Currently her song Wonderful is topping the Belgian charts and has been doing so for five weeks now.
She performs under the name Iris and has appeared on MNM, Q-Music and Joe FM. An internal selection group at VRT noticed her on YouTube amongst other platforms. Her music has been described as "country pop" but is not necessarily the style of the song she will perform in Baku.
Spokesman Björn Verdoodt said, "VRT will approach a number of songwriters and ask them to write a song for Iris". The next few months will be spent preparing her for one of the biggest music competitions in the world.
Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and Natalia as role models
Iris has a very powerful voice and looked up to Beyonce, Kelly Clarkson and Natalia as a child and always knew she wanted to become a singer. Last year she was discovered by her record label SonicAngel at a talent contest and has since gone on to have a lot of success, especially with her current single.
In 2010 Tom Dice scored well at the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, where he came 6th in the final and won his semi-final. One of Flanders' best ever results! However, earlier this year Belgium failed to qualify for the final in Düsseldorf and are hoping for a better result in Baku.
Eurovision.tv were at the press conference today and bring you this exclusive interview with Iris. Take a look below!
