Just before midday Belgian time on Monday, Hooverphonic surprised their global fanbase by announcing that Geike Arnaert was returning to the group. Almost immediately, broadcaster VRT confirmed that Geike would join Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts at Eurovision 2021.
But what about Luka Cruysbergh, the woman who up to that point was the band’s frontwoman? According to the official press release that “collaboration ends here”. Some hours later, the 19-year-old responded with a statement of her own on Instagram.
Luka Cruysbergh on leaving Hooverphonic
Luka writes:
“after 3 years with Hooverphonic, it’s time to go my own way. I am very gratefull for all the chances, lots of tours, amazing experiences and memories ive got. I wish @hooverphonicoff and @geike_official all the best. Stay tuned for my next steps!
RU YOU READY FOR ME?
@universalmusicbelgium”
The post was met with a flood of well-wishes from fans. At the time of writing over 8,000 people had liked it. By comparison, Hooverphonic’s announcement had amassed just under 2,500 likes. Luka’s former bandmates reposted Luka’s statement on their stories, writing “we wish Luka all the luck”. The message was accompanied by three red hearts.
In their earlier press release, they outlined what’s next for the “Release Me” songstress.
“Of course it is a bit bittersweet for Luka. She is an excellent singer, without a doubt. We had three wonderful years with Luka. But our collaboration ends here. We have travelled across Europe and the United States, and we have had many memorable moments together. We continue to support her with all our heart. She will get a solo single from Universal and if Luka wants that, I will, of course, continue to accompany her solo.”
Whether the departure was down to a mutual agreement or not remains unclear. However, there are no public signs of any animosity from either side.
Geike Arnaert on returning to Hooverphonic
Luka wasn’t the only one having a “bittersweet” day. Fans of the trip-hop dream-pop band were also experiencing mixed emotions. While many lamented Luka’s departure, others were celebrating Geike’s return.
That’s because, of Hooverphonic’s six different front women, Geike is perhaps the most iconic. She helmed the group during its imperial phase at the turn of the century, lending vocals to hits like “Eden” and “Mad About You”.
This is how Geike broke the news to her fans:
“Dear friends,
It’s a new day on so many levels. I, for one, am very happy to announce that Hooverphonic and I have decided to join forces again. Realizing this is possible was a beautiful thing.
I am excited to step back in to the Hoover family.
Love,
Geike X
Geike carved out a successful solo career during her time away from Hooverphonic, including the massive Benelux hit “Zoutelande” in 2017. Despite rejoining her old band, the hitmaker confirms that she’ll continue to work on her own material.
What do you make of the line-up change? Are you excited to see what Hooverphonic will bring in 2021? Let us know below.
I hope that she is the belgian act in 2023
i hope they flop!! i feel so bad for Luka im sure she is upset over this
i would love to see luka compete at esc one day as a solo act, especially after this unjust treatment
Can you clarify what you mean by “unjust treatment”? It seems from all of Luka’s, Geike’s and Hooverphonic’s posts that this was a mutual agreement, so not too sure who was treated unjustly here.
I don’t know the specifics but I’ve heard that Alex Callier is considered to be a bit of a douche in Belgium. He didn’t allow Luka to sing Love Shine A Light this year because he ‘doesn’t like it’.
Hello Sam, Normally I don’t comment on posts regarding Luka, because I am a very close relative. But in this case I want to tell you that is was not a mutual agreement. Luka was fired, Alex told her in a zoomcall, 1 hour before they announced it to the press. So the photoshoot with Geike, the single and the videoclip, everything happened behind Luka’s back. Luka agrees that Geike is the iconic singer of Hooverphonic, she would have done a step aside without hard feelings. But the way she is has been treated now makes her sad and disappointed.… Read more »
I think that’s good news: I loved Luka’s voice but to me Geike *is* Hooverphonic. She was the voice of their most iconic hits and I also enjoy her solo songs, especially Rope Dancer. Looking forward to hearing their future songs!
How come it’s a Noémie version of Mad About You that has 104 million views on YouTube?
I have no idea, but for me there is only one who can sing like it should be and that’s Geike sorry
I know nothing of the bands history or who sang first. I have only recently heard of them and began to listen and learn. For my point of view, Noemie Wolfs is by far the better singer and the Live with Orchestra performance is untouchable.
It makes sense for their most iconic singer to return to what will be potentially the biggest moment of the band’s career. However, even without Hooverphonic, Luka has a bigger profile than most of Belgian’s entrants prior to taking the ESC stage so VRT can easily select her for 2023.
Everything is going to be okay with Luka, i’m sure of it. And yes we will be ready for her!
And welcome home Geike!!!
I’d love her to be picked for Eurovision 2021 or 2022 because Hooverphonic could’ve continued as a 4 person group
No link to Mad About You 2020 version?
https://youtu.be/sTGobdkZIzQ
Well I wish Luka the best but I’d rather have Luka go to Eurovision instead of Hooverphonic at this point.. Class singer.. Good luck Luka
Other outlets are reporting is a less of a “mutual” decision. Alex’s own comments definitely make it sound like they made the decision to go back to Geike regardless of Luka’s plans.Just my take and I know others may feel strongly the other way, but as a Hooverphonic fan prior to Eurovision, their (Alex’s in particular) behaviour hasn’t exactly made me feel more positively about them at all. Coupled with their mediocre song last year, both the Hooverphonic fan and the ESC fan in me, wish they had just stayed away from ESC.
Maybe now Geike is again involved, they’ll return to the good old days when Hooverphonic was Hooverphonic! Cause their latest album was not exactly “great”.
Luka was lovely, and I wish her nothing but the best. Sounds like an amicable departure. And hey, the song that made me fall in love with Hooverphonic and got me excited about them competing at Eurovision was “Mad About You,” so glad to see its singer is rejoining the group!
That being said, I did notice something interesting. I know there was a lot of brouhaha about their poor sportsmanship in sitting out the “Love Shine a Light” sing-along, but someone pointed out that if you look in the corner when all the videos are coming together at the end, you can spot a blonde girl who wasn’t shown taking a solo at any other point in the video (which also might explain the awkward jump from Vasil’s “And we’re all gonna shine a light together” to “Brothers and sisters…” without the second half of that line). That was probably… Read more »
That girl had light brown hair, not blond, and was not Luka.
Best wishes to Luka, who recorded a wonderful vocal on “Release Me.” I wonder if the band have hoovered up the clean slate. (Get it? Hoovered.)
That joke exists in a vacuum.
These hoover jokes suck.
We can never be sure about these things, but as far as we know it seems it was a friendly depart. I Hope to hear more from Luka and to see her in Eurovision someday. And I also hope that Hooverphonic can leave all their divisive decisions of 2020 behind and come up with a great song, because lately Belgium has been one of my favorite countries in Eurovision.
Hello Sabrina, Normally I don’t comment on posts regarding Luka, because I am a very close relative. But in this case I want to tell you that is was not a mutual agreement. Luka was fired, Alex told her in a zoomcall, 1 hour before they announced it to the press. So the photoshoot with Geike, the single and the videoclip, everything happened behind Luka’s back. Luka agrees that Geike is the iconic singer of Hooverphonic, she would have done a step aside without hard feelings. But the way she is has been treated now makes her sad and disappointed.… Read more »
I hope she does well going her own way — the Belgian entry has had (quite understandably) such a backlash from fans after Hooverphonic refused to represent Belgium at ‘Shine A Light’ that it’s not necessarily a bad thing for Luka to be missing out on a ticket in 2021. Whether she was pushed from the group or she jumped herself, now she can return to Eurovision in the future as a solo artist without Hooverphonic and the particular image that the band has carved out for itself in relation to Eurovision.
Luka is talented and i love her face and voice. I hope she takes part in Eurovision one day!
She also reminds me of Laura Tesoro!
Hooverphonic’s announcement had mixed feelings, Geike is an iconic member of the band but I am not quite sure how good her voice sounds today and if there will be the same chemistry.
Rock on, Queen Luka! I’m really excited to see what’s up her sleeve, hopefully this will be the start of a very successful solo career for her. As for hooverphonic, although I’ve really not been a fan of their attitude lately (Alex Callier’s to be more exact), I do wish them the best of luck for eurovision. I really liked “Release me” and Hooverphonic’s songs in general, so I’m expecting quite a lot from them.