Music & Bangers

From Jacques Brel and Stromae to the eurodance and Tomorrowland years, the Belgian songbook, including the meme-tier hits.

Part of Belgium

61 moments in this segment.

1. 1937-01-01 - Django Reinhardt. Born in Belgium, the gypsy-jazz guitar legend who reinvented the instrument with two fingers.
2. 1959-01-01 - Jacques Brel - "Ne me quitte pas". The towering 1959 chanson, one of the most-covered songs in history. Peak Belgian melancholy.
3. 1961 - Toots Thielemans. The harmonica genius behind "Bluesette", the most famous Belgian jazz musician ever.
4. 1963-01-01 - Jacques Brel - "Les Vieux". His devastating 1963 chanson about ageing and the ticking clock.
5. 1964-01-01 - Jacques Brel - "Amsterdam". Brel’s thunderous 1964 live performance, one of the greatest vocal crescendos ever filmed.
6. 1966 - Jacques Brel - "Amsterdam". The towering live performance, Brel at the absolute height of his powers.
7. 1967-01-01 - Jacques Brel - "La chanson des vieux amants". Brel’s aching ode to long love, the chansonnier at his most tender.
8. 1977-01-01 - Plastic Bertrand - "Ça plane pour moi". The 1977 punk-pop novelty that became Belgium’s most exported earworm.
9. 1986-01-01 - Sandra Kim Wins Eurovision 1986. At 13, she gave Belgium its only Eurovision victory with "J’aime la vie".
10. 1986 - Arno - "Putain Putain". Ostend’s gravel-voiced rock poet and TC Matic, the soul of Belgian rock.
11. 1988-01-01 - Confetti’s - "The Sound of C". The 1988 new-beat dancefloor anthem with its unmistakable arm-cross dance.
12. 1988-01-01 - New Beat / Belgian acid. Late-80s Belgian new beat, the slowed-down acid sound that birthed a genre.
13. 1988-01-01 - Confetti’s - "The Sound of C". The 1988 new-beat anthem and its iconic dance, peak Belgian dancefloor.
14. 1989-01-01 - Technotronic - "Pump Up the Jam". The 1989 Belgian new-beat smash that helped launch global house/eurodance.
15. 1990-01-01 - Vaya Con Dios - "Nah Neh Nah". Dani Klein’s gypsy-jazz-pop trio, a giant 90s Belgian export.
16. 1990-01-01 - Vaya Con Dios - "Nah Neh Nah". Dani Klein’s smoky Brussels jazz-pop, a 1990 European smash.
17. 1990-01-01 - Clouseau - "Daar gaat ze". The Wauters brothers’ 1990 Flemish pop staple, sung at every wedding since.
18. 1990 - R&S Records. The Ghent techno label that defined 90s electronic music worldwide, Aphex Twin, Derrick May and more.
19. 1991-01-01 - Praga Khan / Lords of Acid. Maurice Engelen’s Belgian new-beat and acid-house project, a cult electronic export.
20. 1991-01-01 - Technotronic - "Move This". The 1991 follow-up smash, revived worldwide by an ad decades later.
21. 1993-01-01 - Eurodance Anthems. The Belgo-Dutch eurodance boom of the early 90s, pounding, unstoppable, everywhere.
22. 1993-01-01 - Will Tura - "Hoop doet leven". The "Keizer van het Vlaamse lied", his signature song, sung at King Baudouin’s funeral.
23. 1993-01-01 - Axelle Red. The Flemish-French soul-pop star, a fixture of 90s, 2000s Belgian radio.
24. 1994-01-01 - dEUS - "Suds & Soda". Antwerp’s art-rockers who put Belgian indie on the global map in the 90s.
25. 1995-01-01 - Helmut Lotti - "Goes Classic". The Ghent crossover tenor who sold millions making opera karaoke-friendly.
26. 1996-01-01 - Hooverphonic. The trip-hop band from Sint-Niklaas, lush, cinematic Belgian pop.
27. 2000-01-01 - Hooverphonic - "Mad About You". The 2000 trip-hop classic from the Sint-Niklaas band, lush, cinematic Belgian pop.
28. 2001 - Lara Fabian - "Je t’aime". The Belgian-Italian diva’s soaring ballad, a voice that fills stadiums.
29. 2003 - K3 - "Oya Lélé". The Studio 100 girl-group phenomenon, a generation of Flemish kids grew up singing along.
30. 2003 - Arno - "Putain Putain". The gravel-voiced Ostend rocker’s anthem, the eternal soul of Belgian rock-’n’-roll.
31. 2004-01-01 - Soulwax - "NY Excuse". The 2004 electro-rock floor-filler that defined the Ghent band’s live era.
32. 2004-01-01 - Soulwax - "NY Excuse". The Dewaele brothers’ electro-punk landmark, Ghent’s gift to the dancefloor.
33. 2005 - Soulwax / 2manydjs. The Dewaele brothers, Ghent’s mash-up pioneers who reshaped 2000s dance music.
34. 2008-01-01 - Milow - "Ayo Technology". The acoustic 2008 cover that made the Flemish singer-songwriter a continental star.
35. 2009-01-01 - Stromae - "Alors on danse". The 2009 track that conquered Europe and made Stromae the face of modern Belgian music.
36. 2010-01-01 - Netsky. Antwerp’s drum-and-bass star, part of Belgium’s outsized electronic-music output.
37. 2011-01-01 - Selah Sue. The soul-reggae singer-songwriter from Leuven, a defining 2010s Belgian voice.
38. 2011-01-01 - Selah Sue - "This World". The 2011 soul-reggae debut single from the Leuven singer-songwriter.
39. 2011-01-01 - Selah Sue - "Raggamuffin". The Leuven singer’s soulful reggae-tinged breakout.
40. 2012-01-01 - Triggerfinger - "I Follow Rivers". The Antwerp rock trio’s 2012 storming cover that out-charted the original across Europe.
41. 2012-01-01 - Balthazar. The Courtrai indie-rock band, one of the most acclaimed Belgian groups of the 2010s.
42. 2012-01-01 - Tomorrowland. The Boom mega-festival (2005, ) that made Belgium the world capital of EDM.
43. 2013-01-01 - Stromae - "Tous les mêmes". The 2013 half-man-half-woman gender-war video, peak Stromae visual concept.
44. 2013-01-01 - Stromae - "Papaoutai". The 2013 absent-father anthem, a billion-view meme-and-dance phenomenon.
45. 2013-01-01 - Stromae - "Formidable". The 2013 hidden-camera drunk performance video, staged, devastating, and instantly iconic.
46. 2014-01-01 - Oscar and the Wolf - "Strange Entity". Max Colombie’s 2014 dream-pop hit, a staple of Flemish festival sets.
47. 2014-01-01 - Oscar and the Wolf. Max Colombie’s dramatic electro-pop, a Flemish festival headliner.
48. 2014-01-01 - Lost Frequencies - "Reality". Felix De Laet’s 2014 global smash, Belgium’s biggest streaming export of the decade.
49. 2014-01-01 - Lost Frequencies - "Are You with Me". Felix De Laet’s 2014 tropical-house smash, Belgium’s EDM scene goes global.
50. 2015-01-01 - Bazart - "Goud". The 2015 Dutch-language indie hit that made Bazart a Flemish festival headliner.
51. 2015-01-01 - K3 - "Eyo!". The Flemish girl-group juggernaut, a cultural institution for two generations of Belgian kids.
52. 2015-01-01 - Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. The Belgian DJ duo who topped the global DJ rankings, Tomorrowland’s house act.
53. 2018-01-01 - Angèle - "Balance ton quoi". The Brussels pop phenomenon who became the voice of a new francophone generation.
54. 2019-01-01 - Balthazar - "Fever". The Ghent band’s sleek 2019 single, Belgian art-pop at its most assured.
55. 2021-01-01 - Metejoor ft. Babet - "1 Op Een Miljoen". The 2021 Flemish-language mega-hit that ruled the Ultratop for months.
56. 2021-01-01 - Angèle - "Bruxelles je t’aime". The Brussels pop superstar’s love letter to her bilingual hometown.
57. 2021-01-01 - Stromae - "Santé". His 2021 comeback single, a toast to the invisible workers, an instant chart-topper.
58. 2023-01-01 - Tomorrowland 2023 - Aftermovie. The Boom mega-festival’s annual cinematic recap, Belgium’s gift to global dance music.
59. 2023-01-01 - Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike - Tomorrowland. The hometown brothers headlining the festival they helped make legendary.
60. 2025-01-01 - Camille - "Oostende". The young Flemish singer-songwriter, a defining voice of the 2020s Dutch-language pop revival.
61. 2026-03-07 - Salvatore Adamo - "Tombe la neige". The Sicilian-Belgian crooner’s 1963 standard, beloved from Paris to Tokyo.