Singer Geike Arnaert leaves Belgian band Hooverphonic for second time

Geike Arnaert, the singer who helped Belgian band Hooverphonic break through about 25 years ago, is leaving the band again, five years after her comeback. On Instagram, Hooverphonic and Arnaert announced that “their artistic visions have diverged”. The 2026 European tour will still go ahead as planned.

Geike Arnaert was for the first time part of Hooverphonic, with Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts, from 1997 to 2008. In 2008, she left the group to pursue a solo career. In the meantime, Hooverphonic had made an international breakthrough with Arnaert, thanks in part to the 2000 album “The Magnificent Tree” and the smash hit “Mad About You”.

In 2020, she returned to the group, which meant that Hooverphonic's collaboration with singer Luka Cruysberghs came to an end after two and a half years. In 2021, the band represented Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest with Arnaert. They made it to the final and finished in nineteenth place.

Five years after her comeback, Geike Arnaert and Hooverphonic are now parting ways again. The band announced on social media that “their artistic visions have diverged”. “We can look back with pride on everything we have experienced, created and shared,” they wrote on Instagram. “A chapter has come to an end.” The performances still on the concert calendar will go ahead as planned.

^{#FlandersNewsService | Hooverphonic's Alex Callier, Raymond Geerts and Geike Arnaert in 2021 © BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE}