Luka Cruysberghs about leaving Hooverphonic: ‘I was told one hour before the media announcement’
(Photo by Serecki) In November, Luka Cruysberghs (20) learned through a Zoom conversation that she would be replaced as a singer at Hooverphonic by former singer Geike Arnaert (41). “A heavy blow,” she says in an interview adding that “the way in which it happened is what I continue to regret.”
For three years, Luka Cruysberghs was the face and voice of Hooverphonic. Former singer Geike Arnaert however approached Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts saying that she was interested in a comeback. Geike has been the face of the group for more than ten years (from 1997 to 2008). Cruysberghs was then told in a Zoom call by band members Alex Callier and Raymond Geerts that she would be replaced.
“I was told on 9 november 2020 I was fired and this via a Zoom session when I was on holiday in Portugal. It happened one hour before the media announcement was going to be published. I think that’s a shame: I worked with those people for three years, which is quite something. After the famous Zoom call, I had an hour to put something on Instagram myself.”
It’s not the first time the band is having a new singer as you can see below… former frontwomen included Esther Lybeert (1995–1996), Liesje Sadonius (1996–1997), Kyoko Baertsoen (1997), Noémie Wolfs (2010–2015) and now also Luka Cruysberghs (2018–2020). Below is the timeline. Along the way also Frank Duchêne (1995–1998) left the band.
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Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!
