Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016

Eurovision Song Contest 2016
Country  Netherlands
National selection
Selection process Internal Selection
Selection date(s) Artist:
22 September 2015
Song:
4 March 2016
Selected entrant Douwe Bob
Selected song "Slow Down"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Douwe Bob
  • Jan Peter Hoekstra
  • Jeroen Overman
  • Matthijs van Duijvenbode
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2015 • 2016

The Netherlands will participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "Slow Down" written by Douwe Bob, Jan Peter Hoekstra, Jeroen Overman and Matthijs van Duijvenbode. The song will be performed by Douwe Bob, who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to represent the Netherlands at the 2016 contest in Stockholm, Sweden. Douwe Bob's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 22 September 2015, while the song, "Slow Down", was presented to the public on 4 March 2016.

Background

Prior to the 2016 contest, the Netherlands had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-six times since their début as one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural contest in 1956.[1] Since then, the country has won the contest four times: in 1957 with the song "Net als toen" performed by Corry Brokken;[2] in 1959 with the song "'n Beetje" performed by Teddy Scholten;[3] in 1969 as one of four countries to tie for first place with "De troubadour" performed by Lenny Kuhr;[4] and finally in 1975 with "Ding-a-Dong" performed by the group Teach-In.[5] Following the introduction of semi-finals for the 2004 contest, the Netherlands had featured in only three finals. The Dutch least successful result has been last place, which they have achieved on five occasions, most recently in the second semi-final of the 2011 contest.[6] The Netherlands has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1962 and 1963.[7]

The Dutch national broadcaster, AVROTROS, broadcasts the event within the Netherlands and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. The Netherlands has used various methods to select the Dutch entry in the past, such as the Nationaal Songfestival, a live televised national final to choose the performer, song or both to compete at Eurovision. However, internal selections have also been held on occasion. Since 2013, the broadcaster has internally selected the Dutch entry for the contest. In 2013, the internal selection of Anouk performing "Birds" managed to take the country to the final for the first time in eight years and placed ninth overall. In 2014, the internal selection of The Common Linnets performing the song "Calm After the Storm" qualified the nation to the final once again and placed second, making it the most successful Dutch result in the contest since their victory in 1975. For 2016, the broadcaster opted to continue selecting the Dutch entry through an internal selection.[8]

Before Eurovision

Douwe Bob

Internal selection

Following Trijntje Oosterhuis' failure to qualify to the final of the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Walk Along", the Dutch broadcaster issued a statement to the current affairs programme EenVandaag where they revealed that the broadcaster would continue to internally select both the artist and song for the Eurovision Song Contest and that several artists had already been in contact with the broadcaster in regards to participating.[8] Artists that were rumoured in Dutch media to be in talks with AVROTROS included singer Dotan and the winners of the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland Iris Kroes, who won the second series, and O'G3NE, who won the fifth series.[9][10][11]

On 20 September 2015, Dutch media reported that AVROTROS had selected singer Douwe Bob to represent the Netherlands at the 2016 contest.[12][13] Douwe Bob was confirmed as the Dutch entrant on 22 September 2015 during the Dutch talk show De Wereld Draait Door.[14] The selection of Douwe Bob as the Dutch representative occurred through a unanimous decision by a selection commission consisting of singer and television host Jan Smit, television host and author Cornald Maas, radio DJ Daniël Dekker and AVROTROS media-director Remco van Leen.[15] During his interview on De Wereld Draait Door, Douwe Bob revealed that the selected song was an uptempo track that he recorded in Andalusia while working on material for an upcoming album.[15]

On 4 March 2016, Douwe Bob's Eurovision entry, "Slow Down", was presented to the public during a press conference that took place in Amsterdam.[16][17] The presentation was streamed online by AVROTROS via the Periscope live video streaming app, while the song was premiered at the same time during the NPO Radio 2 programme Aan De Slag!, hosted by Bart Arens.[18][19] The official video for the song directed by Hans Pannecouke also premiered on 4 March.[16] Douwe Bob revealed earlier during an interview for the media platform 3VOOR12 on 15 January 2016 that his Eurovision song was written by Jan Peter Hoekstra, Jeroen Overman, Matthijs van Duijvenbode and Douwe Bob himself.[20]

Promotion

In the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest, Douwe Bob's promotional activities occurred entirely within the Netherlands where he performed at live events, radio shows and talk shows. On 9 April, Douwe Bob performed during the Eurovision in Concert event which was held at the Melkweg venue in Amsterdam and hosted by Cornald Maas and Hera Björk.[21] On 21 April, Douwe Bob released the new single, "Jacob's Song", which followed "Slow Down" as the next single from his album Fool Bar, which was released on 6 May.[22] On 28 April, Douwe Bob performed a concert at the Westergasfabriek theatre in Amsterdam prior to travelling to Stockholm, which was partially broadcast live during the NPO 1 programme De Wereld Drait Door and streamed online in full at the television programme's website.[23]

At Eurovision

Douwe Bob during a press meet and greet

According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "Big 5" (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals in order to compete for the final; the top ten countries from each semi-final progress to the final. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) split up the competing countries into six different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot.[24] On 25 January 2016, a special allocation draw was held which placed each country into one of the two semi-finals, as well as which half of the show they would perform in. The Netherlands was placed into the first semi-final, to be held on 10 May 2016, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.[25]

Once all the competing songs for the 2016 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the shows' producers rather than through another draw, so that similar songs were not placed next to each other. The Netherlands was set to perform in position 6, following the entry from Croatia and before the entry from Armenia.[26]

The two semi-finals and the final will be broadcast in the Netherlands on NPO 1 and BVN with commentary by Cornald Maas and Jan Smit.[27] The Dutch spokesperson, who will announce the top 12-point score awarded by the Dutch jury during the final, will be 2015 Dutch Eurovision entrant Trijntje Oosterhuis.[28]

Semi-final

Douwe Bob will take part in technical rehearsals on 2 and 6 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 9 and 10 May.[29] This includes the jury show on 9 May where the professional juries of each country will watch and vote on the competing entries.

The Dutch performance features a band set-up with Douwe Bob wearing a blue suit and performing at a microphone stand while playing a guitar.[30][31] Douwe Bob is joined by five band performers/backing vocalists: Jan-Peter Hoekstra, Jeroen Overman, Matthijs van Duijvenbode, Stijn van Dalen and Thijs Boontjes.[32] The staging director for the performance was Hans Pannecoucke, who worked with the Dutch entrants in 2014 and 2015 in a similar role.[33]

Voting

Voting during the three shows will be conducted under a new system that will involve each country now awarding two sets of points from 1-8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury will consist of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury will judge each entry based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act.[34] In addition, no member of a national jury was permitted to be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The individual rankings of each jury member as well as the nation's televoting results will be released shortly after the grand final.[35]

Split voting results

The following five members will comprise the Dutch jury:[34]

References

  1. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1956". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1957". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1959". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1969". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  5. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Semi-Final (2)". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "History by Country - The Netherlands". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  8. 1 2 Knoops, Roy (28 May 2015). "The Netherlands: Ratings and preliminary plans of AVROTROS". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Willemsen, Jef (14 September 2015). "Dotan gaat naar Eurovisie Songfestival". televizier.nl (in Dutch). Televizier. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  10. ↑ "EditieNL: ‘O’G3NE moet naar het Eurovisie Songfestival’". mediacourant.nl (in Dutch). MediaCourant. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  11. ↑ van der Kolk, Donna (20 May 2015). "Iris Kroes naar het Songfestival?". metronieuws.nl (in Dutch). Metro. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  12. ↑ van Amstel, Constance (20 September 2015). "’Douwe Bob voor Nederland naar Songfestival’". metronieuws.nl (in Dutch). Metro. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  13. ↑ Laufer, Gil (20 September 2015). "The Netherlands: AVROTROS in touch with Douwe Bob for Eurovision 2016". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  14. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (22 September 2015). "The Netherlands: Douwe Bob To Represent The Netherlands". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  15. 1 2 Knoops, Roy (23 September 2015). "The Netherlands: Who is Douwe Bob?". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Douwe Bob naar Stockholm met Slow Down". avrotros.nl (in Dutch). AVROTROS. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  17. ↑ Jordan, Paul (4 March 2016). "The Netherlands: Video premiere of "Slow Down"". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  18. ↑ "Volg de presentatie van Douwe Bob’s Songfestival nummer via social media". avrotros.nl (in Dutch). AVROTROS. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  19. ↑ Knoops, Roy (4 March 2016). "Today: Song presentation in the Netherlands". esctoday.com. ESCToday.com. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  20. ↑ "Vierkoppig team schreef inzending Douwe Bob". songfestivalweblog.nl (in Dutch). Songfestivalweblog.nl. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  21. ↑ Roxburgh, Gordon (10 April 2016). "Highlights of the 8th Eurovision In Concert". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  22. ↑ Muldoon, Padraig (24 April 2016). "New music from the stars of Eurovision 2016". wiwibloggs.com. Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "NPO 1 en DWDD zwaaien uur lang Douwe Bob uit". mediacourant.nl (in Dutch). Mediacourant.nl. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  24. ↑ Jordan, Paul (21 January 2016). "Semi-Final Allocation Draw on Monday, pots revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  25. ↑ Jordan, Paul (25 January 2016). "Allocation Draw: The results!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  26. ↑ Jordan, Paul (8 April 2016). "Running order of the Semi-Finals revealed". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  27. ↑ "Eurovisie Songfestival 2016 finale". bvn.tv (in Dutch). BVN. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  28. ↑ Granger, Anthony (4 May 2016). "Netherlands: Trijntje Oosterhuis is the Dutch spokesperson". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  29. ↑ "Media Activities" (PDF). eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  30. ↑ Nilsson, Helena (2 May 2016). "First day of rehearsals at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  31. ↑ Escudero, Victor M. (6 May 2016). "Day 5 at the Globe Arena". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  32. ↑ "Douwe Bob: Slow down". eurovisionartists.nl (in Dutch). Eurovision Artists. Retrieved 3 May 2016.
  33. ↑ van der Mee, Tonny (2 January 2016). "Douwe Bob 'gaat iets heel gaafs doen op Songfestival'". ad.nl (in Dutch). Algemeen Dagblad. Retrieved 18 January 2016.
  34. 1 2 "Here are the judges for Eurovision 2016!". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
  35. ↑ Jordan, Paul (18 February 2016). "Biggest change to Eurovision Song Contest voting since 1975". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 18 February 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.