"Birds" is a song recorded by
Dutch singer
Anouk Anouk is a Dutch female given name and diminutive of Anna.
People
* Anouk, or Anouk Teeuwe, (born 1975), Dutch singer-songwriter
* Anouk Aimée
Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée () ...
, released as the first single from her eighth studio album ''
Sad Singalong Songs'' (2013). The song was written by Anouk Teeuwe and composed by
Tore Johansson
Tore Johansson (born 6 November 1959) is a Swedish record producer, composer and musician based in Malmö, Sweden.
Biography
In an interview with '' HitQuarters'', Johansson claimed that the main impetus for his becoming a music producer was the ...
, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe. It is best known as the
Netherlands' entry to the
Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in
Malmö,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
.
The song competed in the first semi-final on 14 May 2013 for and managed to qualify for a spot in the final on 18 May 2013, the Netherlands' first qualification in 9 years, where Anouk achieved 9th place in a field of 39; the best result for the Netherlands since the 1999 competition.
Background
On 17 October 2012, Dutch broadcaster
TROS selected Anouk to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Anouk selected "Birds" as the Dutch entry and presented it during a press conference on 11 March 2013.
In November 2011, Anouk played a portion of the song during an interview on the Dutch pop/rock radio station
3FM
NPO 3FM is a Dutch rhythmic CHR radio station controlled by public broadcaster NPO. The vast majority of the songs played on-air are rock, alternative, indie and pop, though dance and Mega Top 30 tracks may also air at times.
History
As Ra ...
.
The
rules of the Eurovision Song Contest for 2013 indicate that a song cannot be released prior to 1 September 2012. However, a new clause added for the 2013 contest allows songs, such as in the case of "Birds", to compete if their previous airing in public would not give them an advantage over the other competing entries.
The
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
cleared "Birds" for the competition under this new rule.
[
The official videoclip of the song was released on 15 May 2013, together with the clips of three other new songs of Anouk.
]
Track listing
;Digital download
# "Birds" - 3:23
;CD single (Universal M27611)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2013 singles
2013 songs
Anouk (singer) songs
Songs about birds
Eurovision songs of 2013
Eurovision songs of the Netherlands
Songs written by Anouk (singer)