Nationaal Songfestival

(; ) was an annual music competition, which was originally organised by the Dutch public broadcaster (NTS), and later by the (NOS) and (TROS). It was staged almost every year between 1956 and 2012 to determine the country's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The festival has produced four Eurovision winners and eight top-five placings for the Netherlands at the contest.

Due to declining interest in the competition and the Netherlands' poor performance in the Eurovision Song Contest in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it was decided that the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 would be internally selected. As this led to the Netherlands' best Eurovision result in over ten years, the has not been organised since. The children's version of the competition, , is still active.

History

From 1956 to 1969, the was organised by the (NTS). From 1970 onwards, the show was produced and broadcast by the (NOS), with the exception of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 editions, which were organised by the (TROS). After the 2006 edition, the NOS stated that it no longer wanted to organise the competition. After a two-year hiatus, the TROS took over the event in 2009.

Throughout the years, different formats were used to determine which artist and/or song would represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest. The competition was usually held in February or March. In 1985, 1991, 1995 and 2002, the was not organised, because the Netherlands would not take part in that year's Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1961, 1963, 1980, 2007 and 2008, the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest was not selected through the , but was chosen internally by a special committee. The 1963 edition of the had been scheduled to take place on 23 January at the Tivoli in Utrecht, but was cancelled due to a strike of the Metropole Orchestra. In 2007, a special edition of the show , titled , was broadcast in which Edsilia Rombley performed three potential Eurovision entries, after which she announced which song she had picked.

2009–2012: Final years

After a two-year hiatus, the returned in 2009 as the selection method for the Dutch Eurovision entry; this time to select a song for De Toppers, who had been internally selected by the TROS as the Dutch representatives. In 2010, this format was reversed when the song "" written by Pierre Kartner was internally selected, and the performer was chosen through the . Both schlager acts failed to qualify for the final of the Eurovision Song Contest and were subject of heavy criticism in the Netherlands.

When asked in the talk show ''Pauw & Witteman'' why "acknowledged composers" are no longer involved in writing the "best possible songs" for the , Eric van Tijn, composer of the winning entries "" (1993) and "" (1998), stated that "it is not an honor anymore to take part in he competition. He attributed the Netherlands' poor performance in the Eurovision Song Contest to the NOS and TROS's limited budgets, which did not allow established songwriters to present their songs in the best possible way, thereby making it unattractive to submit an entry.

The disappointing Eurovision results that the continued to produce in 2011 and 2012 culminated in the decision to internally select Anouk to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. With the entry "Birds", Anouk was the first Dutch representative to qualify for a Eurovision final since the . In subsequent years, the internal selection method led to the Netherlands placing second in the , and winning the . The format has not been used since.

Voting

In the 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1967 editions, the winning entry was chosen through postcard voting: the public could vote by sending a postcard with the title of their favourite song to a specified address, with the song that received the most postcards being declared the winner. From 1959 onwards, juries often had a role in determining the winner of the . Many editions had twelve regional juries, one for each province (and one for the Zuidelijke IJsselmeerpolders prior to becoming a separate province). Other editions had a single (international) professional jury or expert panel.

A notable voting method was used in 1975, when the audience in the Jaarbeurs was asked to put a rose in one of three vases corresponding to the three competing entries. The vase containing the most roses (the one of Teach-In) was declared the winner. Televoting was first introduced in the 1997 edition. Since then, the voting system of the has often been a combination of jury voting and televoting, largely resembling the voting system of the Eurovision Song Contest.

The voting in the 2010 edition led to much controversy, as it resulted in a tie which – according to the rules – had to be broken by composer Pierre Kartner. Kartner refused to choose between the two artists as he considered them to be "equally strong", and suggested to decide by flipping a coin instead. After much insistence from presenter Yolanthe Cabau, Kartner ultimately chose Sieneke as the winner of the competition.

Past editions

Special shows

Winners

Gallery

Eurovision Song Contest 1958 - Corry Brokken.png, Corry Brokken, winner in 1956, 1957 and 1958
Jacob Merkelbach, Afb B00000002401.jpg, Teddy Scholten, winner in 1959
Finale van het Nationaal Songfestival 1960 in Hilversum, Rudy Carrell, Bestanddeelnr 911-0172.jpg, Rudi Carrell, winner in 1960
Nationale Finale Song Festival in Concordia te Bussum. De spelbrekers 4+5, Joke van den Burg, Bestanddeelnr 913-5754.jpg, De Spelbrekers, winners in 1962
Finale Nationaal Songfestival 1965, Connie Vandenbos (zingend), Bestanddeelnr 917-4303.jpg, Conny Vandenbos, winner in 1965
Milly Scott (1966).jpg, Milly Scott, winner in 1966
Voorronde finale Nationaal Songfestival 1965, Ronnie Tober voor bord met liedjes, Bestanddeelnr 917-4142.jpg, Ronnie Tober, winner in 1968
Nationale finale van het Eurovisie Songfestival in Scheveningen, Lenny Kuhr zong, Bestanddeelnr 922-1416.jpg, Lenny Kuhr, winner in 1969
The Hearts of Soul , winnaars op Nederlandse finale Eurovisie Songfestival in De, Bestanddeelnr 923-2495.jpg, Hearts of Soul, winners in 1970
Popgroep Teach in van Schiphol naar Stockholm voor Eurovisie Songfestival, Bestanddeelnr 927-8106.jpg, Teach-In, winners in 1975
Sandra Reemer 1979.jpg, Sandra Reemer, winner in 1976
Songfestival Heddy Lester tijdens optreden, Bestanddeelnr 929-0089.jpg, Heddy Lester, winner in 1977
Vertrek groep Harmony van Schiphol, Bestanddeelnr 929-6769.jpg, Harmony, winners in 1978
Linda Williams 1.jpg, Linda Williams, winner in 1981
Nationaal Songfestival 1982 - Bill van Dijk 1.jpg, Bill van Dijk, winner in 1982
Winnares Bernadette, Bestanddeelnr 932-5104.jpg, Bernadette, winner in 1983
Maribelle.jpg, Maribelle, winner in 1984
Justine Pelmelay.jpg, Justine Pelmelay, winner in 1989
Wiekentkwis - Maywood 6.png, Maywood, winners in 1990
Humphrey Campbell 1984.jpg, Humphrey Campbell, winner in 1992
Edsilia Rombley - Persfoto 2 - Fotografie Nico Swartz (klein).jpg, Edsilia Rombley, winner in 1998
Marlayne Sahupala.jpg, Marlayne, winner in 1999
Linda-Wagenmakers-1622880981.jpg, Linda Wagenmakers, winner in 2000
Michelle courtens-1497889015.jpeg, Michelle, winner in 2001
Esther Hart 3.jpg, Esther Hart, winner in 2003
Persfoto Re-union 2004.jpg, Re-union, winners in 2004
Glennis Grace, 2019.png, Glennis Grace, winner in 2005
Treble in 2005.jpg, Treble, winners in 2006
Flickr - aktivioslo - Sieneke - Nederland.jpg, Sieneke, winner in 2010
Joan-franka-1336576347.jpg, Joan Franka, winner in 2012

Musical styles and artists

In the early years of the competition, entries used to be entirely in Dutch, even though the Eurovision rules did not dictate any language restrictions until 1966. The rule that a country's entries must be performed in one of its national languages was first abolished in 1973, which led to the 1974 en 1975 winners "" and "" being performed in English at the Eurovision Song Contest (as "I See a Star" and "Ding-a-dong"). In 1976, "The Party's Over" by Sandra Reemer was the first song in a language other than Dutch to win the .

The Eurovision Song Contest's language rule was reintroduced in 1977 and abolished once again in 1999, after which the majority of entries at each year's were performed in English. The 2000 edition marked the first time an entry in West Frisian, "" by Gina de Wit, was selected to take part in the competition. In 2003, the operatic pop entry "" by Arwin Kluft was the first to be fully in Italian. In 2006, the lyrics of the winning song " Amambanda" by Treble were partly in an imaginary language.

Throughout the years, the competition also diversified in terms of musical styles. In its early years, Dutch chansons and jazz songs dominated in the competition. Later, there was also room for more experimental entries, such as the rumba song "" by Milly Scott (1st, 1966). In the 1980s, the synth-pop genre gained popularity in the with entries such as "" (1st, 1987) and "Shangri-la" (1st, 1988), and by the late 1990s and the early 2000s, mid-to-uptempo dance-pop had become a successful genre in the competition. Entries in this genre included " No Goodbyes" by Linda Wagenmakers (1st, 2000), "So Much Love" by Ebonique (2nd, 2001), and " One More Night" by Esther Hart (1st, 2003). In the same period, the a cappella genre made its debut with the entries "" (3rd, 2001) and "Celeste" (5th, 2004).

While many established artists, such as Patricia Paay (1969), Bonnie St. Claire (1970, 1977, 1982), and Gordon (1990, 2003), have participated in the , the competition has also been a stage for new talent. Notable newcomers included Justine Pelmelay (1989), Marlayne (1999), Ben and Dean Saunders (2003), and Waylon (2005).

See also

*Dansk Melodi Grand Prix
* Liet International
* Melodi Grand Prix
*Melodifestivalen
*Sanremo Music Festival

References

External links

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{{Eurovision Song Contest

Dutch music television series
Eurovision Song Contest selection events
1956 Dutch television series debuts
Music festivals established in 1956