The
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
participated in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2015
The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...
with the song "Walk Along" written by
Tobias Karlsson and
Anouk Teeuwe
Anouk Schemmekes (, ; born 8 April 1975), professionally known by the mononym Anouk, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. After her 1997 breakthrough rock single '' Nobody's Wife'', she had hit records in the Dutch and Belgian charts. Many of her a ...
. The song was performed by
Trijntje Oosterhuis
Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis (; born 5 February 1973) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She formed the band Total Touch in 1990 with her brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis before she started as a solo singer. She represented the Netherlands i ...
, who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster
AVROTROS
AVROTROS () is a Dutch radio and television broadcaster that is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. It was founded in 2014 as the result of a merger between the Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) and the Televisie Radio Omroep St ...
to represent the Netherlands at the 2015 contest in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria. Songwriter Anouk Teeuwe represented
the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "
Birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
" where she placed ninth in the grand final of the competition. Trijntje Oosterhuis' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 10 November 2014, while the song, "Walk Along", was presented to the public on 11 December 2014.
The Netherlands was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 19 May 2015. Performing during the show in position 4, "Walk Along" was not announced among top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore did not qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that the Netherlands placed fourteenth out of the 16 participating countries in the semi-final with 33 points.
Background
Prior to the 2015 contest, the Netherlands had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-five times since their début as one of seven countries to take part in the inaugural contest in . Since then, the country has won the contest four times: in with the song "
Net als toen
"Net als toen" (; "Just like then") is a love song written in Dutch by Willy van Hemert, composed by Guus Jansen and performed by Corry Brokken in 1957 as the Netherlands' entry and runaway winner of the pan-European Eurovision Song Contest, whi ...
" performed by
Corry Brokken
Cornelia Maria "Corry" Brokken (3 December 1932 – 31 May 2016) was a Dutch singer, television presenter and jurist. In 1957, she won the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Net als toen", representing the Netherlands. ...
; in with the song "
'n Beetje
"n Beetje" (; "A little bit"), spelled in full as "Een beetje", is a song written in Dutch by Willy van Hemert, composed by Dick Schallies and performed by Teddy Scholten as the ' entry and winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 1959. The song ...
" performed by
Teddy Scholten
Dorothea Margaretha "Teddy" Scholten (née van Zwieteren; 11 May 1926 – 8 April 2010) was a Dutch singer and television presenter. She is known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1959 with the song "Een beetje", representing the Netherlands ...
; in as one of four countries to tie for first place with "
De troubadour
"De troubadour" ("The troubadour"), sung in Dutch by Lenny Kuhr representing the , was – together with "Boom Bang-a-Bang", "Un jour, un enfant", and "Vivo cantando" from, respectively, the , , and – one of the four winners of the Eurovision ...
" performed by
Lenny Kuhr
Helena Hubertina Johanna "Lenny" Kuhr (born 22 February 1950) is a Dutch singer-songwriter.
Career
In 1967, she started a singing career in the Netherlands, performing songs in the French chanson tradition. In 1969, she represented the Neth ...
; and in with "
Ding-a-dong
"Ding-a-dong" (original Dutch title: "Ding dinge dong", as it was introduced in the titles when broadcast) was the title of the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1975. It was sung by Teach-In, representing the , and was written by Di ...
" performed by the group
Teach-In
A teach-in is similar to a general educational forum on any complicated issue, usually an issue involving current political affairs. The main difference between a teach-in and a seminar is the refusal to limit the discussion to a specific time fr ...
. 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. The Netherlands has also received ''
nul points
The winner of the Eurovision Song Contest is selected by a positional voting system. The most recent system was implemented in the , and sees each participating country award two sets of 12, 10, 8–1 points to their ten favourite songs: one set fr ...
'' on two occasions; in and .
The Dutch national broadcaster,
AVROTROS
AVROTROS () is a Dutch radio and television broadcaster that is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. It was founded in 2014 as the result of a merger between the Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) and the Televisie Radio Omroep St ...
, 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
(; ) 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 Eu ...
'', 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
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
, the internal selection of
Anouk performing "
Birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
" 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
The Common Linnets are a Dutch band that was formed in 2013. The band originally consisted of friends Ilse DeLange and Waylon. DeLange has stated that the group is a platform for Dutch artists to make country, Americana, and bluegrass music, an ...
performing "
Calm After the Storm
"Calm After the Storm" is a song by Dutch country rock duo The Common Linnets ( Ilse DeLange and Waylon). It was chosen internally to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. In the contest it placed second with ...
" 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 2015, the broadcaster opted to continue selecting the Dutch entry through an internal selection.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
![Trijntje Oosterhuis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Trijntje_Oosterhuis.jpg)
Following
the Common Linnets
The Common Linnets are a Dutch band that was formed in 2013. The band originally consisted of friends Ilse DeLange and Waylon. DeLange has stated that the group is a platform for Dutch artists to make country, Americana, and bluegrass music, an ...
' second place in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
with the song "
Calm After the Storm
"Calm After the Storm" is a song by Dutch country rock duo The Common Linnets ( Ilse DeLange and Waylon). It was chosen internally to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Denmark. In the contest it placed second with ...
", the Dutch broadcaster revealed in August 2014 that they would continue to internally select both the artist and song for the Eurovision Song Contest, while later revealing in October 2014 that an announcement would be expected in November 2014 after several artists had already been in contact with the broadcaster in regards to participating. Artists that were rumoured in Dutch media to be in talks with AVROTROS included singers
Dotan and
Alain Clark
Alain Clark (born 4 June 1979) is a Dutch musician and producer.
Biography
Alain Clark (born 4 June 1979), is a Dutch singer, songwriter, and record producer. Alain's father is Dane Clark, a Dutch soul singer who had his own successful band ...
.
On 1 November 2014, Dutch media reported that AVROTROS had selected singer
Trijntje Oosterhuis
Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis (; born 5 February 1973) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She formed the band Total Touch in 1990 with her brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis before she started as a solo singer. She represented the Netherlands i ...
to represent the Netherlands at the 2015 contest, possibly as part of the group
Ladies of Soul
The Ladies of Soul is a Dutch supergroup that was founded by Candy Dulfer, Berget Lewis, Glennis Grace and Edsilia Rombley. Trijntje Oosterhuis, a former founding member, left in 2017 to focus on hesolo-career
History Origins
The Ladies of So ...
which also included former Dutch Eurovision entrants
Edsilia Rombley
Edsilia Francisca Rombley (born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show ''S ...
(
1998 and
2007) and
Glennis Grace
Glenda Hulita Elisabeth Batta (born 19 June 1978), known professionally as Glennis Grace, is a Dutch singer. In 2005, she represented the Netherlands in the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, and in 2018 she appeared on the 13th seas ...
(
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
).
Oosterhuis was confirmed as the Dutch entrant on 10 November 2014 during the
NPO Radio 2
NPO Radio 2 is a public-service radio station from the Netherlands, broadcasting in an adult hits format, focusing on music from the 1980s to the 2010s and current hits, however 1960s and 1970s hits may also air. It is part of the Netherlands ...
programme ''Gouden Uren'', hosted by
Daniël Dekker
Daniël Dekker (born Henk Bakhuizen on 8 April 1960 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch disc jockey and radio host. In 1980 Dekker began his radio career on Decibel Radio before working for 3FM and Radio 2.
Between 2010 and 2013 he was the Dutch commenta ...
. The selection of Trijntje Oosterhuis as the Dutch representative occurred through a selection commission consisting of television host and author
Cornald Maas
Cornald Maas is a Dutch television presenter who has been known for presenting talk shows in the Netherlands. He is the brother of Frans Maas.
Early career
He was an editor involved in ''The Scream of the Lion'' (VARA) with Paul de Leeuw, ''Son ...
, radio DJ Daniël Dekker and AVROTROS media-director Remco van Leen.
On 11 December 2014, Trijntje Oosterhuis' Eurovision entry, "Walk Along", was presented to the public during ''Gouden Uren'',
followed by a live performance of the song the following day during a broadcast of ''
The Voice of Holland
''The Voice of Holland'', also known as ''TVOH'', is a Dutch reality TV singing competition, that became a near global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol and musician Roel van Velzen, in the Netherlands airing on RTL 4.
...
'' on
RTL 4
RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment chan ...
where she also one of the coaches for the competition. The official video for the song was released on 13 March 2015. "Walk Along" was written by
Tobias Karlsson and
Anouk Teeuwe
Anouk Schemmekes (, ; born 8 April 1975), professionally known by the mononym Anouk, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. After her 1997 breakthrough rock single '' Nobody's Wife'', she had hit records in the Dutch and Belgian charts. Many of her a ...
, the latter of whom previously represented the Netherlands at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2013
The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EB ...
. Anouk revealed earlier during an interview on the Dutch talk show ''
College Tour A college tour, also called a campus tour, is a tour of a college or university's campus. Prospective students, their family members and other visitors take campus tours to learn about the college or university's facilities, as well as student life, ...
'' on 7 November 2014 that she had written Oosterhuis' Eurovision song, of which Oosterhuis described as an "incredible fresh song that people wouldn't expect from Anouk or her" during her 8 November interview on ''Gouden Uren''.
Promotion
In the lead up to the Eurovision Song Contest, Trijntje Oosterhuis' promotional activities occurred entirely within the Netherlands where she performed at live events, radio shows and talk shows. On 9 April, Oosterhuis performed during the ''Eurovision in Concert'' event which was held at the
Melkweg
Melkweg (Dutch for "Milky Way") is a popular music venue and cultural centre in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is located on Lijnbaansgracht, near Leidseplein, a prime nightlife square of Amsterdam. It is housed in a former dairy and is divided int ...
venue in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and hosted by
Cornald Maas
Cornald Maas is a Dutch television presenter who has been known for presenting talk shows in the Netherlands. He is the brother of Frans Maas.
Early career
He was an editor involved in ''The Scream of the Lion'' (VARA) with Paul de Leeuw, ''Son ...
and
Edsilia Rombley
Edsilia Francisca Rombley (born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show ''S ...
.
At Eurovision
![20150511 ESC 2015 Trijntje Oosterhuis 4347](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/20150511_ESC_2015_Trijntje_Oosterhuis_4347.jpg)
According to Eurovision rules, all nations with the exceptions of the host country and the "
Big Five" (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. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation. 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 ...
(EBU) split up the competing countries into five different pots based on voting patterns from previous contests, with countries with favourable voting histories put into the same pot. On 26 January 2015, 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 19 May 2015, and was scheduled to perform in the first half of the show.
Once all the competing songs for the 2015 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 4, following the entry from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
and before the entry from
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
.
The two semi-finals and the final were broadcast on
NPO 1
NPO 1 (''NPO een'', formerly Nederland 1 until 2014) is the first national television station in the Netherlands. It launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels NPO 2 and NPO 3. Severa ...
and
BVN
BVN (''Het beste van NPO'', "The best of NPO"), is a Dutch free-to-air television channel providing Dutch public-service television to viewers around the world.
It is a service of the public broadcasting company of the Netherlands, Nederlands ...
as well as via radio on
NPO Radio 2
NPO Radio 2 is a public-service radio station from the Netherlands, broadcasting in an adult hits format, focusing on music from the 1980s to the 2010s and current hits, however 1960s and 1970s hits may also air. It is part of the Netherlands ...
. All broadcasts featured commentary by
Cornald Maas
Cornald Maas is a Dutch television presenter who has been known for presenting talk shows in the Netherlands. He is the brother of Frans Maas.
Early career
He was an editor involved in ''The Scream of the Lion'' (VARA) with Paul de Leeuw, ''Son ...
and
Jan Smit. The Dutch spokesperson, who announced the Dutch votes during the final, was
1998 and
2007 Dutch Eurovision entrant Edsilia Rombley
Edsilia Francisca Rombley (born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show ''S ...
.
Semi-final
![20150518 ESC 2015 Trijntje Oosterhuis 1793](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/20150518_ESC_2015_Trijntje_Oosterhuis_1793.jpg)
Trijntje Oosterhuis took part in technical rehearsals on 11 and 15 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May.
This included the jury show on 18 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.
The Dutch performance featured Trijntje Oosterhuis performing together with four backing vocalists. During the first technical rehearsal, Oosterhuis wore a black dress with a revealing opened front designed by Prince Charming (Tycho Boeker), however it received considerable media coverage in the Netherlands sparking both positive and negative reactions from the Dutch press and public alike. In regards to the commentaries on her dress, the singer stated: "I've heard people are talking about it, but I find it strange and don't really understand it. I'm just not used to people talking about such things. I hope they will talk about the song again".
Oosterhuis would later opt to change her outfit to a black parachute-like pantsuit. The performance was opened with a zoomed-in view of the singer's eyes covered by a veil, which she tore off at the first chorus. The stage colours transitioned between white, blue, green and red with the LED screens displaying a walking shadow figure.
The four backing vocalists that joined Trijntje Oosterhuis were: Patt Riley, Michelle Oudeman, Lesley van der Aa and Jenny Lane. The staging director for the performance was Hans Pannecoucke, who also worked with the Dutch entrant in 2014 in a similar role.
At the end of the show, the Netherlands was not announced among the top 10 entries in the first semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that the Netherlands placed fourteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 33 points.
Voting
Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent, with their names published before the contest to ensure transparency. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could 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 were released shortly after the grand final.
Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that the Netherlands had placed fifteenth with the public televote and fifth with the jury vote in the first semi-final. In the public vote, the Netherlands scored 23 points, while with the jury vote, the Netherlands scored 70 points.
Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the Netherlands and awarded by the Netherlands in the first semi-final and grand final of the contest, and the breakdown of the jury voting and televoting conducted during the two shows:
Points awarded to the Netherlands
Points awarded by the Netherlands
Detailed voting results
The following members comprised the Dutch jury:
* (jury chairperson)singer, musical actress
* media professional
* creative director
* radio DJ, host
*
Dominique Rijpma van Hulst (Do)singer
References
{{Eurovision Song Contest 2015
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...