Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Walk Along" written by Anouk Teeuwe and Tobias Karlsson. The song was performed by Trijntje Oosterhuis, who was selected by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS in November 2014 to represent the Netherlands at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. "Walk Along" was written by 2013 Contest entrant Anouk who also first revealed that Oosterhuis had been selected to represent the Netherlands while being interviewed for the Dutch talkshow College Tour. Following confirmation from the Dutch broadcaster that Trijntje Oosterhuis had been selected to represent the Netherlands, the song "Walk Along" was revealed to public in December 2014. In the first of the Eurovision semi-finals, the Netherlands failed to qualify to the final, placing fourteenth out of the 16 participating countries with 33 points.

Eurovision Song Contest 2015
Country Netherlands
National selection
Selection processInternal Selection
Selection date(s)Artist: 10 November 2014
Song: 11 December 2014
Selected entrantTrijntje Oosterhuis
Selected song"Walk Along"
Selected songwriter(s)
Finals performance
Semi-final resultFailed to qualify
(14th, 33 points)
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2014 • 2015 • 2016►

Background
Main article: Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest

Prior to the 2015 Contest, the Netherlands had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest fifty-five times since their debut 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 2011 Contest.[6] The Netherlands has also received nul points on two occasions; in 1962 and 1963.[7]

The Dutch broadcaster for the 2015 Contest, who broadcasts the event in the Netherlands and organises the selection process for its entry, was AVROTROS.[8] 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. 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 2015, the broadcaster opted to continue selecting the Dutch entry through an internal selection.[9]

Before Eurovision

Internal selection

In August 2014, several rumours regarding the Dutch entrant for the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest began circulating in the media. Alain Clark and Dotan each received coverage regarding their apparent bids to succeed The Common Linnets as the representatives for the Netherlands.[10][11] In October 2014, AVROTROS confirmed that negotiations for the contest were ongoing with several potential artists and that an announcement could be expected in November.[12][13] In early November 2014, Dutch media began reporting that Trijntje Oosterhuis was also under consideration by the broadcaster in a potential bid with her group Ladies of Soul, which also featured former Dutch Eurovision contestants Edsilia Rombley (1998, 2007) and Glennis Grace (2005).[14] However, on 7 November 2014, 2013 Dutch entrant Anouk appeared in the Dutch talkshow College Tour and revealed during her interview that Oosterhuis would represent the Netherlands with a song written by Anouk herself.[15] Together with Anouk's announcement and an anonymous tip received by the largest news agency in the Netherlands, Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP), Dutch media began reporting that Trijntje Oosterhuis had been selected to represent the nation.[16][17] On 10 November 2014, AVROTROS confirmed Oosterhuis as the Dutch artist for the 2015 contest.[18]

The Dutch entry, "Walk Along" premiered on 11 December 2014 during the NPO Radio 2 show Gouden Uren, hosted by Daniël Dekker.[19][20] The radio program also featured Trijntje Oosterhuis as a guest where she was interviewed about the song and her participation in the contest.[20] Following the radio presentation, Oosterhuis performed the song live on 12 December 2014 during a broadcast of The Voice of Holland on RTL 4, where Oosterhuis was also serving as one of the coaches for the competition.[21][22]

At Eurovision
Trijntje Oosterhuis 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. In the 2015 contest, Australia also competed directly in the final as an invited guest nation.[23] The European Broadcasting Union (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.[24] 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.[25]

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 and before the entry from Finland.[26]

All three shows were televised on NPO 1, BVN and NPO Radio 2, with commentary by Cornald Maas and Jan Smit.[27][28] The Dutch spokesperson, who announced the Dutch votes during the final, was previous 1998 and 2007 contest entrant Edsilia Rombley.[29]

Semi-final
Trijntje Oosterhuis at a dress rehearsal for the first semi-final

Trijntje Oosterhuis took part in technical rehearsals on 11 and 15 May,[30][31] followed by dress rehearsals on 18 and 19 May. This included the jury final where professional juries of each country, responsible for 50 percent of each country's vote, watched and voted on the competing entries.[32] During the Netherlands' first technical rehearsal on 11 May, Oosterhuis revealed her stage outfit which was a black dress with a revealing opened front designed by Prince Charming (Tycho Boeker).[30] The dress received considerable media coverage in the Netherlands, sparking both positive and negative reactions from the Dutch press and public alike.[33][34] In regards to the commentaries on her dress, Oosterhuis 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".[31] Oosterhuis, dismayed with the reactions, opted to change her outfit prior to the semi-final performance.[35][36]

The stage show featured Trijntje Oosterhuis dressed in a black parachute-like pantsuit. The performance was simplistic and captured with a single camera focusing on Oosterhuis. The performance began with a zoomed-in view of Trijntje's eyes covered by a veil, with the camera pulling away at the first chorus as Trijntje tears the veil off her face. The background LED screens displayed a walking shadow figure with colours that transitioned between white, blue, green and red.[30][31] On stage, Oosterhuis was joined by four backing vocalists: Patt Riley, Michelle Oudeman, Lesley van der Aa and Jenny Lane.[37]

At the end of the show, the Netherlands failed to qualify to the final and was not announced among the top ten nations.[38] It was later revealed that the Netherlands had placed fourteenth, receiving a total of 33 points.[39]

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.[40]

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.[41]

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:[39][42][43][44]

Points awarded to the Netherlands
Points awarded to the Netherlands (Semi-final 1)
12 points 10 points 8 points 7 points 6 points
5 points 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by the Netherlands
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