Netherlands 2008

A Little Bit of History...

Last year the original Ducth Broadcasters who played Eurovision threw the towel in, but another broadcaster was keen to take their place, so fortunately, we have a dutch entry this year. The Netherlands haven't been doing well of late: the furthest back I can remember is 1999, when they entered the contest as hot favourites but finished in just 8th place. In 2000 they had another great song, but could only manage 13th, in 2001 got 18th and were relegated from 2002, returned in 2003 with one of the best songs and performances of the contest, but still only managed 13^th place. 2004 saw them in the Semi-Final, where they performed last and managed to qualify comfortably. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be and with an early draw finished with a tenth of the points they qualified with. In 2005, it seemed the only way was up, and they were one of the pre-contest favourites – the ‘dead-cert qualifier’ according to most. Glennis Grace gave an amazing performance, with a beautiful song, but again, it just wasn’t the Netherlands year because finishing 15^th place simply isn’t enough to make it through to Final. So yet again, the Netherlands were stuck in the Semi-Final, and their hopes couldn't have rested with a worser fate. There was no chance Treble were going to do well with 'Amambanda', and they didn't. Edsilia Rombley returned in 2007, but it still wasn't to be and the Netherlands had to settle for 21st place - most undeservedly I might add.

Singer & Song

Hind Your Heart Belongs To Me

After years of extremely disappointing results, the original broadcaster gave up on Eurovision and passed it onto another Dutch counterpart. This year however, they chose a similar structure to their selection as last year, selecting an established artist, Hind, and letting them choose their own song. This year I think the Netherlands have seriously done themselves a favour, and could be one of the few to benefit from the new rules. There is a huge Turkish diaspora in western Europe, particularly in Germany and Belgium (hence always giving 12 to Turkey), so without Turkey in the running in the first semi, what better a way to pick up votes than by sending a very good, very Turkish sounding song?! Hind gives a strong vocal performance of a strong song, and if there’s any justice in this years Eurovision whatsoever, the Netherlands should pick up enough points to pass through their Semi-Final.

Prediction

Semi-Final:

Grand Final:

An initial prediction will appear here soon.

Prediction after Semi-Finals

A prediction will appear here when all 25 songs in the Grand Final are known.