Nationaal Songfestival 2010, the Dutch national final to determine the country's representative at this year's Eurovision Song Contest, is about to begin. Five acts will compete for the Dutch ticket to Oslo.
The song representing the Netherlands in Oslo is already known: Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie), written by Pierre Kartner. Tonight's five Eurovision hopefuls, who have all been coached by well-known Dutch singers, will present their own, individual versions of this song and the winner will be decided by 20% audience voting, and 80 % jury voting. The jury is consisting of Radio DJ Daniël Dekker, singer and actress Tatjana Simic, singer George Baker, and three times Eurovision winner Johnny Logan, whose votes will each have an impact of 20%.
How to watch?
A webcast is available at the official website here. After the show, the press conference with the winning artist will be streamed there as well.
Participants
- Sieneke (coached by Marianne Weber)
- Vinzzent (coached by Grad Damen)
- Marlous (coached by Corry Konings)
- Peggy Mays (coached by Albert West)
- Loekz (coached by Frans Bauer)
LIVE
The show has just started.
Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen, tonight's host, welcomes the audience and elaborates on the procedures of tonight's show and introduces the coaches of tonight's five Eurovision hopefuls.
Now, a video clip is being shown with the five participants talking about themselves and their participation in the Nationaal Songfestival.
After the introduction of the participants themselves, the jury, who will have an impact of 80% of the outcome, is being introduced and the composer Pierre Kartner talks about his expectations of tonight's show.
1. Sieneke
17 year-old Sieneke, coached by Marianne Weber, is the youngest of the particpants and the first one to take over the stage. The beginning of Sieneke's version of Ik ben verliefd sounds like being lost somewhere in an amusment park. As the song emerges, it sounds a bit like swing and Sieneke seems like the right singer to perform such a happy-go-lucky song. Her vocals are faultless, however, one might hope that this arrangement won't be the best of tonight's versions.
2. Vinzzent
Vinzzent, the only male particpant, is the next to perform. His version of Ik ben verliefd features some light Reggae and Latin elements. It is very questionable if he is the right performer for this kind of song and if he stands a chance against the others, who are all young female singers. However, he looked really comfortable on stage and his performance was not too bad.
3. Loekz
The girlband Loekz, coached by Frans Bauer, comes with a very oriental version of Ik ben verliefd. The sound and the optics do not match at all here, with Loekz' colourful and very weird styling one can only guess what their intentions for this performance might have been. The arrangement might have aimed at pleasing certain Eastern countries, thus this approach seems like trying to make the song something it simply isn't.
4. Peggy Mays
Peggy Mays, coached by Albert West, is the second last participant. She is performing in a blue evening dress and has a background choir at her disposal. Her interpretation of Ik ben verliefd is a bit slower than the other participants' versions and more melodic. Vocally a solid performance but the singer herself might be a bit too low key.
5. Marlous
Marlous, coached by Corry Konings, is the last of the Dutch Eurovision hopefuls. The arrangement of her version will be probably be considered to be the best one, as it is very dancable with a nice beat. Marlous herself looks like she ready to hit the beach and is probably the best choice to perform these kind of Schlager songs. Both her looks and voice are a bit reminiscent to Smurfette, which might also be quite suitable, considering the composer's background. All in all, a favourite for the ticket to Oslo.
A recap of all performances is being shown, making the decision easier for the judges and the audience in the hall. Johnny Logan performs his 1980 winning song What's another year. He even forgot the lyrics despite performing the song for 30 years now…
The votes are being cast. Sieneke and Loeks both get two points from the jury but the vote sof the audience goes to Vinzzent. Therefore it is up to Pierre Kartner to choose the winner. He first refuses to choose the winner but then goes for Sieneke.
