The proverbial Dutch mills have been replaced by rumor mills, apparently. Ahead of the official announcement on 25 November regarding the participation in Eurovision 2014, the Netherlands is abuzz with all sorts of conflicting reports. We’ll break them down for you.

(See updates at the bottom of the article for the latest reports.)

Firstly, Ilse DeLange, the most likely candidate so far, has been interviewed by RTL over the weekend and she acted all coy and mysterious. When asked whether she would like to represent the Netherlands, she stated:

A few years ago, I would have definitely declined, but that’s no longer the case. I really feel that my colleague Anouk has been very good and I think otherwise now. However, I can’t say anything [about next year], boys.

She’s not exactly tight-lipped, is she? “I can’t say anything” is good enough for us! It’s basically a “Yes”, isn’t it?  Here she is performing “I’ll Know”, one of her new songs, during the same show:

Could THIS be the song? If you ask us, it’s not very likely. This ballad doesn’t sound Eurovision-y at all, although it does showcase Ilse’s flawless vocals.

Meanwhile, a new name has been thrown in the rumor mix: Waylon, with many Dutch sources, including Eurovision in Concert, dropping it on Twitter. The 33-year old “Holland Has Talent” finalist whose real name is Willem Bijkerk is not new to the race for Eurovision. Waylon took part in the 2005 national selection Nationaal Songfestival, performing the song “Leven Als Een Beest” together with Rachel:

A collaboration with Ilse DeLange would make perfect sense. Waylon is also a country singer (he took the pseudonym after his idol, country music legend Waylon Jennings), the two are signed to the same entertainment company, and they performed together before, covering the Lady Antebellum hit “I Need You Now” during an Amsterdam concert last year:

It is unclear whether the two will perform together or if there is only a songwriter/singer type of collaboration. (Or, indeed, if any of them will represent the Netherlands next year.)

Moreover, Cornald Maas, who has been selected as the Eurovision commentator for the Dutch television, has tweeted that the Netherlands participation “is not exactly what people say or think”. He added the interjection “Holadijee”, which is an old Dutch expression of joy, but also, because of the “dijee” part of it, has made pundits speculate that it could be a DJ. It’s a long stretch indeed – what with Armin van Buuren declining the invitation and the likes of Afrojack and Tiësto not showing any interest for Eurovision – but you never know!

So there you have it, folks. Up to this point, it’s either Ilse DeLange, Waylon, both, a DJ, all or none of the above. We can’t wait for the official announcement that the Dutch broadcaster TROS is making on 25 November regarding their internal selection. Until then, let the speculations continue!

UPDATE: It could be all of the above, apparently! Dutch Eurovision blog Songfestivalweblog.nl tweeted tonight that, according to a report by RTL Boulevard, the entry song, which is written by Ilse DeLange and produced by Armin van Buuren, will be performed by Waylon. Either the Dutch can’t keep a secret to save their lives, or it’s another rumor – but how exciting would it be to have Armin van Buuren back into the project, right?

UPDATE 2: On 13 November, Armin van Buuren denied the RTL Boulevard report on his Facebook page, saying, “I just read that I would produce the entry for the [Eurovision] contest and I want to let you know that this is not the case.” However, the respective message has since been deleted. The plot thickens…

UPDATE 3: As of 18 November, it is widely believed that it will be a three-artist entry. However, beside Waylon (who has not denied the rumors but is all but certain to be one of the artists) and Ilse DeLange, two more names have been thrown in the mix: DJ Sander Kleinenberg, who has been collaborating with Ilse recently, and Daniël Lohues, a composer and pianist.

Bogdan Honciuc is a Romania-based correspondent for WiwiBloggs.com. You can follow him on Twitter @stingovision.

Photo: Jens van der Velde, www.waylonmusic.com

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Rogesc
Rogesc
10 years ago

Ahw that’s a shame, Armin officially won’t produce the song for The Netherlands this year

JoyceS
JoyceS
10 years ago

Glorious failed because nathalie sang out of tune, her voice came up very bad live on tv that night!
I think that the netherlands finally are doing something good…Anouk made that difference…and I think the netherlands are on the good way finally!

Nick P.
10 years ago

The combination of soul (Waylon), country (DeLange), and DJ (van Buuren) make it seem like they’re going for “Wake Me Up!” v2.0. It’s an interesting prospect but look at what happened to “Glorious” being only slightly similar to “Euphoria.” And Avicii’s song was an even bigger hit than Loreen’s, so it might just come off looking like a big piggyback. That is, if they can’t do it subtly enough. But if they can, we should all start preparing for Amsterdam 2015, because with Armin’s popularity, this song could blow UP. Or this could totally be untrue and the Netherlands could… Read more »

Rogesc
Rogesc
10 years ago

According to the latest news it’s going to be Waylon with a song written by Ilse De Lange and produced by Armin van Buuren !!!

Mike
Mike
10 years ago

What the Dutch problem is (and also of France and United Kingdom but they always qualify automatically) is that they are looking for a good performer and a song which fits that performer. But most eurovision fans don’t vote for singers, instead they vote for songs. If the Dutch will look for an jury with real ESC fans and not famous Dutch people and go for an open selection my country will finish better then last ten years!

Antekanicz
Antekanicz
10 years ago

Shirma Rouse is totally out of anyone’s heads then I take it. A real pity, would be an amazing performance. Also a great message for PoC and people of size.