Dutch Eurovision commentator Cornald Maas visited Dutch talk show Tijd voor MAX earlier today and revealed a few small details about the selection process for Eurovision 2019.
While appearing on the show to promote his book “Ach kind toch”, Maas confirmed that nothing has been decided yet for the country’s selection regarding Eurovision 2019.
He said that the song is the most important aspect of the entry and therefore it has to be good. Interestingly, he stated that this year the selection committee is not only looking for artists. They are also looking into the idea of choosing a song first and an artist second.
That would be a revolutionary step for the broadcaster. Since AVROTROS started selecting acts internally with Anouk in 2013, they have given the artists significant artistic freedom to choose whichever song they want.
Maas previously commented that this artistic freedom led to originality and was part of the country’s successes in 2013 and 2014.
The downside of this artistic freedom, however, is that the broadcaster has little control over the entry. An insider commented last year that AVROTROS wanted to regain more control over the entry as OG3NE had reportedly cancelled a session with songwriters from Sweden. Others have whispered to us in the past that Trijntje Oosterhuis refused to take much advice with regards to her stage performance.
Artistic freedom at the 2018 song contest didn’t go down so well for The Netherlands either. Cornald Maas revealed just after the release of Waylon’s song “Outlaw In ‘Em” that it wasn’t his favourite song of those Waylon had proposed to send to Eurovision.
Of course, it was Waylon who had full artistic control and chose the country song — and questionable staging — that he performed in Lisbon.
Meanwhile, celebrity gossip programme RTL Boulevard has asked several artists if they are willing to take part in Eurovision.
Swing singer Caro Emerald revealed a few days ago that she would be interested in discussing Eurovision if AVROTROS were to call her. During Tijd voor MAX, Cornald Maas stated that they have not spoken with her yet, but that they might be interested in calling her for a conversation. So, who knows?
Who do you want to see flying the Dutch flag in Tel Aviv? Let us know in the comments below!
Yes, they are right. Giving so much freedom isn’t always a good idea.. what do i mean? We’ve seen Trintje picking a catchy song that did not suit her voice and persona plus the staging was very dark and inappropriate. The results are known. The girl band in 2017 chose a personal song that their father wrote which was a mistake. This is Eurovision so you should pick something that will stand out. Waylon’s song didn’t get support from the public and the performance was ambiguous. He should’ve gone the Calm After the Storm way and sing something ‘calmer’. I… Read more »
O’G3NE came 11th out of 42 competing acts in 2017. I wouldn’t exactly call the choices that led to that result a mistake. Even if the song didn’t stand out to you it clearly stood out to other people
There is ofcourso not a proper answer to this. One year the artistic freedom works out well, (Portugal 2017) and sometimes it does not. Caro Emerald is interesting indeed!
Dumb approach. Build the song around the artist not the other way round.
“Artistic freedom at the 2018 snog contest”, wow Eurovision has really changed
Caro Emerald in Eurovision would be a dream come true!
I think an artist first song second scenario would work out better and would create a more original product. I love the idea of caro emerald representing us though! We should do what germany does every year and hold ” a song for caro” song selection.
Caro Emerald? “A Night Like This”, right? Amazing song! She has my yes to go to Eurovision 😀
A national final with invited artists could be the way to go. They just have to be deliberate and not fall into their old traps.
So despite the success of the current system of allowing the artist to pick which song they want to sing at Eurovision (they’ve qualified for the final every year since 2013 except for in 2015) AVROTOS wants to change the format. I’m looking forward to the Netherlands sending an artist in 2019 singing a generic song they have no connection to whatsoever , I’m sure they’ll be so successful
Little bit of a typo… “2018 snog contest”… typo is pretty obvious there! xD
Interesting article though!
Baaahaha! Maybe a lot of action was happening in the background this year! The beach atmosphere itself is an aphrodisiac of sorts
caro had her chance years ago but ofc now that she’s irrelevant she suddenly wants to go.
If you think Caro Emerald is irrelevant, you hafe no idea what you are talking about.
caro had her chance years ago but ofcourse now that she’s pretty much irrelevant she suddenly wants to go.
I believe in freedom. Great things can happen if you choose the right artist who is able to handle that freedom. An artist who knows his sh*t. Trijntje was a vocalist who knew nothing besides her formidable singing. It’s not rocket science. I agree that OG3NE should have taken some songwriting advice but I ended up loving them so much and they did qualify, so… it’s all relative.