A few months of waiting and a few teasers later, Dutch Eurovision 2023 hopefuls Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper are now releasing their song contest entry. Titled “Burning Daylight”, the song tells the story of falling down and standing up. Most of the Dutch public will be able to follow the first spin of their song during the NPO1 talk show Khalid & Sophie at 19:15 CET. At the same time, Eurovision fans abroad will be able to hear the song for the first time on the official Eurovision channel.
Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper – “Burning Daylight”
“Burning Daylight” was written by Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper as well as Eurovision 2019 winner Duncan Laurence and his fiancé Jordan Garfield.
Following the premiere, AVROTROS will broadcast a mini documentary detailing the creation of the track.
Netherlands at Eurovision 2023
After an open internal selection, Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced unknown singers Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper as the hopefuls for the Netherlands in Liverpool.
Dion Cooper is a former The Voice of Holland participant, who befriended “Arcade” singer Duncan Laurence in the Amsterdam music scene. Meanwhile Mia Nicolai, a singer-songwriter based in the United States, met Duncan’s fiancé Jordan during a writing session.
After hearing their voices together, Duncan Laurence decided that the two singers, who had never performed together publicly, should record a duet on the song “Burning Daylight”, which they had already written.
It will be the first time since 2019 that the Netherlands is sending a completely unknown name to the contest. While Dion has some experience in performing, previously being an opening act for Duncan, Mia is still relatively new to game. In a recent interview in AD, she explained that she has only performed about twenty times, with no audience bigger than 250 people.
What do you think about the chances of the Netherlands at Eurovision 2023? Do you think Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper will reach the final with “Burning Daylight”? Let us know in the comments down below!
I really believe we have to go start a Melodienfestival as in Sweden. And not with only Dutch Slager songs and songs of friends from a winner from the past. Also we must combine the songs with our famous DJs and judged by old people who know the origin of the contest and youngsters until 29
I am dutch and I think the Netherlands has reached the point to introduce a national final again. But only if we do it like Norway, Sweden and Finland. Because selecting a song internally is not going to cut it anymore. It will become a wild guess without juries in the semi. And the fans and viewers are in the end the people who will vote for you.
I don’t understand what’s going on on wiwi bloggs, it used to be a warm place for people who love music and eurovision but it’s full of disrespect, hate and negativity now. It’s okay not to like a song, but each song carries the soul of an artist and deserves nothing but respect. ? Harsh criticism might hurt someone.
so far this is the only ESC 2023 song that’s on my playlist, love it ??
This will for sure qualify. Semi 1 is very competitive, but also very loud. This will stand out.
Staging is really gonna make it or break it with this one. If they can recreate the magic from 2014, I could see this finish top 5 in the GF. If not, bottom 5.
Not for me. I won’t be pulling my phone for it. It doesn’t feel fresh or novel and although it could be elevated with staging, I wouldn’t add it to my playlist to hear it.
The Netherlands 5,5/12 very average, last year S10 was so much better
You are right. Still don’t understand why she didn’t sing the song before and after her Dutch performance.
This song passes by like a nice breeze on a summer day. I am sure it will be better live, than the studio version. Good entry..
It’s so many bad song in ESC this year so far. The song is ok, but i have herd this before a lots of time
This song is growing on me. I sense that this will be good live.
I am now convinced it’s not good at all to develop expectations. This case is a good example of what I mean.
Duncan Lawrence knows what it takes for a song to win ESC. So it’s surprising that this is what he created for ESC. It’s no where even close to having a positive impact. I couldn’t make it through the song on first listen. There’s not much to the song.
When God Created Duncan Laurence, She was in a Good Mood!
Rotterdam: Eurovision is Coming Home in 2024
this song has the ghost of arcade inside – solid duet but not (p.e.) on that 2015 level from norway & estonia.
de diepte from last year was a lot better and also touching at once.
on stage this song could be a grower – we will see then.
De Diepte was a masterpiece, no cap
A masterpiece that deserved a better result.
you are so right
This is just boring and seen already
bland , boring and nothing that we haven’t heard a hundred times before .
It is cute song. And for now just that. But I like it. We’ll see if it will grow on me with time.
This is well produced, radio-friendly song. There are lots of concerns tho – will they be able to stage this well? Will they be able to perform this vocally live, to be on par with the track? And even if they do, it might not be enough.
If this was in the semi 2, I would say they have decent chances to go through. In Semi 1 I think this is currently NQ.
The Netherlands is in danger, especially it’s in the 2nd half of the 1st semifinal, where all the good songs are. If it’ll be packed between Finland and Sweden in the running order, we can consider The Netherlands out. The song is too flat…
If you remember 2019 then you may remember the 2nd semi there being a stronger one too. The second half of the second semi of 2019 was packed with strong entries like the Netherlands, Russia, Azerbaijan, Norway AND Malta, all of which were tipped to do well, all of those qualified, but not only that… People thought Albania and North Macedonia would flop as a result of them being sandwiched in between good songs, but they qualified still. Case and point, Lithuania qualifying in 2018 whilst being sandwiched between Toy and Lie To Me, and that song was a total… Read more »
Those songs also had jury support to carry them through. With no juries I think they will struggle
Albania, North Macedonia and Lithuania that Vivian mentionned were all televote qualifiers though.
but Lithuanian didn’t qualify in 2019 because it ranked low in the Juries.
She was talking about Lithuania 2018
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You are so right. Don’t know if its allowed. But they have to change the compilation. In the beginning its to long to slow without any special moments. And the song is really dying / falling a sleep at the end.Think we don’t reach the final.
De Diepte was my big favourite last year. Unfortunately Burning Daylight is very harmless and forgettable.
Anyway good luck to the Netherlands!
we need it
Very nice, I hope we hear them in the finals.
Off topic, but “Boys and Perfume” was really great; thanks for the tip! (I actually have a GusGus album from Hafdis’ tenure with the band, but I’m not sure she figured much on the records)
Meh…
It’s not bad, but it didn’t quite insta-strike me like De Diepte did last year
A good quality song, but Netherlands seem kinda scared to leave their comfort zone and are trying so hard to replicate Arcade instead of bringing something new to the ESC stage (De Diepte is still my favorite Dutch entry of all time tho)
I see this qualifying with a decent staging, a song like this is too good to be eliminated in semifinals
But, unfortunately, no ambitions for a strong grand final result
it’s an ok song, very nice video. I’m worried.
The video gave me anxiety. So much anger.
And it didn’t fit the song’s vibe too
I think they wouldn’t have anything to worry about if the juries were still there. But that’s not the case this time around so I think a lot of their luck is really going to depend now on staging choices, their live vocals, and most importantly their chemistry together onstage. The song isn’t going to be enough. They need more.
The thing I like most about the video is that Mia reminds me of Julie Andrews as Maria in The Sound of Music.
Perhaps it’s because the Netherlands has been serving such quality year on year in recent past, I expected slightly more from this entry. That seems unfair to say though, because it’s a decent enough song with good vocals and a decent production put into the music video. It does strike me that there’s a discord between the promotional photos, which very much made Mia and Dion look like duet, and the music video, in which they hardly connect at all. The song, lyrics, story, and the video make me wonder how this will work on stage as a duet and… Read more »
Love
I liked the song but I spent most of the time thinking “How can they stage this in a way the grabs the audience and still holds onto the song’s power?” Because the power is in the quiet. The performance bit at the end of the video illustrate how hard that is going to be.
There’s a teaser of the Israeli song. Not impressed sorry
Link? Context? Meaning? (Please.)
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1418043052267459?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V
The Netherlands are on a good run of tugging my heartstrings, but at least right now I find the ending of this song unconvincing and unsatisfying.
It’s definitely not bad, but it feels like the Dutch selection committee can’t get over the 2019 Duncan Laurence formula. 2019, 2020, (2021 was different bc they’d already selected Jeangu so they just let him write a new song) 2022, and now 2023 are all slow, “emotional” ballads. I just wish The Netherlands would send something more uptempo, preferably in Dutch. Maybe it’s time to revive their national selection (Nationaal Songfestival) and let the Dutch public decide
Do we really want another Sieneke or Joan Franka?
The Dutch music industry today is way better than it was in 2010 or 2012
Infinitely better! Or one of these young artists singing in Dutch now… Froukje, Meau, Flemming. Or Goldband at Eurovision, wouldn’t that be a sight? But I fear a Dutch song can’t be a winner. So maybe best to go English. Davina Michelle’s name is like dropped every year. Blanks? Son Mieux! If only Europe knew how much good artists we have. But none of those would be willing to go to Eurovision I guess.
Goldband gebruikt drugs on stage, die gaan ze terecht nooit meer vragen
Exactly my thoughts, we should really send a song in Dutch again!!
Headdress aside, I really liked Joan Franka and her cute song. I wish people appreciated her a little more.
Nah more something like goldband
Joan Franka was underrated, and the Dutch music scene is completely a different thing nowadays compared to 10 years ago. Now they have guys like Flemming or Maan doing nice tracks in Dutch
This is one of the best songs so far. It didn’t deliver what some of the escfans expected. Sometimes it’s better not to have too much expectations so you can get blown away by pure quality! Well done!
This is stunning.
Dion looks exactly like someone from my neighborhood (with shorter hair) and it freaks me out!
The song is great btw.
This gives me major Taylor Swift song arrangement and melody vibes. The melody was impactful and memorable on first listen and I loved the lyrics and vibe of the song. I’m honestly a little surprised I see so many “forgettable”, “boring”, “mid”, and “basic” comments.
I think the song is nice . A bit boring , but not too much. It would definately qualify from SF2 together with Australia, but it’s a back luck them being in SF1.
Anyway, good luck to it!
Is this a performance canvas? Or is just a forgettable song?
I actually think we are not going to qualify this year due to the only televote in the semis. We never get many televotes, even last year when so many people seemed to like S10 it still flopped. And now with also an average song and a hard semi final we will never get enough televotes. I don’t see it happening
well, a lot of countries in the final last year got pretty low televote points because everyone was super voting on ukraine
Waylon was the only Dutch entry who wouldn’t have qualified with only televote; the other ones scored enough televotes. So it’s not that it’s impossible beacuse the Netherlands “never” gets many televotes.
I really enjoyed listening to this song and watching the music video. The only problem is that I almost instantly forgot it.
Amazing song, amazing artists, great video, but unfortunately just very forgettable. 🙁
It has this addictive play-it-on-repeat nature that for me ‘Calm After The Storm’ had. Lots of London Grammar in it as well.
Sorry Calm After The Storm was way better than this song.
Sorry Calm After The Storm was perceived as a magnificent song until áfter the Grand Final in Copenhagen. Before all rehearsals I heard a lot “Sorry ‘Rock ‘n Roll Kids’ was way better than this sleepy boring country tune” :-).
That’s true!! I will most likely put it on my playlist later on and enjoy it like that just as I enjoy Oceanside (belgium nf 2023) and Grow (NL 2020).
But the problem with eurovision is that you can’t put the song on repeat douring a live show.
True. Hence staging will be the make or break moment. Eurovision is all about emoting. Even more so with televoters. Let’s see.
Calm after the storm was organic and authentic which is why it did so well. Burning daylight is following a formula that has had success and even worse, there is a little conceit to it as well. Same could be said in comparing Euphoria to Tattoo
To me ‘Tattoo’ feels much more like a natural evolution of ‘Euphoria’ than ‘Burning Daylights’ fels like a natural evolution of ‘Arcade’. First of all the Dutch entry this year is way more London Grammar-esque mellow than the more Chris Martin-esque ‘Arcade. I personally think the ‘conceited veil’ started after the failed promo-campaign. But even more so, NO one was mentioning the artistry, purity and authenticity of ‘Calm After The Storm’ shortly after its release. No one. It was the very first rehearsal and suddenly so many came aboard. I remember that later Ilse also felt slightly offended when they… Read more »
I’m kind of disappointed with this. I was expecting a more radio-friendly song like Duncan Laurence’s Someone Else or anything from his debut album. It’s not in it to win it, that’s for sure. Compared to last year’s Dutch entry it’s really worse.
Sorry the Netherlands, this a Trijntje kind of year rather than an Anouk one.
Well was this worth the wait!!!. I actually feel this video performances were a bit pretentious. I wanted to like the song but im sorry to say i don’t. Someone said previously boring and it is. However it could still qualify based on the poor showing and standard of other countries at the moment. I have my favourite’s this year but i must say 2023 really is turning out to be a poor year. I’m really hoping the remaining 15 songs still to come surprise me.
Hello everyone. I am the only one on this one: I love the song . Having heard Mia & Dion talking about their issues in becoming a successful musician, but also about being stuck in certain career objectives that doesn’t result in….anything……relates to my own troublesome career thus far (as I type this, I had a pretty intense session today with my career coach). Maybe it’s me, but the (Dutch) lyrics for De Diepte felt inconsistent to me. Was it a love song? Or about dreams that are not becoming reality? Someone who’s sheltering below a table…but for what? Burning… Read more »
I actually quite like it, good craftmanship! I think the juries probably will like this more than the public.
There are no jury, only televote in the semis
Ilse DeLange did such a great job, finishing #2 with The Common Linnetts in 2014 and being part of Duncan Laurence’s winning team in 2019. I would like to see her back helping choose The Netherlands’ Eurovision song in the near future. From 2020-2023, The Dutch have put up quality songs, but you can’t imagine them having a chance to win Eurovision.
I hope this fails massively. Than maybe we send something different next year. I’m getting sick of these heavy, slow, melancholic songs we literally send every year.
Not in 2021, just two years ago. That was the opposite.
From 2019 onwards we have sent those heavy, slow songs, except in 2021. That was the exception. But that song was the worst one of them all. For years I’m hoping for a real good upbeat banger from the Netherlands. Well maybe next year.
Donald Trump always say the same thing: I want others to fail massively, so I can get better from it. How utterly empathic, kind and heartfelt from you.
What are you talking about? Donald Trump is the most empathetic person going. He’s widely regarded as the best at being empathetic, kind and heartfelt and humble. He says so all the time.
Awww, well done. I’m not a massive fan of music videos where the song becomes a soundtrack, but the song itself does tell the story well on the first listen. So for that, bravo. This will be a good one for the Wiwi Jury because I’m expecting that it will probably divide opinion. There is a lot to like and dislike about this entry. Some will like that it’s a duet rather than a solo, whereas others won’t like that. And, some will like the slow pacing of the song, but others will think it’s too slow. And, some will… Read more »
Extended melisma, for some reason I like how that sounds.
It’s nice and pleasant but it’s a bit flat, it doesn’t feel competitive enough for a competition.
It’s just a nice song.
Strong production values, good vocals, nice song but just not ommph but let’s face it, Netherlands has nothing to prove to us, having recently hosted, and hosted with style during a pandemic, they don’t need to do it again so soon.
Probably will qualify, but it will be right side if the board on the Saturday.
Nice and pleasant but not very competitive is a neat description for it. From what they’d said leading up to the release, I expected something a little grittier or more daring. Like you say, Netherlands has nothing to prove, and hosted almost two years worth of Eurovision shows, but I’d have Netherlands win in a flash if it meant having Nikki back!
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Personally I think this is QUALITY, it hits me hard yet gives me good feelings. I get that people expected more, but just like Loreen’s Euphoria there is no second Arcade and that’s okay. It’s not even similar to Arcade, but beautiful in its own way with an amazing build to a great climax. The right type of emotion. There’s no song like this so far, and even though it won’t win it has potential of being as impactful on stage like the Common Linnets. People just seem to be having impossible expectations of The Netherlands these days…
It’s a quality song no doubt, but it’s a little boring.
I feel like there was no reason for this song to be a duet, either Mia or Dion could’ve gone solo with this. With duets, especially Male/Female duets, I like when each person has their OWN few lyrics and their OWN personality/beliefs (examples: Estonia 2015, Norway 2015). In this song, they’re just singing the same lyrics so it doesn’t go anywhere.
Anyway, the Netherlands has a booming pop & R&B scene, why aren’t they dabbling in that?
I really hope we do a more uptempo song sometime. We have so many good artists, but we always end up with ballads (even though most of them are good), or bad uptempo songs like Outlaw in em or the Brocolli song (cant even remember the name). We have enough good DJ’s that can produce awesome songs, but we end up with this. It is not bad, it just doesnt stand out or have a hook which stays in your head like de Diepte or Arcade