The Netherlands: Trijntje wins 'Barbara Dex Award'

Trijntje was always a dark horse for me to take the trophy in Vienna but hell, was I wrong. Although the Dutch singer has won something.. unfortunately it's the Barbara Dex Award. Why ay ay ay? I think she should've stuck with the first dress. She won the annual contest with 1324 votes. Bojana from Serbia came 2nd and Electro Velvet placed 3rd. Somehow Elhaida was voted the 4th most worst dressed act of 2015... Pffft. I voted for Electro Velvet.

EUROVISION 2015 IS HERE!

Yihuu - omg Eurovision is here!! The first semi final of Eurovision 2015 will be held live from Vienna tonight! This blogger is beyond excited - but then, who isn't? An important note - I won't be able to blog during the week as I'm going on a mini break but I'll still watch the shows, naturally, however I won't be able to post anything until the weekend. Most likely on Saturday but let's see. Anyway, below you can find the countries who will participate in tonight's semi and with my predictions and hopes... (* = I predict they will qualify, BOLD = I want them to qualify). 

1.  Moldova 
2.  Armenia *
3.  Belgium
4.  The Netherlands *
5.  Finland *
6.  Greece *
7.  Estonia *
8.  FYR Macedonia
9.  Serbia 
10.  Hungary *
11.  Belarus 
12.  Russia *
13.  Denmark *
14.  Albania *
15.  Romania *
16.  Georgia 

...and here is the line-up for semi final two. I doubt I'll get these right but hey, it's a lot of fun :-)

1.  Lithuania *
2.  Ireland
3.  San Marino
4.  Montenegro *
5.  Malta
6.  Norway *
7.  Portugal
8.  Czech Republic 
9.  Israel *
10.  Latvia 
11.  Azerbaijan *
12.  Iceland *
13.  Sweden *
14.  Switzerland
15.  Cyprus *
16.  Slovenia *
17.  Poland *

I really hope everyone enjoys the shows! And good luck to all the participants!! But especially Elhaida, Polina, Trijntje, Elnur, Stig and Elina, Guy, Nina and Edurne ;-) 

...aaaaaand Nigella Lawson will announce the UK's points! Amazing choice!! I love her. She's fantastic and I don't think the BBC could've picked someone better.  If you're not familiar with Nigella, watch this! She's fab! 

Vienna 2015: Semi final one rehearsed!

Is Polina our winner?

Unfortunately, this blogger isn't in Vienna although I have been paying close attention to the rehearsals. The 16 countries who will compete in the first semi final  have now all rehearsed and it seems Russia are the most popular. Polina looks stunning - the staging is amazing and damn, A Million Voices is a friggin' awesome song! I'm going to be so annoyed if she gets booed next week.....

Elhaida from Albania also rehearsed today and it's still looking like Albania might get their best placing ever. Georgia and Romania also look really promising. With regards to yesterday, I think Estonia and Armenia are looking the strongest. They'll both be in the final. Finland is so just bizarre and random that I'm actually liking it now. Are PKN going to make the final? Greece is also looking very strong - I just hope the song will be memorable enough... the overall reaction of Greece's rehearsal was very positive though.

Now everyone's talking about Trijntje's dress. My first reaction was huh? but hey, she looks gorgeous and she's confident in her own body - so that's all that matters. I'd take my hat of to her if I had one. The staging is apparently a bit random so there's some work to be done it seems... Why ay ay ay couldn't they keep it simple?

Belgium looked good but maybe there's too much happening? It might be messy. And I'm afraid Serbia won't be qualfirying. Maybe 15 years ago that song would've fared better. Or maybe not. So judging from the first rehearsals I think; Russia, Estonia and Georgia are the best. Georgia could be a dark horse. Love the eye!!! And maybe even Romania?! Voltaj were fab! The song has a message that'll touch a lot of people.  I hate to say it but Serbia really is looking awful.. Bojana is much better than the song. Hungary looks okay but the song? Me thinks viewers will fall asleep halfway through their performance. But we won't be failing asleep during Moldova! Whether you like Eduard's song or not, they're putting on one heck of a show! More to follow in the coming days....

Photos from Eurovision.tv

The Netherlands: Listen to an acoustic version of 'Walk Along'

Trijntje Oosterhuis has performed an acoustic version of Walk Along on a Dutch TV show. Watch it here. As expected, she does a fantastic job - and her performance in Amsterdam was awesome too. A dark horse? #TeamLittleTrain

REVIEWING THE CLASS OF 2015: THE NETHERLANDS!

Anouk and The Common Linnets have both done wonders for The Dutchies. In 2013, Anouk (who composed Walk Along) was the first Dutch act to qualify for eight years and The Common Linnets even achieved 2nd place last year. Will Trijntje Oosterhuis have the same success? Here's what we think...

Ana: I really like this song, and specially the chorus. It’s very catchy and easy to learn and that’s always a good thing. Anyway, I think that Trijntje will have to work on the staging because I have the feeling that she doesn't know what to do and how to act at some points of the song. 8/10

Ilkar: Why-ay-ay-ay.... This has some good ingredients and she's great and likable but the song is so repetitive. Why-ay-ay-ay? It would be a perfect 2:15 song, the rest is just why-ay-ay..... Why? 4/10

Jack: I adore Walk Along! Maybe the Why-ay-ay-ay is too repetitive and annoying but remember the majority of people won't hear the song until the night itself - so it's going to stick in people's mind. That can only be a good thing. Trijntje's voice is always excellent and I can't wait to see her perform it live.. Hopefully it'll come across well on screen. The Netherlands are so qualifying! But there's something stopping me from awarded her full marks. #TeamLittleTrain. 9.5/10

Jess: The song is really really catchy, and I think Trijntje has brilliant vocals! 7/10

John: Never to be underestimated, The Netherlands provides us with another strong entry this year. The strength of the song lies in its simplicity. With a  catchy tune and a reliable voice, Trijntje delivers what could be another dark horse in the 2015 final. 8/10

OUR VERDICT - 36.5/50
OVERALL SCORE - 7.3/10

The Netherlands: Pierre Kartner hates Walk Along!

We all remember Ik ben verliefd (Shalalie), don't we? Well the songs composer, Pierre Kartner, has criticised this years Dutch entry - Walk Along - for being horrible and too predictable. The 79 year-old didn't stop there. He went to to say Anouk probably wrote the song some years ago for one of her albums although wouldn't include it, because the song wasn't good enough. Personally, I think Trijntje's song is awesome - many a little repetitive however I've heard it's going to be polished before March. Do you agree with Pierre Kartner? Is the Dutch entry a disappointment?

The Netherlands: Trijntje performs "Walk Along" live!

Last night, Trijntje Oosterhuis performed Walk Along live on The Voice of Holland. She gave a very strong performance. Ilse was clearly having a ball and the song topped yesterdays daily iTunes chart in The Netherlands. It's looking very good once again for the Dutchies! Watch her performance below:

The Netherlands: "Walk Along" revealed!

Trijntje Oosterhuis's song for Vienna is entitled Walk Along and was revealed this morning. Listen to it here. The general reaction seems to be very good - could the Dutch be contenders for victory next year? Regarding her participation, Trijntje said:

It is really cool that Anouk and The Common Linnets did it. Now i'm daring!I find it exciting, but it is also an honour to represent our country.

..and regarding the song itself, she said:

It is really catchy. I guess it's different to what you usually expect from me, but I have an ambition to win and give it my all.

. This blogger loves her song! I think The Netherlands can achieve top ten in Vienna..

The Netherlands: Song presentation on 11th December!

Trijntje Oosterhuis will release her Eurovision entry on 11th December. The song will be premiered on NPO Radio 2’s show Gouden Uren at 9:00 CET. Anouk said it's a "catchy and awesome song with great vocals." Maybe it's a little early to release their song? Eurovision is over five months away.. but I'm very excited and interested to see what Anouk and Trijntje have come up with. 

The Netherlands: Trijntje Oosterhuis officially confirmed as representative!

So it's official! Trijntje Oosterhuis will indeed represent The Netherlands in Vienna - her song will be composed by Anouk. Rumours having circulating since Friday, thanks to Anouk hinting about Trijntje being the Dutch representative on a chat show. The 41 year-old Trijntje had this to say regarding her participation:

I feel extremely honoured that I’ve been asked to represent The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna next May. After good results by both Anouk and The Common Linnets the past two years, that of course increases the tension, but also the fun. We’re almost ready with the song we want. The song has been co-written by Anouk and it’s really good for me that she’s willing to share her experience about Eurovision with me. The talks with AvroTros about how we’re going to do things were really good. I’m really looking forward to it!

And regarding her song, Trijntje said:

It's an incredible fresh song! A song you wouldn't expect from Anouk or me!

Very exciting!

The Netherlands: Official announcement on Monday!

The fabulous Anouk appeared on a Dutch TV show last night where she said Trijntje Oosterhuis would be a good choice for Eurovision and then said she's a terrible liar following her statement. Naturally, this sparked speculation in The Netherlands and across Europe as to whether Trijntje Oosterhuis will fly the Dutch flag next year. Anouk produced the majority of songs on Trijntje's last album and they have been friends for several years. She was already a hot favourite to represent the country according to Dutch media. But nothing's confirmed yet. AVROTROS, the Dutch national broadcaster, will make an official statement on Monday. Stay tuned my friends!!