Moving on with our previews, our next destination is the land of windmills, bikes and weed (even though 420 was yesterday). It’s the Netherlands!!!
History
The Netherlands was one of the seven countries that took part in the very first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. They have won four times, in 1957 with Corry Brokken singing “Net als toen”, in 1959 with Teddy Scholten singing “Een beetje”, in 1969 as a joint winner with Lenny Kuhr singing “De troubadour” and in 1975 with Teach-In singing “Ding-a-Dong”. They have achieved other top 10 results since then, such as fifth in 1980 with Maggie McNeal singing “Amsterdam” and Marcha singing “Rechtop in de wind”, sixth in 1993 with Ruth Jacott singing “Vrede” and fourth in 1998 with Edsilia Rombley singing “Hemel en aarde”. In recent years. they were not as successful, failing to qualify for the final at all between 2005 and 2012. In 2013, they returned to success, when Anouk finished ninth in the final with “Birds”. The following year, the Common Linnets finished second in the final with “Calm Before the Storm”, the Netherlands’ best result since 1975. Last year, O’G3NE finished 11th in the final with “Lights and Shadows”, the same place they finished when they took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2007.
Selection
The Dutch broadcaster, AVROTROS, internally selected Waylon to represent the Netherlands in Lisbon. Prior to the official song release, Waylon presented five songs from his new album “The World Can Wait” on the talk show De Wereld Draait Door (As the World Turns). One of these songs was revealed to be his Eurovision entry.
Artist
Waylon (born Willem Bijkerk) was born in Apeldoorn in the centre of the Netherlands on April 20 1980. He started his career in 1995 at the age of 15, where he sang on the television show Telekids. By 1997, he was signed by record company EMI, and in 2001, he traveled to the United States to work with his idol, Waylon Jennings, on an album. The album was never completed and he retuned to the Netherlands in 2002.
Waylon first came to public attention after he finished second on the first season of Holland’s Got Talent in 2008. He released his first single “Wicked Way” in 2009, which became a top 10 hit in the Netherlands. In 2010, he received the 3FM Award for Best Newcomer and the Borsato Award for New Talent at the TMF Awards. He represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as one half of The Common Linnets with Ilse deLange. The duo finished second with “Calm After the Storm”, the highest placing for the Netherlands since their last win in 1975. He left The Common Linnets soon after the Eurovision and returned to his solo career. His first album after Eurovision “Heaven at Midnight” went to number one in the Dutch Album Chart. He has been a coach on The Voice of Holland since the sixth season in 2016. His latest album “The World Can Wait” was released on April 13.
The song that Waylon will sing in Lisbon, “Outlaw in ‘Em”, was written and composed by Ilya Toshinskiy, Jim Beaver and Waylon himself.
Song Review
I’m so glad that Waylon went with this song. While I do like “Calm After the Storm” more, I can definitely see the merit in this song. It has power and an anthemic quality to it, which is present throughout the song. Add on to that Waylon’s performance skills and and you’ve got a force to be reckoned with. The Netherlands have turned into the Nashville of Europe with all the country songs they’ve sent over the last few years. It’s worked for them before, so there’s no reason to believe it won’t work again. It’s not winner material but I definitely see it doing well in Lisbon.
What Could Have Been
If I had to pick a song from the other four potential entries, I would go with “Back Together”. It harks back to the softer sound of his previous Eurovision entry but retaining the power in his voice. While “Outlaw in ‘Em” was certainly the biggest standout of the lot, “Back Together” was still a solid song by itself.
Veel succes Nederland!
Will this outlaw sneak past the competition or get jailed? Leave your comments below. Stay tuned tomorrow for another Eurovision preview!
(Sources: eurovision.tv, AVROTROS, YouTube)
Thinking About It 