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We have our first singer for Malmo Written by on October 17, 2012 | 2 Comments

After dancing around the story during the summer, TROS announced today that Anouk will be singing for the Netherlands at Eurovision 2013. The singer is the first confirmed name for the 2013 Song Contest.

Over on EscXtra, Nick has surmised Anouk’s journey to Malmo so far:

In July 2012, Anouk announced via social media that she had a ‘killer song’ ready for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö. She added that she did not want to take part in a national final, like TROS planned. TROS at first reacted by saying that everyone who was interested, could just submit a song to TROS for the national final. The broadcaster already requested airtime for January 2013, in which the preliminaries and final of the national final were going to take place.

However, soon after this, heavy criticism from the Dutch music scene – where former participants said that ‘if someone like Anouk offers to go to Eurovision, you should always give her priority over a national final’ – occured. TROS announced that they were going to start talks with Anouk and her management to see if they could reach an agreement.

As to Anouk’s live skills? Here’s a little sample:

 

About The Author: Ewan Spence

British Academy (BAFTA) nominated broadcaster and writer Ewan Spence is the voice behind The Unofficial Eurovision Song Contest Podcast and one of the driving forces behind ESC Insight. Having had an online presence since 1994, he is a noted commentator around the intersection of the media, internet, technology, mobility and how it affects us all. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, his work has appeared on the BBC, The Stage, STV, and The Times. You can follow Ewan on Twitter (@ewan) and Facebook (facebook.com/ewanspence).

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Have Your Say

2 responses to “We have our first singer for Malmo”

  1. Ben says:
    October 17, 2012 at 20:05

    Thanks for that live video. She is just wonderful, isn’t she? But as I said over at escXtra, I really hope that this song of hers is up to the standards of her regular material, and isn’t a 3 minute showpiece written specifically with Eurovision in mind, because we really should have learned by now that you can’t win Eurovision with songs like that any more. If they’re not good enough for the charts, (or other ways of giving a song life) they’re not good enough for the contest.

    I don’t own any of Anouk’s songs, but I’ve heard a few, and she’s clearly a great talent with a lovely voice. I will probably be buying some of her stuff over the next few weeks, because I would like to experience the revelation of the Dutch entry the way the Dutch will experience it; Knowing her, rather than knowing Eurovision.

    All the best to The Netherlands, and big kudos to TROS for taking this gamble. Let’s hope this breaks their run of bad luck.

  2. Lilly says:
    October 24, 2012 at 10:34

    Anouk does not really have regular work, She does it all…pop, rock, mellow blues, and ballads. She breaths music, thats why her fans sticks to her always, even She fail on eurovision her fans Will stay. But knowing Anouk She Will come up with a song That her fans Will love!
    You should listen to her songs “the difference” and “One Word” some sometimes they are Great!