Esther Hart (singer)

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Esther Hart
Esther Hart 3.jpg
Esther Hart in 2011
Background information
Birth nameEsther Katinka Hartkamp
Born (1970-06-03) 3 June 1970 (age 52)
Epe, Gelderland, Netherlands
Genres Pop
Occupation(s)Musician, professor of music
Instrument(s)Vocals

Esther Hart (born Esther Katinka Hartkamp on 3 June 1970 in Epe, Gelderland) is a Dutch singer.

Contents

Career

Hart entered BBC TV's A Song for Europe contest in 2003 with the song "Wait for the Moment". She withdrew from that contest as participating for two countries would not have been acceptable for both BBC and NOS. She opted for participating in Nationaal Songfestival , the Dutch heat of the Eurovision Song Contest, and won. [1] Her song, "One More Night", was placed 13th in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest. She read the Dutch results at Eurovision 2004 and Eurovision 2008.

Activism

On 17 January 2008, Hart willingly went to jail and stayed overnight in an attempt to gain publicity and money for charity. During that time she gave a concert with the Dutch broadcaster NCRV (Dutch Christian Radio Association) and the Exodus Foundation, which provides assistance for former prisoners to adapt to normal life. In addition, a poetry contest was held by the prisoners with the theme of "dare to believe in change", with the winning poem to be read by Hart. [2]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurovision Song Contest 2004</span> International song competition

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004</span> International song competition for youth

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2005</span> International song competition for youth

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croatia in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest</span> Overview of the role of the United Kingdom in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andorra in the Eurovision Song Contest</span>

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The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 with the song "My Impossible Dream" written by Robert D. Fisher and Bruce Smith. The song was performed by Glennis Grace. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2005 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2005 contest in Kyiv, Ukraine. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Six entries competed in each semi-final with three advancing: two entries selected based on a public vote and one entry selected by a three-member jury panel. Twelve entries qualified from to compete in the final on 13 February 2005 where "My Impossible Dream" performed by Glennis Grace was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from three jury panels and a public vote.

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Without You" written by Ed van Otterdijk and Angeline van Otterdijk. The song was performed by the duo Re-union. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2004 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2004 contest in Istanbul, Turkey. 24 entries competed in the national final which consisted of six shows: four semi-finals, a wildcard round and a final. Ten entries qualified from to compete in the final on 22 February 2004 where "Without You" performed by Re-union was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurovision Song Contest 2008</span> International song competition

The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 was the 53rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Belgrade, Serbia, following the country's victory at the 2007 contest with the song "Molitva" by Marija Šerifović. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radio Television of Serbia (RTS), the contest was held at the Belgrade Arena, and consisted of two semi-finals on 20 and 22 May, and a final on 24 May 2008. The three live shows were presented by Serbian television presenter Jovana Janković and musician Željko Joksimović.

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Your Heart Belongs to Me" written by Hind Laroussi Tahiri, Tjeerd van Zanen and Bas van den Heuvel. The song was performed by Hind, which is the artistic name of singer Hind Laroussi Tahiri who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2008 contest in Belgrade, Serbia. Hind's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 23 November 2007, while the song, "Your Heart Belongs to Me", was presented to the public on 7 March 2008 during the Nederland 3 programme Thank God it's Friday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest</span> Overview of the United Kingdom in Eurovision

The United Kingdom has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times. It first took part in the second contest in 1957 and has entered every year since 1959. Along with Sweden and the Netherlands, the UK is one of only three countries with Eurovision victories in four different decades. It is one of the "Big Five" countries, along with France, Germany, Italy and Spain, that are automatically prequalified for the final each year as they are the biggest financial contributors to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The British national broadcaster, the BBC, broadcasts the event and has, on multiple occasions, organised different national selection processes to choose the British entry. The United Kingdom has won the Eurovision Song Contest five times, and has finished as runner-up on a record sixteen occasions. The UK has hosted the contest a record eight times, four times in London and once each in Edinburgh (1972), Brighton (1974), Harrogate (1982) and Birmingham (1998), and will host the contest for a ninth time in 2023 in Liverpool.

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Shine" written by Bas van den Heuvel and Gordon Heuckeroth. The song was performed by the group De Toppers, which was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. De Toppers' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 19 September 2008, while the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2009 was organised in order to select the song. Six songs competed in the national final on 1 February 2009 where "Shine" was selected as the winning song following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote.

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 with the song "One More Night" written by Tjeerd van Zanen and Alan Michael. The song was performed by Esther Hart. The Dutch broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) returned to the Eurovision Song Contest after a one-year absence following their withdrawal in 2002 as one of the bottom six countries in the 2001 contest. NOS organised the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2003 in collaboration with broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) in order to select the Dutch entry for the 2003 contest in Riga, Latvia. 32 entries competed in the national final which consisted of five shows: four semi-finals and a final. Eight entries qualified from to compete in the final on 1 March 2003 where "One More Night" performed by Esther Hart was selected as the winner following the combination of votes from a seven-member jury panel and a public vote.

The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Never Alone" written by Jan Dulles, Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de Witte. The song was performed by the band 3JS, which was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. 3JS' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 15 July 2010, while the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2011 was organised in order to select the song. Five songs competed in the national final on 30 January 2011 where "Je vecht nooit alleen" was selected as the winning song following the combination of votes from a five-member jury panel and a public vote. The song was later translated from Dutch to English for the Eurovision Song Contest and was titled "Never Alone".

References

  1. Laufer, Gil (24 September 2009). "esctoday.com TOP TEN: No. 1". ESCToday. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
  2. Bakker, Sietse (2004–2013). "Esther Hart (Netherlands 2003) going to jail!". Eurovision follow-up on Hart. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 26 March 2013.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Esther Hart at Wikimedia Commons

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Michelle
with "Out on My Own"
No representation in 2002
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
2003
Succeeded by