Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone magazine twice named her as the greatest singer of all time.
The Netherlands has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 64 times since making its debut as one of the seven countries at the first contest in 1956. The country has missed only four contests, twice because the dates coincided with Remembrance of the Dead, and twice because of being relegated due to poor results the previous year. It has missed the final despite qualifying once, in 2024, due to the personal conduct of its entrant which led to disqualification. The current Dutch participant broadcaster in the contest is AVROTROS. The Netherlands has hosted the contest five times: in Hilversum (1958), Amsterdam (1970), The Hague, and Rotterdam (2021).
Anouk Schemmekes, professionally known by the mononym Anouk, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. After her 1997 breakthrough rock single "Nobody's Wife", she had additional hit records in the Dutch and Belgian charts. Many of her albums topped the Dutch album charts, most of them going Platinum and several debuting in the number 1 position. Her most famous singles include "Michel", "It's So Hard", "R U Kiddin' Me", "Girl", "Lost", "Modern World", "Three Days in a Row", "Birds", and "Woman".
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" is a song released by American singer Aretha Franklin and English singer George Michael as a duet in 1987. The song was a number one hit in the United States and the United Kingdom. Billboard listed "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" as Franklin's all-time biggest Hot 100 single. The song was Franklin's biggest hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number two. The song was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan and produced by Narada Michael Walden. Franklin and Michael won a 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".
"Respect" is a song written and originally recorded by American soul singer Otis Redding. It was released in 1965 as a single from his third album Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul and became a crossover hit for Redding.
"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" is a 1967 song by American soul singer Aretha Franklin released as a single by the Atlantic label. The lyrics were written by Gerry Goffin from an idea by Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the music was composed by Carole King. Written for Franklin, the record reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and became one of her signature songs. It made history on the UK Singles Chart a week after her death, finally becoming a hit almost 51 years after it was first released, entering at No. 79. Franklin also included a live recording on the album Aretha in Paris in 1968.
"Border Song" is a song by Elton John with music by John and lyrics by Bernie Taupin. The song initially appeared on the 1970 album Elton John, and was released in the spring of 1970 as the LP's first single. After failing to chart in the UK, it was released in North America a few months later. It met with more success there, especially in Canada, where it peaked at No. 34. The appearance of "Border Song" on the Canadian charts was John's first chart appearance in any country.
Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She formed the band Total Touch in 1990 with her brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis before she started as a solo singer. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Walk Along", placing fourteen in the first semi-final with 33 points and winning the Barbara Dex Award of the year.
Glenda Hulita Elisabeth Batta, known professionally as Glennis Grace, is a Dutch singer. In 2005, she represented the Netherlands in the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, and in 2018 she appeared on the 13th season of America's Got Talent and made it to the finals. Glennis Grace has received online attention due to the similarity between her voice and that of Whitney Houston.
So Damn Happy is the thirty-fifth studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. Her first studio album in five years. The album featured the Grammy Award-winning track "Wonderful", a single co-written and produced by Ron "Amen-Ra" Lawrence.
Kim Hoorweg is a Dutch singer-songwriter.
Nationaal Songfestival was an annual music competition, which was originally organised by the Dutch public broadcaster Nederlandse Televisie Stichting (NTS), and later by the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and the Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS). It was staged almost every year between 1956 and 2012 to determine the country's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. The festival has produced four Eurovision winners and eight top-five placings for the Netherlands at the contest.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Birds" written by Tore Johansson, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe. The song was performed by Anouk, which is the artistic name of singer Anouk Teeuwe who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting (TROS) to represent the Netherlands at the 2013 contest in Malmö, Sweden. Anouk's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 17 October 2012, while the song, "Birds", was presented to the public on 11 March 2013.
"Birds" is a song recorded by Dutch singer Anouk, released as the first single from her eighth studio album Sad Singalong Songs (2013). The song was written by Anouk Teeuwe and composed by Tore Johansson, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe. It is best known as the Netherlands' entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, Sweden. The song competed in the first semi-final on 14 May 2013 for and managed to qualify for a spot in the final on 18 May 2013, the Netherlands' first qualification in 9 years, where Anouk achieved 9th place in a field of 39; the best result for the Netherlands since the 1999 competition.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with the song "Calm After the Storm", written by Ilse DeLange, JB Meijers, Rob Crosby, Matthew Crosby and Jake Etheridge. The song was performed by the Common Linnets, a duo consisting of DeLange and Waylon, two well-known and popular Dutch artists, and formed by DeLange as a platform for Dutch artists to create country, Americana, and bluegrass music. In November 2013 the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that they had internally selected The Common Linnets to represent the Netherlands at the 2014 contest in Copenhagen, Denmark, with their song first presented to the public in March 2014.
Live at Symphonica in Rosso is the third live album by Dutch singer Anouk. The album was released on March 14, 2014 via Anouk's own label, Goldilox Music.
The Netherlands participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song "Walk Along" written by Tobias Karlsson and Anouk Teeuwe. The song was performed by Trijntje Oosterhuis, who was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to represent the Netherlands at the 2015 contest in Vienna, Austria. Songwriter Anouk Teeuwe represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 with the song "Birds" where she placed ninth in the grand final of the competition. Trijntje Oosterhuis' appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 10 November 2014, while the song, "Walk Along", was presented to the public on 11 December 2014.
Destiny Chukunyere, known mononymously as Destiny, is a Maltese singer. She won the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, where she represented Malta with the song "Not My Soul".
Jeangu Macrooy is a Surinamese singer-songwriter. He was born in Paramaribo and has been living in the Netherlands in the eastern city Enschede in the region Twente since 2014. Macrooy's music is described as modern soul. His audience is in the Netherlands, Suriname, and increasingly in Belgium, France and Germany. He was due to represent host nation the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam with the song "Grow", but the contest was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, he represented the country in the 2021 contest with "Birth of a New Age".
The Netherlands originally planned to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 with the song "Grow" written by Jeangu Macrooy and Pieter Perquin. The song was performed by Jeangu Macrooy, who was internally selected to represent the Netherlands at the 2020 contest. In addition to its participation, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS was also set to host the contest in Rotterdam, after winning the competition in 2019 with the song "Arcade" by Duncan Laurence. Macrooy's appointment as the Dutch representative was announced on 10 January 2020, while the song, "Grow", was presented to the public on 4 March 2020.
