The+Netherlands



__Artist Biography __

The participant for the Netherlands in the 2009 Eurovision Contest is a band called The Toppers. The band is made of three members, René Frogar, Gordon, and Jeroen van der Boom. The third member of the band used to be Gerald Joling, but he was replaced by van der Boom in 2009. They all began their careers as solo artists, but they joined forces in May 2004. Their concerts are typically very high energy and they have drawn crowds of over 85,000 in Amsterdam. Froger's career took off after his first hit single, //[|Winter in America]// took the Dutch by storm. He became the first Dutch artist to have three consecutive sellout shows in the Kuip Stadium. Gordon received his first big break with his single, //[|Kon Ik Maar Bij Je Zijn],// and his career took off from there. He starred on many television and radio shows before joining The Toppers, and he still continues his work on radio and television today. He has a good sense of humor that the Dutch people respect and enjoy. He wrote a [|book] that contained his columns that he wrote for a Dutch national newspaper. Jeroen van der Boom has been performing since the young age of twelve, so he's not shy about being on stage. He became the host of a television show in 1992 and then he was chosen for leading roles in the musicals //[|Barcelona and Novo Mundo]//. A bit of controversy was sparked amongst The Toppers on May 10, 2009 during the Semi-finals of the Eurovision contest. Gordon said that he would withdraw from the Eurovision Contest if the Russian government decided to disrupt the Moscow Gay Pride Parade, which will happen on May 16. Gordon said that he did not enter this contest wishing to make a political statement, but his feelings are very strong on this subject. He also said that he would not mind if his other two bandmates would keep performing if he withdrew. Gordon also said that he had been enjoying his time in Russia before this and he thought Russia was a liberal country open to people with different ethnicities and backgrounds. [|article] “__Shine__”



The Toppers' song entry for this year's competition is entitled "Shine." The song was supposedly written and composed by Bas van den Heuvel and Ger van de Westelaken. Frogar, Gordon, and van der Boom selected this song from amongst a song pool of over 600 entries. The song was chosen live in front of a studio audience during a show aired in the Netherlands. However, after "Shine" was chosen as the winning song, Toppers member [|Gordon] admitted to having written and composed it himself. The lyrics of this song were also written by Gordon and are in English. According to a comment by the Toppers, the song "Shine" is about the fact that if people have a positive attitude they can solve nearly every problem. The [|lyrics] below, convey this message.

Shine, shine, shine

There are so many wars right now in this World There are so many things not right There are to many people hurt in this World There are to many men that fight Time is now to make the change Time is on our side Love will make us glow in the dark So open up your heart! Are you ready for a brand new start!

Shine! People let your light shine Let the darkness fade away Step into a brighter day Don’t forget about our world today Let your light shine Maybe the answer is just this simple song Let everybody shine a long To keep the World from going wrong! Let your light shine!!

So many people with good hearts in this world So many they can make a change So the only thing that we have to do Is love the one we hate! It will change all darkness into bright It will touch everybody’s light The whole World will be lighted All people will be reunited!

Shine! People let your light shine Let the darkness fade away Step into a brighter day Don’t forget about the role you must play! Let your light shine Maybe the answer is just this simple song Let everybody shine a long To keep the world from going wrong! Let your light shine!!

As long as we believe in good in each men As long as we believe in love The light will guide and take us to the World we all dream off!

Let your light shine! Shine! People let your light shine Maybe the answer is just this simple song Let everybody shine a long To keep the world from going wrong! Let your light shine, shine, shine, shine shine!!

Despite its positive message, many people dislike "Shine." Some feel that the words and message are too cliche and are turned off by the Toppers' appearance during the music video. One commentator from the gossip website //Heckler Spray// states, "This isn’t just the worst Eurovision song we’ve heard this year - there’s a strong chance that this is legitimately the worst thing we’ve ever heard." However, reviews from Dutch audiences are mixed. Some commend the Toppers for their positive message and find the song catchy. Others don't feel that the song is strong enough to stand up to [|other entries]

"Shine" has a catchy melody that's easy to remember. The song starts with a choir that repeats the word "Shine" several times. Then the Toppers come in and each member sings a short solo. During the chorus, each member sings together homophonically. No harmony is heard until later in the song. The Toppers are accompanied by a synthesizer and a techno beat, but other than that, no instruments are heard. About 3/4 through the song, the Toppers sing a bridge in which they harmonize with one another. After the bridge, there's a key change and they return to the chorus. The Toppers sing in English, however, their Dutch accent can be heard on certain words.

The music video for this song can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te1w81E8L5A.

__Narrative of the Entry __ 

=
On February 1 st, 2009, the national final for the Dutch entry to Eurovision was chosen. According to the Eurovision site, the Toppers were chosen to represent the Netherlands internationally (most likely due to their extreme pop fame). The group gave viewers and judges six songs to choose from, all performed by them during the [|Nationaal Songfestival] 2009. The judges had a 30% stake in deciding which song would be used, while other voters could phone in their response. After an “entertaining show live from Studio 22 in Hilversum,” viewers had an hour to vote in. The professional judges overwhelmingly wanted the song [|"Angel of the Night"], giving it all of their first rankings. However, the public ultimately used its power and selected “Shine,” which will be the official Netherlands entry. As a bit of controversy (which seems to be popular with and within the band), it was revealed by singer Gordon that “Shine” was actually written by him and Bas van den Heuvel. The Toppers and Dutch fans hope that the combination of the group's popularity and the positive message in the song will result in a win for The Netherlands this year.=====

__The Netherlands Eurovision History __ The Netherlands was one of the seven countries competing in the very first Eurovision song contest in 1956. The Eurovision Song Contest in 1956 was held in [|Lugano], [|Switzerland]. The Netherlands has missed only four contests so far. With four victories the Netherlands ranks in the top 10 most successful Eurovision countries. Nevertheless the latest victory was in 1975 and has had mixed success since, with roughly half of the songs placing in the Top-10 as well as outside it. Notable high placing in the 1980s and 1990s were credited to [|Bernadette], [|Marcha], [|Gerard Joling], [|Humphrey Campbell], [|Ruth Jacott] and [|Edsilia Rombley], who all placed in the Top-10 and were picked as favorites to win before their respective Contests. The last time the Netherlands was in the final was in the 2004 contest, the country having failed since then to qualify from the semi-final round. The Netherlands is currently ranked 11th in the list of countries with most points awarded through the years. The Netherlands has hosted the Eurovision Song Contest four times: in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980. The first three times was after winning the previous year, while the 1980 contest was when Israel could not organized it for a second time in two years. For the same reason the Netherlands declined the right to organize the 1960 contest. The Netherlands has missed only four contests in its Eurovision history. The first of these was at the [|1985 contest], held in [|Gothenburg], [|Sweden]. The contest, held on May 4th conflicted with the Dutch [|Remembrance of the Dead] national holiday, and as such the Netherlands withdrew. In [|1991] the contest was again held on 4 May, and so the Netherlands withdrew for the same reasons as in 1985.[|[3]] The [|1995] and [|2002] contest were also missed. However this was because the Netherlands scored poorly the previous years, 23rd in [|1994] and 19th in [|2001]. Here is the result of The Netherlands in Eurovision contests through out the years since it started in 1956:

Contestants

 * ~ Year [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||~ Artist [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||~ Song [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||~ Final [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||~ Points [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||~ Semi [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||~ Points [[image:http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/sort_none.gif caption="↓" link="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_in_the_Eurovision_Song_Contest#"]] ||
 * [|1956] || [|Jetty Paerl] || "[|De vogels van Holland]" || NA || NA ||
 * [|1956] || [|Corry Brokken] || "[|Voorgoed voorbij]" || NA || NA ||
 * [|1957] || [|Corry Brokken] || "[|Net als toen]" || 1 || 31 ||
 * [|1958] || [|Corry Brokken] || "[|Heel de wereld]" || 9 || 1 ||
 * [|1959] || [|Teddy Scholten] || "[|Een beetje]" || 1 || 21 ||
 * [|1960] || [|Rudi Carrell] || "[|Wat een geluk]" || 12 || 2 ||
 * [|1961] || [|Greetje Kauffeld] || "[|Wat een dag]" || 10 || 6 ||
 * [|1962] || De Spelbrekers || "[|Katinka]" || 13 || 0 ||
 * [|1963] || Annie Palmen || "[|Een speeldoos]" || 13 || 0 ||
 * [|1964] || [|Anneke Grönloh] || "[|Jij bent mijn leven]" || 10 || 2 ||
 * [|1965] || [|Conny Vandenbos] || "[|'t Is genoeg]" || 11 || 5 ||
 * [|1966] || [|Milly Scott] || "[|Fernando en Filippo]" || 15 || 2 ||
 * [|1967] || [|Thérèse Steinmetz] || "[|Ring-dinge-ding]" || 14 || 2 ||
 * [|1968] || [|Ronnie Tober] || "[|Morgen]" || 16 || 1 ||
 * [|1969] || [|Lenny Kuhr] || "[|De troubadour]" || 1 || 18 ||
 * [|1970] || [|Hearts of Soul] || "[|Waterman]" || 7 || 7 ||
 * [|1971] || [|Saskia] & [|Serge] || "[|Tijd]" || 6 || 85 ||
 * [|1972] || [|Sandra] & [|Andres] || "[|Als het om de liefde gaat]" || 4 || 106 ||
 * [|1973] || [|Ben Cramer] || "[|De oude muzikant]" || 14 || 69 ||
 * [|1974] || [|Mouth & MacNeal] || "[|I See A Star]" || 3 || 15 ||
 * [|1975] || [|Teach-In] || "[|Ding-A-Dong]" || 1 || 152 ||
 * [|1976] || [|Sandra Reemer] || "[|The Party's Over]" || 9 || 56 ||
 * [|1977] || [|Heddy Lester] || "[|De mallemolen]" || 12 || 35 ||
 * [|1978] || [|Harmony] || "[|'t Is OK]" || 13 || 37 ||
 * [|1979] || [|Xandra] || "[|Colorado]" || 12 || 51 ||
 * [|1980] || [|Maggie MacNeal] || "[|Amsterdam]" || 5 || 93 ||
 * [|1981] || [|Linda Williams] || "[|Het is een wonder]" || 9 || 51 ||
 * [|1982] || [|Bill van Dijk] || "[|Jij en ik]" || 16 || 8 ||
 * [|1983] || [|Bernadette] || "[|Sing Me a Song]" || 7 || 66 ||
 * [|1984] || [|Maribelle] || "[|Ik hou van jou]" || 13 || 34 ||
 * [|1986] || [|Frizzle Sizzle] || "[|Alles heeft ritme]" || 13 || 40 ||
 * [|1987] || [|Marcha] || "[|Rechtop in de wind]" || 5 || 83 ||
 * [|1988] || [|Gerard Joling] || "[|Shangri-La]" || 9 || 70 ||
 * [|1989] || [|Justine Pelmelay] || "[|Blijf zoals je bent]" || 15 || 45 ||
 * [|1990] || [|Maywood] || "[|Ik wil alles met je delen]" || 15 || 25 ||
 * [|1992] || [|Humphrey Campbell] || "[|Wijs me de weg]" || 9 || 67 ||
 * [|1993] || [|Ruth Jacott] || "[|Vrede]" || 6 || 92 ||
 * [|1994] || [|Willeke Alberti] || "[|Waar is de zon?]" || 23 || 4 ||
 * [|1996] || [|Maxine] & [|Franklin Brown] || "[|De eerste keer]" || 7 || 78 ||
 * [|1997] || [|Mrs. Einstein] || "[|Niemand heeft nog tijd]" || 22 || 5 ||
 * [|1998] || [|Edsilia Rombley] || "[|Hemel en aarde]" || 4 || 150 ||
 * [|1999] || [|Marlayne] || "[|One Good Reason]" || 8 || 71 ||
 * [|2000] || [|Linda Wagenmakers] || "[|No Goodbyes]" || 13 || 40 ||
 * [|2001] || [|Michelle] || "[|Out On My Own]" || 18 || 16 ||
 * [|2003] || [|Esther Hart] || "[|One More Night]" || 13 || 45 ||
 * [|2004] || [|Re-Union] || "[|Without You]" || 20 || 11 || 6 || 146 ||
 * [|2005] || [|Glennis Grace] || "[|My Impossible Dream]" || X || X || 14 || 53 ||
 * [|2006] || [|Treble] || "[|Amambanda]" || X || X || 20 || 23 ||
 * [|2007] || [|Edsilia Rombley] || "[|On Top of the World]" || X || X || 21 || 38 ||
 * [|2008] || [|Hind] || "[|Your Heart Belongs to Me]" || X || X || 13 || 27 ||
 * [|2009] || [|De Toppers] || "[|Shine]" || X || X ||  ||