Wikipedia

Dutch Song Contest 1995

The Dutch Song Contest 1995 (Dutch: Het Nederlandse Songfestival 1995) was a one-off song competition between regional public broadcasters in the Netherlands. The contest was held on 25 May 1995 at the Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht and was hosted by Karin Bloemen. It served as a substitute for the Nationaal Songfestival, the Dutch annual selection show for the Eurovision Song Contest, which was not held that year due to the Netherlands' relegation from the Eurovision Song Contest following an insufficient result in the 1994 edition.

Dutch Song Contest 1995
Dates
Final25 May 1995
Host
VenueMuziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
Presenter(s)Karin Bloemen
Participants
Number of entries13
Vote
Winning song Groningen
"Bij alles wat ik doe"
Dutch Song Contest

While the competition was not renewed for a second edition, a reworked version of the format was launched in 2023 under the name Regio Songfestival.

Karin Bloemen, the show's presenter, in 1994

Background

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The format of the competition was developed by the Regionale Omroep Overleg en Samenwerking (ROOS) – the umbrella organisation of Dutch regional public broadcasters – and the Conamus Foundation.[1][2] It was decided to stage the event on Ascension Day in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Omroep Limburg (founded in 1945 as Regionale Omroep Zuid [nl]), marking half a century of regional public broadcasting in the Netherlands.[1][2] In addition, the event would fill the void left by the Nationaal Songfestival, which would not be held that year due to the Netherlands' exclusion from the Eurovision Song Contest 1995.[1][3]

Although the contest was not intended as a substitute for the Eurovision Song Contest itself,[1] there were plans for the format to potentially replace the Nationaal Songfestival as the Dutch national selection process in future years.[4][5] Its main objective, however, was to provide a platform for regional artists to present themselves to a broader audience.[1][2]

Format

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All thirteen regional public broadcasters participated in the competition – each representing one of the twelve provinces, with the exception of South Holland, which was represented by two broadcasters: one serving the province's northern subregions (The Hague and surroundings; presented as "West"),[6] and one serving the southern subregions (Rotterdam and surroundings; presented as "Rijnmond").[7][8]

Only songs in Dutch were eligible to enter the competition.[2] After the submission window opened in November 1994,[2][9] a call for entries was published in the December issue of Buma/Stemra Magazine.[1][10] More than 600 original compositions were received, from which an expert jury led by Conamus director John de Mol Sr. [nl] selected ten entries.[1][2] In addition, three composers were personally commissioned to write an entry for the competition.[1][2]

Each of the thirteen entries was assigned to a regional broadcaster, which selected its own representative to perform the song.[2] Each broadcaster also appointed one jury member, who would distribute points to the other regions' entries based on their personal preference and the opinions of two listeners from their region.[3] The entry that received the most points would win the competition.[3] In the event of a tie, the entry that received the most top scores (10 points) from the juries would be declared the winner.[3]

Contest overview

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Muziekcentrum Vredenburg's Grote Zaal, venue of the contest

Broadcast solely on radio,[11][5][12] the contest was held on Thursday 25 May 1995, beginning at 21:00 CEST, and lasted two hours.[1][13] The event was staged in the Grote Zaal ('Great Hall') of Muziekcentrum Vredenburg – a music venue in the city of Utrecht – in front of an audience of around 1,000 people, who were shown a slide show during the performances.[1] The performing artists were accompanied by a backing track.[1] The show was hosted by Dutch singer and cabaret performer Karin Bloemen.[3]

Results

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The winner was Groningen represented by the song "Bij alles wat ik doe", composed by Kees Smit and performed by Wia Buze [nl]. Buze had won the jury vote by a small margin ahead of runner-up Joke Bruijs, who represented the Rijnmond region.[14][15] As the winning composer, Smit won ƒ10,000 (≈ €4,500) in prize money, while Buze was awarded promotional airplay on the participating broadcasters' radio stations and a trip to London.[2]

Participants and results[2][16][17][18]
Region Broadcaster Artist Song Songwriter(s) Place
  Groningen Radio Noord Wia Buze [nl] "Bij alles wat ik doe" Kees Smit 1
  Rijnmond Radio Rijnmond Joke Bruijs "De laatste dans" Rowin Schumm 2
  Drenthe Radio Drenthe Eri-Kah [nl] "Ik ben verliefd" Elbert Kok 9
  Overijssel Radio Oost Helene Heine "Net als een droom" Kees Smit 13
  Flevoland Omroep Flevoland Rudy Ray "Een leven zonder jou" Gaby Dirne [nl] Unknown[a]
  Friesland Omrop Fryslân Gina "Ga je mee?" Kees Smit
  Gelderland Omroep Gelderland Margriet Markerink "Huid en haar"
  Limburg Omroep Limburg Etienne Borgers "Wie kan zonder?"
  • Ernst Reichrath
  • Gregor Theelen
  North Brabant Omroep Brabant Roland Verstappen [nl] "Hou me vast"
  • Marieke Bootsma
  • Habbo Beem
  North Holland Radio Noord-Holland Jacques Kloes [nl] "Een leugentje om bestwil"
  • Eddy de Heer
  • Danny de Heer
  • Hans van Vondelen
  Utrecht Radio M Peter Douglas "Mijn beste kameraad"
  • Boudewijn Spitzen
  • Lucy Steymel
  • Koen van Baal
  West Radio West Nurlaila [nl] "Blijf jij bij mij?" Kees Smit
  Zeeland Omroep Zeeland Peter Adriaanse "De woorden, die schieten tekort"
  • Annemiek Woudt
  • Michiel Pos

Reception

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External videos
  Peter Adriaanse performing at the 1995 contest (footage from Omroep Zeeland)

The show was met with a negative critical reception, due to the alleged low quality of the performances.[17] Despite ambitions for it to become an annual event,[19] the competition was ultimately not renewed for a second edition in 1996. Instead, the regional broadcasters were invited by the Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) to contribute to the organisation of the Nationaal Songfestival 1996.[11]

Two contestants of the Dutch Song Contest, Roland Verstappen (North Brabant) and Gina de Wit (Friesland), were selected to compete in the Nationaal Songfestival 1996. The songwriters of the Zeelandic entry "De woorden, die schieten tekort" – Michel Pos and Annemiek Woudt – also entered the festival with the song "Neem me mee", performed by Lucretia van der Vloot [nl].

In June 1995, an official compilation album of the contest was released by EMI Music Holland.[20] Wia Buze, whose repertoire had consisted primarily of songs in Gronings dialect, released a studio album entirely in Dutch following her win in the contest.[21]

In 2023, twenty-eight years after the contest, a reworked version of the format was launched under the name Regio Songfestival.[22]

Notes

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  1. ^ The ranking of the entries that placed 3rd–8th and 10th–12th is missing.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Songfestival met 'regionale' artiesten". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Delpher. 3 May 1995. p. 23. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hermens, Martin (6 May 1995). "Eerste Nederlands songfestival". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. p. 8. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Nationaal songfestival alternatief voor debâcle". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Delpher. 8 May 1995. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Peter Adriaanse voor Zeeland naar Nederlands Songfestival". Zierikzeesche Nieuwsbode (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. 18 May 1995. p. 5. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Nummer Bredase producer Gaby Dirne kanshebber op alternatief songfestival: 'Een liedje moet op een draaiorgel kunnen'". De Stem (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. 20 May 1995. p. 29. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Uitzendgebied". Omroep West (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Over ons". RTV Rijnmond (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Het RTV Rijnmond uitzendgebied" (PDF). RTV Rijnmond (in Dutch). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Alternatief regionaal Songfestival". De Stem (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. 4 May 1995. p. 29. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Buma Stemra Magazine 5 (1994)". LastDodo (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b "Jaarverslag 1995 – Eerste Nederlandse songfestival, live op 13 radio's". Stichting ROOS (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 7 March 2003. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Regionaal 'alternatief' Eurovisie songfestival". Leidsch Dagblad (in Dutch). 22 May 1995. p. 13. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Omroep Zeeland – Donderdag 25 mei". Scheldebode (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. 23 May 1995. p. 7. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Persoonlijk". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Delpher. 27 May 1995. p. 6. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Songfestival". Zierikzeesche Nieuwsbode (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. 26 May 1995. p. 1. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  16. ^ d'Ancona, Jacques (20 May 1995). "Songfestival gokt op talent uit de regio's". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). p. 47. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  17. ^ a b Hermens, Martin (26 May 1995). "Wia Buze wint songfestival". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). Delpher. p. 9. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  18. ^ "Groningse zangeres Wia Buze wint Songfestival". Leeuwarder Courant (in Dutch). Delpher. 26 May 1995. p. 11. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  19. ^ "Songfestival-strijd tussen Wia Buze, Gina en Erikah". Nieuwsblad van het Noorden (in Dutch). 13 May 1995. p. 45. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Het Nederlandse songfestival '95". Muziekweb (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  21. ^ Smit, Els (12 August 1995). "Wia Buze zingt geen smartlappen". Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant (in Dutch). Krantenbank Zeeland. p. 25. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  22. ^ Vries, Marion de; Grimmon, Marco (31 July 2023). "Regio Songfestival: Wie haalt 'douze points' voor Groningen?". RTV Noord (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 August 2023. We hebben goede hoop, want het is één keer eerder georganiseerd in 1995; toen hebben wij Wia Buze die kant op gestuurd en toen hebben we gewonnen. [We have high hopes, because it was organised once before in 1995; that year we sent Wia Buze [as our representative] and we won.]
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