Dutch Eurovision entry eliminated in semi-finals for first time since 2015

The Dutch squad at the Eurovision Song Contest was eliminated in the semi-finals on Tuesday. Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper failed to receive enough votes from viewers to advance to the final round, making it the first time since 2015 that a Dutch singer has been absent from the final.

The Dutch duo’s performance was the 14th of a total of 15 acts on the night, allowing viewers from competing countries to vote for their favorite performer. Ten countries made it to the final, including Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Norway.

Malta, Latvia, Ireland and Azerbaijan were the other four countries eliminated on Tuesday. Loreen, who won Eurovision in Sweden, was the frontrunner, followed by Finnish actor Kaaliyah. The latter also features Dutch dancer Jesse Winans.

Nikolaj and Cooper were seen roller skating around Zaandam in an introductory video before their live performance on stage at Liverpool Arena in England. Just before the live show started, Nikolai and Cooper were very excited to attend the event despite the heap of criticism they received for their off-key and lackluster performances of some of their songs. I said there is. burning daylight.

As a result, the song has been refined in recent weeks, with the duo working intensively with their singing coach. “We’re really seeing all the hard work come to life now,” Nicolai said earlier in the evening. Cooper added that the criticism brought them even closer.

Trijntje Oosterhuis was the last Dutch performer to miss the Eurovision final. Douwe Bob was promoted the following year, along with OG3NE, Waylon, Duncan Laurence and S10. Lawrence won in 2019 and took the next competition in 2021 to Holland, with Jung McRoy automatically reaching the final.

Nicolai and Cooper had never met before coming together for the Dutch entry in a partnership that included former Eurovision winner Duncan Lawrence as producer and co-writer of their song.

France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Great Britain have already qualified for the finals, as have last year’s reigning champions Ukraine. A further 16 nations are scheduled to compete in Thursday’s second semi-final. 10 of them will be selected for the final.

The haunting beauty of Dutch duo Mia & Dion 🧡🇳🇱 #Eurovision pic.twitter.com/nvoxfMDskk

— Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) May 9, 2023