Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004

Eurovision Song Contest 2004
Country	Netherlands
National selection
Selection process	Nationaal Songfestival 2004
Selection date(s)	Semi-finals:; 22 January 2004; 29 January 2004; 5 February 2004; 12 February 2004; Second Chance:; 19 February 2004; Final:; 22 February 2004
Selected entrant	Re-Union
Selected song	"Without You"
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (6th, 146 points)
Final result	20th, 11 points
Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest

The Netherlands was represented by Re-Union in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Without You".

Before Eurovision

Nationaal Songfestival 2004

Nationaal Songfestival 2004 was the national final that selected Netherlands's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The competition consisted of four semi-finals on 22 January, 29 January, 5 February and 12 February 2004, a Second Chance round on 19 February 2004 and a final on 22 February 2004 which all took place at the Pepsi Stage in Amsterdam, hosted by Nance Coolen and Humberto Tan.

Format

Twenty-four songs were divided into four semi-finals with six songs in each. From each semi-final, two directly proceeded to the final: one selected by a five-member jury panel and one selected by public televoting. In the event that both the jury and public placed the same song first, the second-placed song in the public vote proceeded to the final. After each semi-final, a second round of public televoting took place which selected one song from the non-qualifying acts that would proceed to the Second Chance round. The jury panel then selected an additional two songs from all non-qualifying acts in the semi-finals that would proceed to the Second Chance round. In the Second Chance round, two songs proceeded to the final as well: one selected by the jury panel and one selected by the public. In the final, the winner was selected based on the combination of votes from the public and the jury panel. Viewers were able to vote via telephone and SMS.

The five-member jury panel consisted of:[1]

Cornald Maas – journalist
Daniël Lohues – member of group Skik
Cor Bakker – musician
Rob Stenders – radio DJ
Ruth Jacott – Dutch representative in 1993

Competing entries

Artists and composers were able to submit their entries between 17 July 2003 and 1 November 2003.[2] 475 entries were received by the broadcaster, and a jury panel selected twenty-four songs for the competition.[3] The twenty-four competing entries were announced on 17 December 2004.[4]

Artist	Song	Composers
Adriana Romeyn	"On a Wing and a Prayer"	Christian Grotenbreg (m), Bruce Smith (l)
André Kuik	"Change"	Leonie Kuizenga (m & l), Jeremy Ebell (l)
Anja Wessels	"Heart of Stone"	Kees Patijn (m & l)
Arjen & Margriet	"De dag na de dertiende"	Arjen Tijs (m & l)
Arno Kolenbrander	"The Story of My Life"	Johnny Logan (m & l)
Babette Labeij	"Alright"	Adam Bar-Pereg (m & l), Babette Labeij (m & l), Dimitri Veltkamp (m & l)
Bas & Joël & Voice Male	"Celeste"	Eric Dibek (m & l)
Camp Girls	"In het licht in jouw ogen"	Frédérique Spigt (m & l), Jan van der Mey (m & l)
Charly	"She'll Take Your Breath Away"	Alan Michael (m & l), Charly Luske (m & l)
Cherwin	"Show Me the Love"	Ton Dijkman (m & l), Ferry van Leeuwen (m & l), Giovanni Caminita (m & l)
Hot Black Stuff	"Bump!"	Richard Ascroft (m & l)
Jaco van der Steen	"Here’s to the Summer"	Robbert van Ark (m & l), Sven Jansen (m & l)
Jorge Castro	"Ritornero"	Edwin Schimscheimer (m & l), Arsenio Mangieri (m & l)
Judith Jobse	"Love Me"	Judith Jobse (m & l)
Kaysee	"Butterfly"	Kees Koedoder (m & l)
Mai Tai	"Bring Back the Music"	Han Epskamp (m & l)
Mandy	"Tell Me Why"	Mandy Gruijters (m & l), Tim Janssens (m & l)
Mary Amora	"The Power of an Angel"	Romeo Samuel (m & l), Sietse Bakker (m & l)
Re-Union	"Without You"	Ed van Otterdijk (m), Angeline van Otterdijk (l)
Suzy 'n' the Hi-Rollers	"Mississippi Miss"	Paul Meyer (m), Bruce Smith (l)
Triple 10'rs	"De liefde"	Darre van Dijk (m), Lars Boom (l)
Varna Springer	"Heimwee"	Varna Springer (m & l)
William	"Love Me, Don't Leave Me"	Robin Albers (m & l), William Jansen (m & l), Boy Hagemann (m & l)
Yellow Pearl	"For You and Me"	Emiel Pijnaker (m & l)

Semi-final 1

The first semi-final took place on 22 January 2004. Two entries qualified directly to the final. A jury panel first selected one song to proceed: "Without You" performed by Re-Union. The remaining five entries then faced a public televote which determined an additional direct qualifier: "Alright" performed by Babette Labeij.[5] "The Story of My Life" performed by Arno Kolenbrander proceeded to the Second Chance round after an additional round of public televoting took place between the remaining non-qualifiers, and was revealed during a post-show.[6] "She'll Take Your Breath Away" performed by Charly was also selected to proceed to the Second Chance round by the jury panel.[7]