Rewind: Eurovision Song Contest
May 18, 2006
American Idol's Simon Cowell once said that the Netherlands has the worst singing talent in the world. And judging from the country's performance at the annual Eurovision Song Contest he might be right. It has been over twenty years that the Dutch won the coveted European singing price. Teach-In grabbed top honors in 1975 with craptastic "Ding-a-Dong." Check out a vintage television performance of the group on a German television show. This song still ranks as one of my favorite Eurovision tunes ever. Its wholesome melody is pure pop perfection that is simply timeless.
A Dutch entry that came close to winning the tournament was Edsilia Rombley's "Hemel & Aarde" ("Heaven & Earth") that took the number 4 spot in 1998. But it was Israel's transsexual Dana International who won the prize with "Diva." Even though, I think "Hemel & Aarde" is a mediocre piece of songwriting, the R&B singer showed off some international allure with her vocal performance.
Today, the Dutch are hoping the group Treble will make it through the semi-finals in the 2006 competition that is held in Athens, Greece. I have to admit that Treble's song "Amambanda"
is an odd brew of dance and percussion that will probably fail
to stir up the international jury. The finals will be held on Saturday.
(And if you are wondering why I am zooming on the the Dutch entries you
must know that I was born and raised in the Netherlands so I'm a little
biased.)
Watch Teach-In "Ding-a-Dong"Watch Edsilia Rombley "Hemel & Aarde"