THE NETHERLANDS 2010 - Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)

The Dutch entry. I don't know what to say. Welcome to 1968?

I really have absolutely zero idea what they were thinking when they picked this entry. It almost makes you think it's a joke, doesn't it? I mean, it's ... I don't know. I really don't know what this is. o_O

I have to say that I truly pity this singer ... I don't know why they are putting a 17-year-old through this. (I know, she doesn't look 17 ... !!) This song was chosen in a way that is quite foreign to us Norwegians - the song was picked first, by the NPO, AFAIK, not by vote ... and then the vote was to choose which of five singers would perform it. This poor girl won. I'm sorry, 'won'. There was a huge backlash against the song and the singer really caught it ... but the tide of public opinion turned, fortunately, and the song's become a big hit. But that's because people are feeling sorry for her, I'm afraid ... not because of the qualities of the song. Which are ... what, exactly?

I'm tempted to say non-existent. I mean, it's a fun song ... I guess ... it's uptempo and catchy. But it's like a time warp back to ca 1970. I didn't know people were writing songs like this any more. And I think it's completely crazy that they're sending this to the contest in 2010. I don't know what they think they're doing. Again, it's like a joke. This song might have done really well 40 years ago, but parts of the world have moved on since then.

They may get some votes from older viewers in the West who get nostalgic about their youth when they hear this. But that may still translate to nil points. And it will be well deserved, if so. >:-(

This is the unfortunate Sieneke performing Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie) by the clearly sadistic Pierre Kartner. He will be competing for the Netherlands on Thursday, May 27th, and he ought to be ashamed of himself.



Lyrics with translation here.