Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010

The logo of Nationaal Songfestival 2010

On 28 November 2009, the Dutch broadcaster announced that they had selected Pierre Kartner to compose the Dutch song for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.[10][11] A demo version of the song, "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)", premiered during the Radio 2 programme Gouden Uren, hosted by Daniël Dekker.[12][13] The five competing artists that would perform the song in the national final Nationaal Songfestival 2010 were announced during a press conference on 22 January 2010.[14] The selection of the artists for the competition occurred through coaches consisting of well-known Dutch singers: Loekz by Frans Bauer, Marlous Oosting by Corry Konings, Peggy Mays by Albert West, Sieneke by Marianne Weber and Vinzzent by Grad Damen.[15][16]

The final took place on 7 February 2010 at the Studio Baarn in Utrecht, hosted by Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau and was broadcast on Nederland 1 as well as streamed online via the broadcaster's Eurovision Song Contest website songfestival.nl.[17][18] All five competing artists performed "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)" in different styles and the winning artist, Sieneke, was selected by the combination of votes from a four-member jury (4/5) and the audience in the studio (1/5).[19] The jury panel consisted of radio DJ Daniël Dekker, singer and actress Tatjana Šimić, singer George Baker and Irish 1980 and 1987 Eurovision winner Johnny Logan. Each juror had an equal stake in the final result while the audience vote had a weighting equal to the votes of a single juror. Sieneke and Loekz were tied at 2 votes each, and the tie was resolved after Sieneke was selected by Pierre Kartner himself as the winner. In addition to the performances of the artists, the show featured Johnny Logan performing his Eurovision 1987 winning song "Hold Me Now".[20] The national final was watched by 2.053 million viewers in the Netherlands with a market share of 29.6%.[21]

After the voting led to a tie between Sieneke and Loekz, Pierre Kartner was called on stage to break the tie but continuously resisted to do so as he considered both artists "equally strong". Being pushed by the show producers and presenter Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau to make a decision, he first attempted to vote by flipping a coin but ultimately chose Sieneke after discovering that it was against the rules.[22][23]

Criticism was voiced by Pierre Kartner's role in the Dutch selection, amongst them Eric van Tijn who has written two past Dutch Eurovision entries. He voiced his opinion that "Kartner has written some fantastic songs in the past, but that's way too long ago, if you ask me."[17] Past Dutch Eurovision entrants were among those invited by TROS to become coaches but many refused. Edsillia Rombley stated that she "did not like the idea", while Lenny Kuhr (1969) called the selected song "shabby" and "an insult to the [Dutch] public".[24] For some time there was also uncertainty about Corry Konings' role as coach due to disagreements about the production of Marlous Oosting's version of the song. Marlous remained in the competition after the dispute was settled.

Following the presentation of "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)", an enormous majority of Dutch press and Eurovision fans had no high hopes for the song at the contest, claiming it to be "too old-fashioned" and blaming TROS for choosing Kartner to compose the song. 2009 Dutch Eurovision entrant (as part of De Toppers) Gordon, who initially agreed to be a coach selecting the winner of the Dutch show Waar is Elvis?! Bouke as the artist, withdrew from the competition after hearing the song.[25] Criticism was also received from jury member Johnny Logan who stated following Nationaal Songfestival 2010 that the song "just isn't strong enough" with "no appeal at all to European voters". However, an incentive has been launched by regional Dutch radio stations in support of the Dutch entry, with every station playing the song simultaneously on 18 February at 11:15 CET. The initiative was also supported by 1987 Dutch Eurovision entrant Marga Bult.[26] The following week, "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)" went to #1 on the Dutch Single Top 100 (formerly at #13), becoming the first Dutch Eurovision song ever to reach #1 in the Netherlands. The song also reached #1 on the Dutch iTunes download chart.[26][27]

In addition, Pierre Kartner was accused of plagiarism by musician Dick van Altena who claimed that the former had stolen the melody and complete tune of his song "Angelien", which he wrote for singer Arne Jansen in 1994. Van Altena filed a complaint with Buma/Stemra on 20 April and the verdict was due on 23 June, which could have led to the disqualification of Sieneke's Eurovision participation.[28] The complaint was withdrawn on 6 May after a suitable settlement, although van Altena stated that the whole matter could have been handled more clearly.[29] Prior to the national final, one of the verses of "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)" had been edited due to a political reference to the Russian city of Saint Petersburg (the discontinued name Leningrad was used instead).[30]

Sieneke during a rehearsal before the second semi-final

Sieneke took part in technical rehearsals on 19 and 22 May, followed by dress rehearsals on 26 and 27 May. This included the jury show on 26 May where the professional juries of each country watched and voted on the competing entries.

The Dutch performance featured Sieneke wearing white trousers and a white blouse and performing in front of a large street organ with LED screens together with two mime performers dressed as dolls and three backing vocalists. The organ displayed hearts, sun rays and parts of the lyrics from the song, while the stage was colourfully lighted.[32][33] The two mime performers that joined Sieneke were Peter van der Poort and Floor van der Poort, while the three backing vocalists were Kelly ter Horst, Yvette Keijzers and Wiesje Westerlaken.[34]

At the end of the show, the Netherlands was not announced among the top 10 entries in the second semi-final and therefore failed to qualify to compete in the final. It was later revealed that the Netherlands placed fourteenth in the semi-final, receiving a total of 29 points.[35]

Voting during the three shows consisted of 50 percent public televoting and 50 percent from a jury deliberation. The jury consisted of five music industry professionals who were citizens of the country they represent. This jury was asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently.

Following the release of the full split voting by the EBU after the conclusion of the competition, it was revealed that the Netherlands had placed eleventh with the public televote and fourteenth with the jury vote in the second semi-final. In the public vote, the Netherlands scored 49 points, while with the jury vote, the Netherlands scored 26 points.[36]

Below is a breakdown of points awarded to the Netherlands and awarded by the Netherlands in the second semi-final and grand final of the contest. The nation awarded its 12 points to Israel in the semi-final and to Armenia in the final of the contest.