Netherlands - Sascha Stolp

As has been tradition for The Netherlands since 2013, The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS again opted for an internal selection for their Eurovision representative, and on the 21 January 2019 it was announced that Duncan Laurence would fly the Dutch flag in Tel Aviv.  On the 7th March 2019, the song was eventually announced to be “Arcade”.

About Duncan Laurence 

Duncan Laurence (real name Duncan De Moor) is a 24 year old singer-songwriter from Spikenisse in The Netherlands.  He became known in The Netherlands in 2014 when he participated in the 5th season of The Voice of Holland where his coach was Ilse DeLange, half of the 2012 Dutch artists at Eurovision, The Common Linnets.  Coincidentally, this season was eventually won by the 2017 Dutch Eurovision representatives, O’G3NE.  

When interviewed about his representing The Netherlands at Eurovision, Duncan said “In the past years, very well-known A-artists partook in behalf of the Netherlands. That’s not the case with me, but that’s also the beauty of it: there are so many young musical talents in the Netherlands. My participation proves that you can just get the chance to show what you are worth on such a big stage. I am very proud that I will be representing the Netherlands and I will give everything I have.”

About the song 

Name:  Arcade

Composers & Lyricists :  Duncan de Moor, Joel Sjöö & Wouter Hardy

Arcade is a moody, suspenseful and haunting  love song and according to Duncan who co-wrote the entry, it is a story of longing, loss and love against all odds.

Duncan said, “Love can be a crazy thing. We run into it, we dance, we fall… blindly. And when it’s gone, all we do is hope for it to ever come back.”

When talking about the creation of Arcade, Duncan continued “I went searching for stories that are moving and that mean something, from my own life or that of someone else. I found the inspiration in the story of a loved one who passed away at a young age. She lost her love, but always hoped that he would return one day. That hope I put into the song that was created then, which I christened Arcade – the words and chords came of their own volition, from the heart. That’s why it sounded, despite the variations in the song, so organic. In the creation of Arcade I received help from Joel Sjöö and Wouter Hardy, and it became not only my story but also a shared story. Arcade is a story about the search for the love of your life. It is the hope for that which seems unattainable.

There are no reports as yet to the staging of Arcade, but initial reviews to the song itself have been very positive.  The Netherlands have shot up the list of betting odds to win the contest and Arcade has probably given The Netherlands their best chance at success at Eurovision since 2014.  We wish them and Duncan all the best in Tel Aviv.