Netherlands 2023
Mia & Dion – Burning Daylight
As has been the case since 2013, the Netherlands Eurovision broadcaster AVROTROS has once again decided on internal selection for their 2023 Eurovision entry. The selection committee consisted of AVROTROS General Director Eric van Stade, television presenter Cornald Maas, singer and presenter Jan Smit, and radio Dj’s Hila Noorzai, Carolien Borgers and Sander Lantinga.
In November 2022, it was announced that the Netherlands would be represented my Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper. Not much was known about the song at that stage, but we did know that it was being written by Duncan Laurence, the winner of the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest with his song “Arcade”.
On the 1st March 2023, Mia and Dion’s entry “Burning Daylight” was officially presented during the Khalid & Sophie Show on the NPO1 channel in the Netherlands. In the studio, guests included Cornald Maas and Sander Lantinga from the selection committee, Dutch Eurovision super fan Emma Wortelboer and the Belgian Eurovision commentator Pieter Van Der Veide. According to Cornald, they had over 400 submissions to represent The Netherlands this year. They were looking for a song that you would be able to recognise after just 1 listen, and believe they found that with “Burning Daylight”. Cornald said that you have to want to win, and that they do want to win.
Although not present in the studio, Mia and Dion were interviewed live from the launch event held in Rotterdam that same night. When asked about the song, Mia said that it was about being human and how everyone makes mistakes but how you can let go of those mistakes and embrace life.
Joining Duncan on the songwriting team for “Burning Daylight” is his partner Jordan Garfield, composer/producer Loek van der Grinten, and the performers themselves, Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper.
It was Duncan Laurence who first brought Mia and Dion together after hearing them sing and realising they would sound good together. Mia, a 26 year old singer originally from Amsterdam, currently resides in Los Angeles. She released her debut single “Set Me Free” in 2020. Mia is also one of the songwriters for an entry in this year’s Moldovan national final - “When Love’s Real” performed by Corina Ivanov. 28 year old Dion, a former entrant of “The Voice of Holland”, was the opening act to Duncan’s tour in 2021. They co-wrote Dion’s song “Blue Jeans” together and Dion released his first EP “Too Young Too Dumb” in 2021.
Burning Daylight can be described as a pop ballad, telling the story of falling down but being able to get back up again. You can definitely hear Duncan’s contribution to the song as it feels very much in the same genre as Arcade. Mia and Dion’s voices do indeed blend very well together, resulting in a stunning vocal performance. Not much is known about the staging, although we do know that Jordan Garfield will be the Creative Director. We wish Mia and Dion all the best In Liverpool.