THIS YEAR'S ENTRY

 SELECTION
At the end of November, Dutch broadcaster TROS announced that their entry for Oslo would be written and composed by one of the country's most successful songwriters Pierre Kartner and  for the first time since 1998, the Netherlands would be send an entry in the Dutch language to the Eurovision Song Contest. On December 18th, the demo version of the song "Ik Ben Verliefd (Sha-la-lie)" was released as well as the details of how the performer for Oslo would be chosen.

Five potential performers would be mentored by well known Dutch stars, before they competed in the Dutch national final which was held on February 7th at Studio Baarn in Utrecht. Each of the five acts performed different arrangements of the song on the show, which was hosted by Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen and the winning performer was chosen by a jury, with 80% weighting and the audience in the television studio, who had the other 20%. As there was a tie at the end of the voting, and Pierre Kartner as the composer of the song was given the deciding vote. After saying that he preferred a version by singer that hadn't made the tie-break and much hesitation, Kartner chose 18 year old Sieneke.

 BIOGRAPHY
Sieneke, the Dutch participant in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, was born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, on the 1st of April 1992. She grew up in a very close family, with her father, mother and younger brother.

As a child Sieneke was always singing and dancing. She was only eight when she started doing street dance, and a few years later she took up ballroom dancing. Over the years Sieneke began to perform at parties in various locations throughout the country, which she enjoyed very much. That’s how, two years ago, she met the well-known Dutch singer Marianne Weber, who immediately recognised a great talent in Sieneke. She heard, saw, and felt that Sieneke had something really special: a spectacular voice and a charisma that is spontaneous and real. They carefully started to make plans, but Marianne urged Sieneke to be patient, for Marianne knew, like no other, that you have to wait for the right moment to bring something good.

That moment came when TROS broadcasting company approached Marianne to enter a talent of her choice in the Dutch National Song Contest. Marianne did not hesitate for a minute and knew that now was the time right to promote Sieneke.

At the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo, Sieneke will sing the song Ik Ben Verliefd (I’m in Love) (Sha-la-lie), by Pierre Kartner. Pierre Kartner has many European successes to his name as a song-writer. He has written songs for, amongst others, Nana Mouskouri, Peter Alexander, Joe Dassin, and Mireille Matthieu.

 REACTION
Reaction to the Dutch entry can best be described as "mixed". The song has become the biggest Dutch Eurovision hit for decades, but its international appeal doesn't seem to be anywhere as strong. The Netherlands is not among the favourites to qualify from the second semi-final and can be backed at 250/1 to win in Oslo. Internet polls are also not favouring the Dutch entry, as its generally is in the bottom ten entries.

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