Tweet
Happy new year from Netherlands! Welcome 2023!
Gelukkig nieuwjaar vanuit Nederland! Welkom 2023!
Gelukkig nieuwjaar vanuit Nederland! Welkom 2023!
As I mentioned in the previous thread, I'm starting a little early because I'm going on vacation for two weeks. I'll be back by the 14th, so just in time to start voting!
We weren't in the Netherlands too long ago. In fact, the Netherlands bookended 2022 by winning the first contest of the year in January and the last one of the year. We apparently love to visit this country in the wintertime! We're here courtesy of HAEVN, which won last month to complete a trifecta of wins:
We come to the charming city of Utrecht, a town that was once voted the most beautiful canalled city of Europe - yes, even beating Venice and Amsterdam. I guess we have a month to verify the accuracy of this vote. Utrectht dates back to the Roman Empire, and some think that the name loosely links back to those times as places where you crossed the water was called the trajectum. It's believed the Rhine used to flow through Utecht, which further led to the name.
Today, the town is one of the youngest in the country, and supposedly one of the happiest. As far as things to do here, well, you can't go anywhere in the town without seeing the Dom Tower, a clock tower in which the bells have names (the biggest bell is named Salvator). An interesting point on the square is a stone to show where the Dom Tower would land if it fell. So I guess don't stand there to take a picture of it. You might actually want to get a picture from the top of it instead, where you can see the skylines of Amsterdam and Rotterdam on a clear day. Fun fact, the person managing the bells of the clock tower is called a carillonneur, and the first one was blind. You'll have to walk up the tower to get there. (Too bad we didn't check this out last month when we were in Japan - they have an exact replica that contains an elevator!)
There are some nice day trips to the countryside if you feel like venturing out in this weather. I understand Culemborg has a nice Dutch windmill and a an old fortified wall. Or you could check out Goerden, which has the last "real" cheese market (whatever that means, but I do like cheese!), or you could check out Oudewater to see the witch scale, which was a scale supposedly used to determine if you were a witch or not. Either the scale was faulty or witches didn't exist in town because no one was ever prosecuted as a witch.
In any case, I love gouda, so I'm going to have to check out that cheese market immediately. Happy new year!
RULES
01. This is a monthly contest, modeled after Eurovision. You need to have at least 10 posts to your credit to take part.
02. You can pick any country in the world.
03. The artist you choose has either to be a citizen of the country they'll represent or to have been born there. At least HALF of the people from your act must be from the country you choose.
04. Your song must be under 10 years old. Eligible entries must have been released after January 1st, 2013.
05. Eurovision entries are not allowed. Songs from concurrent Eurovision heats are not allowed either.
06. The song cannot have been a UK/US Top 40 hit, as it would give it an unfair advantage.
07. The song can be a remix.
08. The song cannot be a cover version.
09. If your song features a sample, please state it early enough, so the other contestants can decide whether it is acceptable or not by poll.
10. You cannot vote for your own country.
11. Discussion about one's favourites during the contest is NOT ALLOWED, as it has the potential to influence the voting.
12. PLEASE try and choose a song not everyone would know, the point is to discover new artists.
13. If a song becomes or is found to be ineligible at any time before the voting is over, it will be disqualified.
14. Make sure you understand all the rules before you take part. You will need to devote about 2 hours of your time to this game to listen to all the entries at least once. Do a little research on your entry before you present it, be sure that it doesn't violate any rules, and check here to see if it has taken part before.
TIMELINE
01 - 15/1 | RESERVE & PRESENT: Present your entry or just reserve your country. Last month's top 5 get their choice from last month reserved, so nobody may choose these countries until they let them go:
01 Netherlands (cheapthrills)
02 South Korea (Colbie)
03 Canada (KindOf)
04 Norway (Zeph)
05 Australia (Thriller)
15/1 | PRESENT: Pick any country that hasn't been presented yet and present your entry (ALL reservations are now expired). A maximum of 30 confirmed entries in total will be accepted.
16- 28/1 | VOTE! Whoever fails to vote during this period will be subject to the penalties described under Late Vote and Very Late Vote
29/1 | Late Vote: Whoever votes on this date will receive a 10 points penalty.
30/1 | Very Late Vote: Whoever votes on this date will receive a 15 points penalty. Whoever fails to vote by this date (Utrecht time) will be disqualified.
31/1 | Results
ALL RULES AND PENALTIES WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED
ENTRIES:
Armenia (Top10) | Darno & Gata Band - Andranik Sarkavag Manukyan
Australia (GaGarazzi) | Thelma Plum - Backseat Of My Mind
Cape Verde (JSparksFan) | June Freedom X Elji Beatzkilla - YSL
Croatia (navi) | ### - Negativ cvijeće
Denmark (Affillate) | Christopher - If It Weren’t For You
Finland (trebor) | Turmion Kätilöt - Kuolettavia Vammoja
France (Colbie) | Zaho De Sagazan - Les Dormantes
Germany (flopho) | Cosby - Calling Out
Greece (ConstantinosV) | Good Job Nicky - January 8th
Hungary (Spartan) | Georgő Rácz - Better
Italy (heppolo) | Santi Francesi - Signorino
Japan (jordi_89) | Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - HARAJUKU IYAHOI
Mongolia (Mainshow) | Becca - Yag Esregeer Ni
Netherlands (cheapthrills) | Tim Dawn - Another Time
Philippines (xtofer) | Kio Priest & Paulo Castro - Sinner
Romania (mondflug) | Triplo Max - Shadow
Singapore (Leo) | Cayenne - Drivin' Away
South Africa (KindOf) | Orville Peck - Daytona Sand
South Korea (Nanda) | BÉBE YANA - SPACE MULAN
Spain (Frederic) | Alvaro De Luna & Lola Indigo - Mańana
Sweden (CandyPerfumeBoy) | Winona Oak - Radio
Thailand (Spiral) | Fluke Gawin - Sweet But Naughty
Ukraine (franklex) | Max Barskih - Before We Say Goodbye
United Kingdom (Thriller) | Romy & Fred Again.. - Strong
United States (Zeph) | Caroline Polachek - Welcome to My Island
Spoiler!
Playlist courtesy of ConstantinosV
Been wanting to feature this indie Brooklyn artist for about 6 months now. It’s not that often that I find someone from the US who is edgy and artsy and not necessarily beating at the same cookie cutter pulse as every other industry label byproduct. Hope everyone enjoys her craft.
Comment