Those who have been following the post-national final season more closely, might have noticed the harsh criticism Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper have had to endure the past few weeks. Their vocal performances during the pre-parties in Madrid and Amsterdam have been under huge scrutiny.

The Dutch broadcaster have, because of that, gone out with a statement addressing the controversy:

 

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Een bericht gedeeld door NOS (@nos)

AVROTROS’ Director Eric van Stade’s statement reads:

Mia and Dion have performed twice now. We had them practice on purpose and we saw that it’s not going well yet. We now know what is lacking, as the whole of the Netherlands has seen. The creative team that has been working on it for ages is now continuing, precisely on those points to get the vocals right. And with only one goal: to give a good performance in Liverpool.

We always choose the song, it’s not the Song Contest for nothing. Also this year we chose the best song and that included two young artists, two young talents. Only this year we see that that step to the big stage is much bigger than previous years where we worked with young talent.

Broadcaster NOS have also interviewed former Dutch Eurovision representative Douwe Bob (2016) on the matter, who says:

It’s very bizarre. Basically, for half a year, you’re working towards 3 minutes. Two times 3 minutes. That’s what it’s all about. They can now do those performances ten times over, all of them going completely wrong, and no one believes in it anymore. But if they ace those 3 minutes, all of those mouths will be shut.

Mia, Dion and their team will be working further on giving a good performance of ‘Burning Daylight’ at the contest in May:

Do you also wish Mia and Dion the best for their coming performances?
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