Last month, we reported on the several changes the Dutch delegation had made, amongst other things appointing the new Head of Delegation: Twan van de Nieuwenhuijzen. Back then it was also known that they were looking for people to fill the two vacancies within the selection committee.

And the new members have been found! They are celebrated singers Jacqueline Govaert en Jaap Reesema!
They will be joining:

• Cornald Maas (TV presenter & Eurovision commentator)
• Sander Lantinga (Radio DJ)
• Carolien Borgers (Singer & radio DJ)
• Hila Noorzai (TV presenter & radio DJ)

Jacqueline Govaert is perhaps best known as the lead singer of the popular band Krezip and enjoys solo succes as well!

Jaap Reesema rose to fame as the winner of the third edition of the Dutch X Factor in 2010, racking up several hit songs in The Netherlands and Belgium since. Not in the least with this recent cover, which became a hit in The Netherlands:

About finding that one perfect song, Jacqueline says:

Hearing a good song sung well for the first time has something magical about it. I’m really looking forward to listening to the entries, along with the other committee members, and finding the perfect song among them!

And Jaap also can’t wait to go to work, as he states:

The opportunity to participate in creating great, international success for a Dutch product is something I find really cool. Look at the winning song ‘Arcade’ by Duncan Laurence. It now has more than 1 billion Spotify streams, unprecedented! That’s what the Eurovision Song Contest can do for a song and for an artist. I’m convinced that we have enough talented, creative people in the Netherlands to take the win one more time and I’m going to work 100% to make that happen!

Those interested in representing The Netherlands in Malmö next year have until the 30th of September to register with AVROTROS. After that, the selection committee will deliberate and are planning to make their choice known somewhere mid-December.

They will have to find a successor to Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper, who represented the Dutch in Liverpool earlier this year, with ‘Burning Daylight’:

Head of Delegation Twan van de Nieuwenhuijzen has already said many artists, both beginning and seasoned, have been in touch already! But who do you wish to see singing for The Netherlands next year?
Let us know in the comments below or on our social media channels: @escbubble