Best Last Place – 90 songs have come last or shared last at the Eurovision Song Contest. Over the last weeks hundreds of our readers have voted for their favorites. Each voter submitted his personal Top 5. In the next days we will reveal your Top 15. We continue today with a founder nation of the Eurovision Song Contest, which hit rock bottom in 2011: The Netherlands!
The Netherlands sent a very popular band to neighbor Germany. The 3Js had their big breakthrough with the album “Watermensen” which topped the Dutch album charts. The band name is an allusion to the names of the three band members (all starting with a J): Jaap Kwakman and Jaap de Witte (guitars), Jan Dulles (vocals). They are from Volendam in the north of Amsterdam and their songs are mostly in Dutch.The Dutch broadcaster selected them internally and they wrote five songs for a national final. Je vecht nooit alleen was the favourite of both the professional jury and the televoters and went on to Top the Dutch single charts. In the English version “Never Alone”, the song failed to impress the Eurovision voters. It may have to do with the white Mafia suit Dulles wore or their uninspired performance.
I fear they have to blame themselves for their failure. The way the song was presented to the audience was entirely their own choice. I guess they performed it the same way as in any concert they do. That is definitely not the right approach for eurovision where you have to capture the audience attention immediately. They could have learnt from Sieneke, who despite her lame song, actually looked like she was enjoying herself on stage.
I agree with what w s has written. Personally, I really like this song and most of the songs 3JS offered on the Dutch 2011 NF, especially ‘Weelderig waardelos’. They did ruin it for themselves, but songwise I can see why people voted for this entry.
P.S.: that white suit was ugly, ugly and ,just be sure I am being clear, ugly!
P.P.S.: Italy, Serbia and Belgium are my top 3 2011 songs. The Dutch entry is 12th on that list.
*just to be sure
My top three was performed in that order as the last three songs of the Final: Ukraine, Serbia, Georgia.
Georgia is mt nº 5. We agree on Serbia and disgree on Ukraine.
And the worst, the song really deserving last place, was the Croatian one imo. What were they thinking.
Indeed, w s, Croatia 11 is at the very bottom of my list too.
My top three is Greece, Germany and Italy.
Same top 3 here with Serbia very close behind. And just like Shevek I have Georgia in 5th place.
Everything has been said on NL 2011: decent song but terribly lame live performance. For two years in a row, the Dutch have ruined fine songs live.
Nothing more to add. A very nice song that was ruined by a performance lacking energy.
Imho, they deserved a place in the final. “Never Alone” was a very good effort by the Dutch after two disastrous entries in 2009 and 2010. I’m pleasantly surprised to see it on this list.
I hope that 2013 will be the third year in a row that I will like the Dutch entry.
how everyone so loved that song after the NF, it would do this and would do that, possible winner etc, as ESC shows, a less than interesting performance with bad shots is a fine line between a qualifier/winner, and the difference between euro fans perspective and euro voters perspective too I guess…
Speaking of the Netherlands, I ran into this stuff on YT the other day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSsUKf2Klms
I love it; they are dutch, if I’m not mistaken.
like it a lot, yes I think they are dutch, I think my favourite dutch song in English (and group) is the Nits, “In the Dutch mountains” is such a great and obviously ironic song, love it!
Thank you for the video. Yes, those guys ring a bell to me
yes, I guess they were really famous in Netherlands at that time (maybe Dutch friends can help out?), at that time in UK we got various shows showing euro songs cause those kind of songs were flavour of the month (especially German ones, but Dutch ones too..) I remember especially Fay lovsky, “don’t feed the animals”, but I also remember a song of hers re: sometimes you cry, that got kind of lost can’t find it…? help? here fay and the animals:
The Nits were famous in the early eighties. This is their biggest hit:
(Nescio is the pseudonym of a Dutch novelist.)
Interesting stuff. Thanks, guys.
P.S.: I am watching the opening ceremony as well.
Hi Shevek
Hi, Oxi.
Here are the Greek athletes.
Yes Shevek! so proud of them; so proud of all the athletes taking part in the paralympics; True heroes!!!
Great song this one (I gave them 2 points). I think it deserved to be finalist… at least not last for sure. Good performance
Agreed with all written before. Good song, awful presentation (as with this year too). Off to watch the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympics.
Hi Martin
I’m watching it too (I catch a glimpse of Fenerbahce vs Spartak Moskva at the same time).
Ian Mckellen is divine!
They ruined any chance they had at qualification with that live performance, and frankly, I didn’t miss them in the finals.
Sorry I’ve been leaving curt and short replies lately (or not commenting all together). I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks.
Hey there Patrick
I hope that rough days will be soon over for you
Oh, they should be. Most of it is my own fault, so I really just need to get my own act together. Lol
As for 2011, I seem to have the odd top 10 out:
01. Serbia: Nina – Caroban
02. Albania: Aurela Gace – Feel the Passion
03. San Marino: Senit – Stand By
04. Bulgaria: Poli Genova – Na Inat
05. Malta: Glen Vella – One Life
06. Iceland 07. Lithuania 08. Belgium 09. Bosnia & Herzegovina 10. Switzerland
Just missing out: Germany, Georgia, Moldova, Cyprus
Can’t Stand: Croatia, Ireland, Turkey, Russia, Finland, Poland
I like Lithuania 11 too. I am glad I am not the only one.
Olá, Patrick.
Hang in there.
A nice song with an underwhelming live performance,lacklustre and old fashioned.Plus,they totally forgot it is a TV show.But the song itself,definitely didn’t deserve last place IMO.
Good song , very bad performance.
MY 2011 TOP 10 :
1)GRE , 2)ITA , 3)GERM , 4)SERB , 5)EST , 6)SLOVE , 7)ALB , 8)ICE , 9)GEO , 10)BIH
LOL Everyone keeps saying how bad they were live; am I the only one who doesn’t see anything bad in their performance?
My 2011 list:
01. ITALY: Raphael Gualazzi – Madness of love
02. GERMANY: Lena – Taken by a stranger
03. GEORGIA: Eldrine- One more day
04. CYPRUS: Christos Mylordos- San aggelos s’agapisa
05. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA: Dino Merlin- Love in rewind
06.Serbia 07.Turkey 08.Switzerland 09.Portugal 10.France
Just missing out: Moldova, Iceland, Albania, Netherlands
Can’t stand: Poland, Belarus, Sweden
how I agree with you so much, maybe would have put Germany lower (and Cyprus lower perhaps). in terms of live performance I must admit Netherlands 2011 it was not good IMO, it completeley lacked something on the night, maybe more boobs and muscle is how Netherlands could win? !! (a favourite “euro song” whatever that means, in the UK 1982…to this day she still got a fight with Samantha Fox!)
Cyprus 11 would be my #2, if their stage performance wasn’t kinda lame
Btw, now that you brought up Samantha Fox, she was in my hometown for a concert a few months ago
actually I heard that cyprus La La La in my local off licence the other day, guess those songs got to be some kind of summer hits, blaaah!, Samantha Fox was in your home town? my god! what is your home town? was that Vanessa above there too?
Omg, they are playing “Common People” by Pulp! I love that song!
Since everyone is posting their top-10,i will do it as well.
1.Germany.
2.Georgia.
3.Bulgaria.
4.B&H
5.Switzerland
6.Greece
7.Hungary
8.Slovenia
9.Iceland.
10.Serbia
Just missing out: France,Netherlands and Cyprus.
Cyprus is on TV. Germany 11 is my nº4 and the Cypriot entry is my nº 7.
And now Greece!lol!Here is a song you may like.
Oh my, …Dimitris! One of my favs, the lyrics in particular
Here is another one that I love; it always reminds me of the Greek summer:
Indeed!”Agios o Erwtas” would be the perfect soundtrack for the Greek summer.Giorgos Andreou is a very talented composer.
But here is a song that has been haunting me for the last month.I recently discovered this cover by Dimitra Galani.
Thanx, Dimitri. Dimitra Galani is a great singer; and this one is kinda classic, especially for people at my age
…or a bit older 
I prefer the original version by Dionisis Savvopoulos though.
Well I for one did not like the song at all: it’s very lame, outdated, underwhelming and they performed it just as such live. Three minutes I wish I could get back, last was maybe a tad harsh, but they never ever deserved a top 10 in esc 2011 so among the best last places? lol, again, stop with the modern esc advantages come on!
“stop with the modern esc advantages come on!”
I agree with that. Almost every song that came last in the 60s was miles above the Dutch effort in 2011.
And since the topic is about the Netherlands, here are my two most favourite Dutch entries in the ESC ever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ40q6sR1R0&feature=related
I think my top 5 of Dutch songs would be:
1. Een beetje
2. Tijd
3. Hemel en aarde
4. Net als toen
5. Wijs me de weg
“Ring dinge ding” (I’m probably one of the few ESC fans who love that song) and “Vrede” are following. “De troubadour”, on the other hand, do I find a bit boring which is strange because I should love it, judging my personal taste. But there’s something out there that doesn’t do it for me.
My favorite is 1965. Very underrated. Imo the only decent song we send that decade.
The NSF performance
Her moment with Ulrika Johnsson in 1998
Thank you for the videos, w s
Very good!
I would never say that their performance “ruined” the song – they performed it as they felt they should. Performers shouldn’t try to “win Eurovision at any cost”, the reason that we have such a trashy contest now is precisely that too many acts are too desperate to win. Today pyrotechnics and wind machines are always on, and if someone is particularly desperate, they try cellophane suits, contortionists, sand-painting, half-women-half-pianos – you name it! I’d say – congratulations on a sincere performance!
I thought this song would do really well when I first heard it (before the contest), but was disappointed by the live performance on the night.
I cannot understand eurovision fans sometimes xD.
First they say the hate gimmicks and want it to be more about the song, more honest.
BUT WHEN THEY GET SOMETHING HONEST AND ABOUT THE SONG THEY COMPLAIN THE PERFOMANCE IF MISSING WHAT?
GIMMICKS! XD
Seriously people, decide yourselves.