Junior Eurovision party coming up! Luna with her song “La Festa will represent the Netherlands at the upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The 12-year-old singer has won the Junior Songfestival 2022.
The singer has swept the jury and the online vote. After the voting of the juries and the spectators, the results of the contest are as follows:
| Children’s jury | Professional jury | Online vote | Total | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinity – “Never Ever | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | 4º |
| MixedUp – “It Doesn’t Matter” | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 2º |
| High5 – “Because I Know | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | 3º |
| Luna – “La Festa | 12 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 1º |
Ayana, winner of last year’s edition of the Junior Songfestival and representative of the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision 2021, presented the trophy to the winner of the contest
La Festa is composed by Robert Dorn and will be the 20th Dutch entry in the children’s contest. The Netherlands has participated continuously in Junior Eurovision since its first edition in 2003
THIS IS HOW THE GRAND FINAL OF THE JUNIOR SONGFESTIVAL 2022 WENT DOWN
The Junior Songfestival 2022 has been presented by Stefania Liberakakis (2002) and Matheu Hinzen (2006), who will represent the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision in 2016 and 2019, respectively. In this special edition celebrating the 20th anniversary of the first edition of the children’s contest, four entries took to the stage at RTM Stage Ahoy in Rotterdam, where we were able to enjoy their live performances for the first time
In addition, the 14 finalists had the opportunity to sing together the group theme song of the edition, “Living In The Moment.
Fans of the competition were able to vote free of charge via the official website. In addition, a professional jury and a children’s jury had a say in the final result of the popular Dutch quiz show. Presenter Chantal Janzen (1979), singer/songwriter Flemming (1996) and rapper Glen Faria (1980) were part of the expert jury. For their part, the former contestants of the 2021 edition: Priscila, the group SH!INE and Ayana have assessed the contestants as children’s jury.
HISTORY OF THE JUNIOR SONGFESTIVAL
Organised by the Dutch public broadcaster, the Junior Songfestival is the longest running pre-selection for Junior Eurovision in Europe. The first edition took place in 2003. Since then, it has served as a method of selecting the Dutch representative for the children’s contest.
Children between the ages of 8 and 15 can participate. They first have to pass a round of auditions and then the best get one of the places in the final, which is broadcast by AVROTROS, through its children’s channel, Zapp.
The public, a children’s jury and a professional jury choose the winner. Duncan Laurence, Jeangu Macrooy or Edsilia Rombley, representatives of the Netherlands at Eurovision, have been some of the singers who have been part of the jury in the last editions, together with other representatives of the Dutch musical and artistic world.
In its almost two decades of history, the winner of the contest has had the opportunity to represent the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision, except in 2016 when its representative was selected internally(Kisses con “Kisses And Dancin’).
Over the years, the contest has undergone changes in the way the participating singers and songs are selected. The contest has been held continuously since 2003, with the exception of 2016. Until 2015, except for the 2003 and 2006 editions when the winners of the auditions went directly to the final, the contest had two semi-finals where the contestants performed their own songs. Then, the audience and juries chose the best two from each elimination round for the final. In addition, a wildcard was awarded for one of the excluded contestants, either by online voting or by the jury’s decision.
After the hiatus of 2016, in 2017, the contest returned with a different approach. The semi-finals and final were pre-recorded and the candidates performed covers of songs, not original songs. The winner, the group FOURCE, was chosen by the jury’s decision alone, and was subsequently chosen internally “Love Methe song they performed in Tbilisi was then chosen internally.
From 2018 onwards, the candidates audition individually and participate with cover versions, not with their own songs as between 2003 and 2015. Subsequently, the selected candidates are divided into groups and are given their own songs with which they take part in the televised final. In addition, the show was once again broadcast live, but without semi-finals, with four candidates performing their songs in a single final gala.
In the competition, the contestants also perform an unreleased joint song in each edition, except in the 2003, 2017 and 2018 editions, but it does not enter the competition.
It is a very popular contest in the country. In 2006, it was awarded the Gouden Stuiver prize for best children’s television programme.
THE NETHERLANDS AT THE JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
The Netherlands was one of the 16 countries that launched the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. Since then, it is the only one to have participated in all of them uninterruptedly. The public broadcaster AVROTROS is in charge of organising the participation in the children’s contest.
In its 19 participations, the Netherlands has achieved only one victory, at the 2009 festival in Kiev (Ukraine), with Ralf & his “Click Clack which scored 121 points. Their best results include second place in Yerevan 2011 and fourth place in the final standings in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
At the 2021 event in Paris (France), Ayana with “Mata Sugu Aō Ne” failed to finish higher than last place for the first time in their history with 43 points.
The Netherlands has organised the Junior Eurovision Song Contest twice. In 2007, held at the Ahoy in Rotterdam and in 2012 at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam.
JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2022
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will take place next Sunday 11 December in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. After the victory of Maléna and her “Qami Qami at the last festival held in Paris (France), the Karen Demirchyan Complex will host the contest for the second time in its history, as it did in 2011
This is a very special edition as it is the 20th anniversary of the children’s festival. Therefore, public broadcaster ARMTV is preparing a big show where it hopes to have the largest number of participating countries fighting for the crystal microphone
So far 17 countries have confirmed their participation the UK’s return to the festival after 16 editions of the festival is a highlight. However, the ambition and efforts of the organisers augur an even greater final number, with the aim that this twentieth edition of the children’s competition will be remembered as one of the most spectacular in its history.
Year after year, Junior Eurovision is becoming more and more popular among young audiences and year after year it is acquiring greater potential and popularity. And above all, it gives visibility to new talents in the world of music