Sep & Jasmijn with their song “Holding On To You” will represent Netherlands at the upcoming Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which will take place at the Palais Nikaïa in Nice (France) on Sunday 26 November. The young singers have won the Junior Songfestival 2023, the legendary Dutch pre-selection where their flag bearer in the children’s contest is selected.
AVROTROS held the Grand Final of the Junior Songfestival 2023 at the RTM Stage Ahoy in Rotterdam from 19:20 CET.
The mixed duo has swept the board by being the most voted entry of the juries and the online vote. After the jury and audience voting, the results of the contest are as follows:
| Children’s jury | Professional jury | Online vote | Total | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duron – “Magic | 9 | 9 | 8 | 26 | 3 |
| Flare – “Side By Side | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 4 |
| JOY! – “Better Together | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 2 |
| Sep & Jasmijn – “Holding On To You | 12 | 12 | 12 | 36 | 1 |
Luna, winner of last year’s Junior Songfestival and representative of the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision 2022, presented the trophy to the winners of the contest.
“Holding On To You“, the song by Sep & Jasmijn, was composed by Robert Dorn and will be the 21st Dutch entry in the children’s contest. The Netherlands has participated continuously in Junior Eurovision since its first edition in 2003.
THE GRAND FINAL OF THE JUNIOR SONGFESTIVAL
The Grand Final of the Junior Songfestival 2023 took place from 19:20 CET at RTM Stage Ahoy in Rotterdam. The pre-selection, presented once again by Stefania Liberakakis and Matheu Hinzen, featured the 9 finalists who were selected after the live auditions and the JSF Academy 2023.
In the Grand Final, they competed in four proposals to win the ticket to Nice (France). For the first time, we have been able to listen to all four songs live. Here you can enjoy their performances in the pre-selection:
Duron – “Magic”
Music and lyrics: Simon Gitsels & Hansen Tomas
Sep & Jasmijn – “Holding On To You
Music and lyrics: Robert Dorn
Flare – “Side By Side
Music and lyrics: Jermain van der Bogt & Willem Laseroms
JOY! – “Better Together”
Music and lyrics: Kirsten Michel & Didier The Producer
A professional jury, a children’s jury and the viewers at home have chosen the winner of Junior Songfestival 2023, who will also have the honour of representing the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision 2023.
Fans of the contest were able to vote for their favourite entry free of charge on the official website. On the other hand, a professional and a children’s jury also had a say in the final result of the popular Dutch contest.
In addition, a professional jury and a children’ s jury also had part of the final result of the popular Dutch competition in their hands. The expert jury consisted of Soy Kroon, MEAU and Sosha Duysker. They all gave their technical opinions on a musical and interpretative level. The traditional children’s jury consisted of former 2022 contestants MixedUp and Luna, who won the Junior Songfestival 2022 and represented the Netherlands at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Yerevan (Armenia).
Professional Jury
Soy Kroon, MEAU and Sosha Duysker
Children’s Jury
MixedUp and Luna
The combination of the three voting panels (which have each awarded 8, 9, 10 and 12 points) has determined the classification of the Junior Songfestival 2023 and, consequently, the winning proposal of the pre-selection that will travel to Nice (France).
In addition, we were able to enjoy all the finalists performing live for the first time “Good Vibes”, the official group song of the Junior Songfestival2023. Since 2004, with the exception of 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Junior Songfestival has always had an original song for all the contestants.
JUNIOR SONGFESTIVAL 2023: THE MOST SUCCESSFUL CHILDREN’S FORMAT OF AVROTROS
Right after the end of the 2022 edition, AVROTROS launched the call for entries for 2023. Thus, the Netherlands was the first country to confirm its participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023, even before the Yerevan 2022 edition had taken place.
Interested children could apply via the web form between 24 September 2022 and 6 February 2023. Once again, the Dutch public broadcaster is looking for young artists between the ages of 9 and 14 who are eager to “sing, dance and perform”.
Once the applications were closed, a jury examined the candidates. Thus, they selected the candidates who had the privilege of participating in the auditions held between March and April 2023. All this, with the aim of finding the finalists of the Junior Songfestival 2023.
AVROTROS has continued with the successful format of the 2022 edition. From these first young artists, the lucky ones were selected to enjoy a magical weekend at the Junior Songfestival Academy. From there, the finalists who will compete in the Grand Final of the Junior Songfestival 2023 with their own songs were determined.
Aimée, Duron, Gina, Hannah, Jasmijn, Jikke, Robine, Sana and Sep were the 9 finalists of Junior Songfestival 2023 who competed to achieve their dream of taking to the Junior Eurovision 2023 stage in Nice, France.
This will be the Netherlands ‘ 21st participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, a record for uninterrupted attendance at the popular European children’s contest.
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(Kisses with “Kisses And Dancin'”) was selected internally.
Over the years, the contest has undergone changes in the way the 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 to one of the excluded contestants, either by online voting or by the jury‘s decision.
After a hiatus in 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 on the jury’s decision alone, and then “Love Me”, the song they performed in Tbilisi, was 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 broadcasterAVROTROS is in charge of organising the participation in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
In its 20 participations, the Netherlands has achieved only one victory, at the 2009 festival in Kiev (Ukraine), with Ralf and 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.
In the 2022 competition held in Yerevan (Armenia), Luna with “La Festa” was one of the favourite entries of the edition, reaching 7th place with 128 points.
The Netherlands has hosted 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 2023
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 will take place on Sunday 26 November under the theme “Heroes” and is expected to have many new features. France is preparing to host the 21st edition of the children’s contest in the coastal city of Nice. On this occasion, the Palais Nikaïa has been chosen as the venue. Young artists from all over Europe will shine in a festival that returns to the month of November, after two editions held during the Christmas festivities.
As the main novelty of this year’s edition, the logo of the event incorporates the mythical Eurovision heart, just like in the Eurovision Song Contest. Since the generic logo was introduced, this is the first time in the history of the children’s contest that the flag of the host country has been included. Thus, in Nice 2023, the French flag flies inside the heart, which is already a globally recognised icon. The slogan and the official theme art of the 21st edition is made up of colourful and powerful elements.
French television is counting on the great experience of Paris 2021 and will spare no effort and resources to offer us a high-level event that lives up to the format. The aim is to make this 21st edition of the festival “unique and unrepeatable”. Once again, France Télévisions aims to organise Junior Eurovision at the highest level.
France will once again host the competition which will have at its heart a celebration of music, friendship and diversity, where Europe’s young talents will take centre stage.
With two victories to its name, the French country will host the 21st edition of a children’s festival that year after year consolidates itself among young audiences and acquires greater potential and popularity to give visibility to new talents in the world of music.
In 2022, in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the Karen Demirchyan Complex hosted the competition for the second time in its history, as it did in 2011. There, France was the winner with the young singer Lissandro and his song “Oh Maman! With her charisma and energy in abundance, she managed to win the coveted crystal microphone thanks to 203 points from the national juries and the viewers via online voting.