Junior Eurovision Junior Eurovision 2022 Netherlands

Stefania Liberakakis and Matheu Hinzen will host the final of the Junior Songfestival 2022

The Dutch public television AVROTROS has just revealed the identity of the hosts of the final of the Junior Songfestival 2022Stefania Liberakakis and Matheu Hinzen will host the show on September 24, where the song that will represent the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be chosen.

AVROTROS television wanted to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the popular children’s contest by choosing as hosts two artists who took their first musical steps in the Junior Songfestival and Junior Eurovision. Both Stefanía and Matheu highlight that the Junior Songfestival is a great stage for young artists in the Netherlands to start their musical careers.

Both performers, in fact, know what it’s like to win the Junior Songfestival, the longest-running Junior Eurovision pre-selection in Europe. Stefania represented the Netherlands at Junior Eurovision 2016 as part of the group Kisses. With the song «Kisses And Dancin’» they got the 8th place with 174 points. Years later, she also represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, held in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.

Our musical career started here. That alone makes it special to be back on stage at Junior Songfestival. It’s so nice to see a younger generation now working their career, which will hopefully turn into something beautiful. I can’t wait to be in Ahoy, on September 24. I’m looking forward to it!

Stefania Liberakakis, co-host of Junior Songfestival 2022

For his part, Matheu was the flag bearer of the Netherlands in Gliwice-Silesia in 2019, where he reached 4th place with 187 points with the song «Dans Met Jou».

It’s very special that Stefania and I are going to present the Junior Songfestival together. The contest has been a springboard for young talents during these years. I am incredibly grateful to AVROTROS for giving us this opportunity.

Matheu Hinzen, co-host of the Junior Songfestival 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8-LOGjDlsc

JUNIOR SONGFESTIVAL 2022

Matheu and Stefania will host the final of the Junior Songfestival 2022 to be held next Saturday, September 24 from 19:25 CET at the RTM Stage Ahoy in Rotterdam. In the show, the 14 finalists who were selected after their time at the JSF 2022 Academy will participate. We will be able to enjoy the four proposals that will fight to get the ticket to Yerevan (Armenia):

Infinity – «Never Ever»

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pibxUDGavLU

MixedUp – «It Doesn’t Matter»

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H113SnSWY70

Luna – «La Festa»

https://youtu.be/SBaXjyp851k

High5 – «Because I Know»

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5wMXdqPMKM

One more time, the televote and a professional jury, which has not yet been revealed, will be in charge of choosing the winner of the popular Dutch contest and, thus, become the representative of the Netherlands in Junior Eurovision 2022.

In addition, we will be able to see all the finalists performing live for the first time the official common song of the Junior Songfestival 2022 «Living In The Moment».

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZtBzzH0qyQ

There is very little left to know who will represent the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022. In the meantime, enjoy the songs and vote for your favourite in the ESCplus poll!.

Junior Songfestival 2022
Luna – «La Festa»
1532
Infinity – «Never Ever»
1327
MixedUp – «It Doesn’t Matter»
1294
High5 – «Because I Know»
1138
Number of voters: 135

HISTORY OF THE JUNIOR SONGFESTIVAL

Organized by the Dutch public broadcaster AVROTROS, the Junior Songfestival is the pre-selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, with the longest run of all those held in Europe. The first edition took place in 2003. And since then, it has served as a method of selecting the representative of the Netherlands in the children’s contest.

Children between the ages of 8 and 15 can participate. First, they must pass a round of auditions and then, the best artists get one of the places in the final, which is broadcast by AVROTROS, through their 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 in Eurovision, have been some of the singers who have been part of the jury in recent editions, along 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 in Junior Eurovision, except in 2016 when its representative (Kisses with «Kisses And Dancin’») was selected internally.

Throughout these years, the contest has undergone changes in the way of selecting the singers and the participating songs. The competition has been held continuously since 2003, except in 2016. Until 2015, except for the editions of 2003 and 2006, when the winners of the auditions went directly to the final, the contest had two semifinals where the candidates interpreted their own songs. Then, the public and juries chose the two best of each tie for the final. In addition, a wild card was awarded to one of the excluded, either by online voting or by decision of the jury.

After the break of 2016, in 2017 the contest returned with an edition proposed differently. The semi-finals and final were pre-recorded and the candidates performed covers of songs, not original themes. The winner, the group FOURCE, was chosen only with the decision of the jury and later «Love Me», the song they performed in Tbilisi, was chosen internally.

Since 2018, candidates go through individual auditions and participate with versions, not with their own themes as between 2003 and 2015. Subsequently, those selected are divided into different groups and are awarded with their own songs, with which they participate in the televised final. Thus, only four candidates interpret their songs in a single final gala.

In the contest, except in 2003, 2017 and 2018 editions, participants also perform a common song unpublished in each edition, that does not enter the competition.

Junior Songfestival is a very popular music contest in the country. In 2006, it was awarded with the Gouden Stuiver Award for Best Children’s Television Program.

THE NETHERLANDS IN THE JUNIOR EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

The Netherlands was one of the 16 former countries of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2003. Since then, it is the only one who has participated in all the editions uninterruptedly. The public broadcaster AVROTROS is responsible for organizing the participation in the children’s contest.

In its 19 participations, the Netherlands has just achieved a single victory, in the 2009 festival that took place in Kiev (Ukraine), with Ralf and his «Click Clack» that obtained 121 points. Among their best results, there are the second place achieved in Yerevan 2011 and the fourth place in the final classification that they reached in the editions of 2017, 2019 and 2020.

In the 2021 contest held in Paris (France), Ayana with «Mata Sugu Aō Ne» could not get more than the last place for the first time in its history with 43 points.

For its part, the Netherlands has twice organized the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. In 2007, held at the Ahoy in Rotterdam and in 2012 at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam.

https://youtu.be/H0oB5SQfDoc

Source:  Zapp (NPO)
Junior Eurovision

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