Country Netherlands Selected entrant Michelle Final result 18th, 16 points | Selection date(s) 3 March 2001 Selected song "Out On My Own" | |
Selection process Nationaal Songfestival 2001 | ||
The Netherlands was represented by Michelle Courtens, with the song '"Out On My Own", at the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Copenhagen on 12 May. Michelle was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held in Rotterdam on 3 March.
Contents
Final
The national final was held in the Ahoy Rotterdam arena, hosted by Paul de Leeuw. Eight songs took part with the winner being decided by a 50/50 split between televoting and three expert juries (singers and musicians, composers and music industry personnel). The televote proved decisive in Michelle's favour as she received twice as many votes as her nearest competitor. Michelle's victory was unexpected to most, as prior to the final the female trio Ebonique had been seen as hot favourites to win.
At Eurovision
On the night of the final Michelle performed first in the running order, preceding Iceland. This was the sixth time the Netherlands had been drawn to open the show, a contest record which still stands, and was a poor draw for a quiet, reflective song. At the close of voting "Out On My Own" had received only 16 points (6 from Portugal, 5 from Israel, 4 from Slovenia and 1 from Russia), placing the Netherlands 18th of the 23 entries. The 12 points from the Dutch televote were awarded to contest winners Estonia. The low placement meant that the Netherlands were relegated from taking part in the 2002 contest. The 2001 contest marked the only occasion on which two performers participated under identical names: that year's German singer was also called Michelle.