Dutch entry Claude makes it through to Eurovision finals
The Netherlands is through to the next round of the Eurovision Song Contest. Claude made it to the finals in Basel with his song C’est la Vie. People from the countries that participated in the first semi-finals could vote for their favorite performances.
According to NOS, there was some concern about Claude’s singing while dancing. But he smashed it. Apart from one slightly out-of-tune bit, there was little to criticize about his performance, and Claude had the audience feeling the emotion of the song with him. The Dutch singer’s song is an ode to his mother.
“She always taught me that life will not always be easy, but you should always try to see the bright side,” Claude said about his mom and his song.
“It was crazy,” Claude said to the media about waiting to hear whether he made it through to the finals. “I thought they might call my name the first time, but the second time I wasn’t there either. And then they called me and I was through.”
The Dutch singer said he was super stressed before his performance. “I suddenly thought: what if I lose my lyrics? What am I actually singing about? But it turned out well!” he said, according to NU.nl. He is thrilled with his place in the final on Saturday. “But I’m going to enjoy this moment first.”
There were 15 performances in the first semi-final, ten of which went through to the final. In addition to the Netherlands, Sweden (the bookies’ current favorite), Iceland, Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Portugal, Norway, Albania, and San Marino have secured a spot in the final.
According to the broadcaster, a big surprise was that Belgium didn’t make it through, despite Strobe lights by Red Sebastian being a firm favorite with the bookmakers for weeks. The other countries that did not make it through are Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Croatia, and Cyprus.
