#Nationaal Songfestival 1998

[eurovision-revisited]

1998 Birmingham - Number 16 - Nurlaila - "Alsof je bij me bent"

With the Nationaal Songfestival in the Netherlands, you're never entirely sure what you're going to get. Some years have been amazing, other years... ...less so. 1998 is bit of a vintage year though. There are some exceptionally strong singers with Nurlaila among them.

Here, she's at the start of a long and successful stage career in musicals. She's in Miss Saigon, but only as understudy and in the ensemble. Alsof je bij me bent (Like You're with Me) is what got her noticed. A power ballad written for the singer to blast her voice and her emotions with the volume turned up to eleven. Nurlaila does not disappoint. The audience reacts after recovering from their stunned state.

It's a woman in a relationship, but with the love gone. She's going through the motions but desperately wanting her love back - but they've checked out. The spark has died and it ain't being rekindled. Nurlaila's stage training is visible as her face moves between despair and anger.

The voting in the Nationaal Songfestival this year was a little weird. It was a 50/50 jury/televote split. The winner ran away with the televote leaving only crumbs for the other acts. The jury vote was much more even. The winner scored points from every judge, but Nurlaila got the most maximum 10s, yet also failed to score any points at all with one judge. She came second overall, but there was a gulf in points between her and the winner.

As a result of this she was the Dutch fans selection to enter the OGAE second chance contest for 1998 - and she did win that, beating several other entries in my list for this year, including Şebnem Paker. Possibly one of the strongest OGAE second chance contests ever.

This was her only attempt at entering Eurovision, but what a way to make a mark. Since 1998, she's barely left the stage. Most recently she's appeared in a tribute to Tina Turner and is currently (as of 2023) appearing in The Bodyguard. It's not just Eurovision that launches careers, sometimes the national finals can do so too.

[eurovision-revisited]

The Best National Final of 1998

You've noticed haven't you?

Just how many national final songs are in my selection and how few that actually made it to Birmingham.

That's probably down to the televoting revolution mixing everything up so that none of the delegations know what to do. Some are stubbornly sticking with what they know (France, Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Sweden and many more) and others just going for it with 100% televoted finals out of nowhere (Belgium, Greece, Slovenia, North Macedonia and others). Some are trying something a bit experimental like Finland and Switzerland.

The results of all of this are, not to put to fine a point on it, mixed. There's much reverting to type. There's a lot of sudden realisation that televoting is not something easily predicted or trusted.

Frankly, it's chaos. But out of this must emerge a best National Final of 1998 and for this year, it's Melodifestivalen.

The Swedes stuck to what they know and had a fine crop of songs to choose from, several of which are in my top 26. They just picked something very safe. Other finals worth praising are the Nationaal Songfestival in the Netherlands (again great songs and singers), Skopjefest (so big, it's bound to have some good songs including my winner), the UK (tiny and I strongly dislike the production choices, but with some worthy candidates nevertheless).

Sanremo is also good, but I can't really call that the best National Final as Italy aren't at Eurovision. Malta has reverted to type with a very typically ballad heavy, generic love-and-peace song final which was a chore to get through. A special mention for Greece and their first national final in seven years. It's good to have back especially with the variety of songs if not the the format. It's a brave first plunge back into asking the Greek public what they want.

And then there's Germany. What's up Germany? It's certainly lively. After the Leon years, that's good to see, but what's with the troll songs. I mean, you're not Denmark are you? I'm keeping my eye on Germany. Who can tell what they will get up to next.

[eurovision-revisited]

Other Recommended 1998 Songs

Stavros Siolas - "Agapi moni" (1:17:28 if no time stamp)

Nubia - "Ze kwamen overzee"

Claudia Nelson - "Zintuigen"

Maira - "Ma Séduction"