"Birds" is a song recorded by
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
singer
Anouk, released as the first single from her eighth studio album ''
Sad Singalong Songs
''Sad Singalong Songs'' is the eighth studio album by Dutch singer Anouk. The album was released on 17 May 2013 by her own record label Goldilox. On 27 December 2012, Anouk released the song "Stardust" via her own YouTube-channel as a preview t ...
'' (2013). The song was written by Anouk Teeuwe and composed by
Tore Johansson
Tore Johansson (born 6 November 1959) is a Swedish record producer, composer and musician based in Malmö, Sweden.
Biography
In an interview with ''HitQuarters'', Johansson claimed that the main impetus for his becoming a music producer was the ...
, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe. It is best known as the
Netherlands' entry to the
Eurovision Song Contest 2013
The Eurovision Song Contest 2013 was the 58th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Euphoria (Loreen song), Euphoria" by Loreen. Organised by the Europea ...
held in
Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
.
The song competed in the first semi-final on 14 May 2013 for and managed to qualify for a spot in the final on 18 May 2013, the Netherlands' first qualification in 9 years, where Anouk achieved 9th place in a field of 39; the best result for the Netherlands since the 1999 competition.
Background
On 17 October 2012, Dutch broadcaster
TROS
TROS, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting ("Television Radio Broadcasting Foundation"), was a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. This broadcasting association was partic ...
selected Anouk to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. Anouk selected "Birds" as the Dutch entry and presented it during a press conference on 11 March 2013.
In November 2011, Anouk played a portion of the song during an interview on the Dutch pop/rock radio station
3FM
NPO 3FM is a Dutch rhythmic CHR radio station controlled by public broadcaster NPO. The vast majority of the songs played on-air are rock, alternative, indie and pop, though dance and Mega Top 30 tracks may also air at times.
History
...
.
The
rules of the Eurovision Song Contest
A detailed set of rules and obligations, which all participating broadcasters and participants in the annual Eurovision Song Contest () must uphold, is produced annually ahead of each edition of the international song contest. These rules are draft ...
for 2013 indicate that a song cannot be released prior to 1 September 2012. However, a new clause added for the 2013 contest allows songs, such as in the case of "Birds", to compete if their previous airing in public would not give them an advantage over the other competing entries.
The
European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; , UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations in countries within the European Broadcasting Area (EBA) or who are member states of the Council of Europe, members of the ...
cleared "Birds" for the competition under this new rule.
[
The official videoclip of the song was released on 15 May 2013, together with the clips of three other new songs of Anouk.
]
Track listing
;Digital download
# "Birds" - 3:23
;CD single (Universal M27611)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2013 singles
2013 songs
Anouk (singer) songs
Songs about birds
Eurovision songs of 2013
Eurovision songs of the Netherlands
Songs written by Anouk (singer)
Songs written by Tore Johansson