Netherlands (the)
Claude – C’est la vie
Ah, the Netherlands. Never one to shout, scream, or combust theatrically on stage—they’ve gone and done a very Dutch thing: entered a thoroughly competent song, performed by a thoroughly competent singer, and sung almost entirely in… French. With a little English. But no Dutch. Not even a “lekker” in passing. One can only assume the Dutch broadcasters are still trying to recover from Arcade fatigue and fancied a field trip into chanson-land.
C’est la vie is traditional Eurovision fare: well-structured, effortlessly melodic, and rooted in the kind of emotional sincerity that allows it to avoid accusations of novelty or try-hardness. There’s a gentle mid-tempo sway to it, with a singalong chorus that should work its way into your head by the third listen—and stay there, politely, without setting up camp. Structurally, it does threaten to get a bit pre-chorus-happy (at one point you wonder if a chorus will ever actually arrive), but it’s forgiven thanks to a warm vocal and smart pacing.
Claude himself sounds entirely in command of the material, even if a few moments stretch the limits of human lung capacity. But in a year full of loud bangs, awkward genre collisions, and mid-song costume/song changes, there’s something disarmingly classy about just showing up, singing your song, and trusting it will land.
And it probably will. The Netherlands have quietly mastered the art of underplaying just enough to stand out. Expect tasteful lighting, moody glances, and just enough stage movement to convince viewers that things are happening without actually distracting from the tune.
One of the few songs this year I might actively want to hear again.
10 points