Dutch duo Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper will be flying the flag for The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023.
Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS the pair were “unanimously nominated” by the selection committee.
Mia and Dion’s entry will be co-written 2019 Eurovision winner Duncan Laurence along with his partner and songwriter Jordan Garfield.
Speaking to AVROTROS, Mia and Dion said:
“The Song Contest is the stage where people can see what you have to offer as an artist. After all these years of hard work translating our feelings into music, this is a great opportunity to tell our story on such a large scale. It feels fantastic and a little surreal that the AVROTROS selection committee chose our song, but we are ready to bring something positive to Europe.”
Who are Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper?
Mia Nicolai is a 26-year-old singer who had a creative upbringing; taking part in drama, ballet and storytelling on top of music.
Mia finds musical inspiration from artists like David Bowie. In August 2020, Mia released her debut single “Set Me Free“. Her second single called “Mutual Needs“, released 3 months later, received airplay in America on the Zane Lowe Radio Show.
Dion Cooper is a 28-year-old singer who picked up a guitar for the first time when he was 15 and never looked backed.
Dion released his first EP in 2021 called “Too Young Too Dumb“, followed by his single “Fire“. He released this single with Maxine and the song has nearly reached a million streams.
Mia and Dion’s Eurovision entry will be the first song they release as a duo. The pair were strangers until 2 years ago when they were introduced to each other by Duncan and Jordan.
Netherlands at Eurovision
The Netherlands have a long history at the Eurovision, being one of the 7 countries to take part on the inaugural contest in 1957. One year later, the Dutch picked up their first of what would be 5 victories with Cory Brokken and her song “Nets als toen“.
The Netherlands had great success early on in the contest, winning 4 of the 20 editions. However, they would have to wait 34 years for the fifth victory when Duncan Laurence took home the trophy (which he cleans twice a day as revealed at Eurovision 2021) with his song “Arcade“.
Mia and Dion will be the first duo to represent their country since The Common Linnets were runners up in 2014 with “Calm After The Storm“.
This year in Turin, The Netherlands finished in 11th place with S10 and “De diepte“.
What do you think of the Netherlands’ choice for Eurovision 2023? Let us know in the comments below!
