Douwe Bob, the Dutch singer and 2016 Eurovision representative, appeared on a local radio show and announced that he has submitted a song for internal selection, hoping to represent the Netherlands in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest. Will the former representative return to the competition stage?

With the confirmation of the Netherlands’ participation in Eurovision 2025, the national broadcaster AVROTROS has opened the window for song submissions. Although registration is still open and the decision is expected to be made only in December, the 2016 Dutch representative Douwe Bob confirms that he has submitted a song for internal selection, with which he wishes to represent the Netherlands and return to the Eurovision competition in 2025.

In an interview with the radio program “538 Avondshow,” Douwe shares his Eurovision participation experience and reveals that he has a song with which he intends to return to the competition stage. “When I participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2016, it was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had,” he says. Despite finishing only in 11th place, his participation in the competition greatly contributed to his musical career. “It was simply one of the most enjoyable weeks I’ve ever experienced,” the singer recounts.

Although the Eurovision Song Contest has received negative criticism in the past year, Douwe believes that this is a logical situation where artists are under great pressure. “The fact that hundreds of millions of people watch the competition definitely has an impact. It’s pressure under which the artist needs to function. Some cope with it better than others,” the singer argues. He adds that in his opinion, the artists themselves are quite sensitive. “There are a lot of ‘snowflakes,’ people get hurt easily and everything is very complex. The song festival is just tough. It’s intense, in the positive sense of the word. I thought it was really cool.”

Douwe mentions that he is currently busy writing his own music and developing his career, and reveals that he has recorded a duet with “one of his favorite Dutch artists.” Will we get to see the former representative on the Eurovision stage in Basel? We will likely know the answer soon, perhaps even next month. The submission of songs for the Netherlands’ internal selection for Eurovision 2025 is open until November 22.

Douwe Bob

Douwe Bob, the well-known Dutch singer, represented the Netherlands in Eurovision 2016 with the song “Slow Down” and managed to qualify for the final after a year in which the country remained in the semi-final. Ultimately, he finished in a respectable 11th place.