The Netherlands was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 with the song "Blijf zoals je bent", composed by Jan Kisjes, with lyrics by Cees Bergman, Geertjan Hessing, Aart Mol, Erwin van Prehn, and Elmer Veerhoff, and performed by Gerard Joling. The Dutch participating broadcaster, Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS), selected its entry through a national final.
Before Eurovision
Nationaal Songfestival 1989
Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) held the national final on 10 March 1989 at the RAI Congrescentrum in Amsterdam, hosted by Linda de Mol. Thirteen songs took part with the winner being decided by juries in the twelve Dutch provinces, who awarded points from 13 down to 1. Pelmelay emerged a comfortable winner by a margin of 21 points.[1]
On the night of the final Pelmelay performed 4th in the running order, following Ireland and preceding Turkey. After a strong performance, Pelmelay's voice famously cracked on the final long note of the song, a fact she acknowledged with a wry facial expression as the song ended. At the close of voting "Blijf zoals je bent" had received 45 points from ten countries, placing the Netherlands 15th of the 22 entries.[2] The Dutch jury awarded its 12 points to Denmark.[3]
