The Netherlands 2012: Joan Franka
Posted 26 March, 2012 - 17:33 by Charlotte Jensen
Artist name:
Joan FrankaSong title:
You And MeSong writer(s):
Joan Franka, Jessica HoogenboomYear:
2012Language:
EnglishCountry:
The NetherlandsStarting position semi-final 2:
3Points in semi-final 2:
35Rank in semi-final 2:
15About the song:
The song You And Me is a quiet, simple song which combines elements from both pop and country & western music, featuring heavily both the banjo and eukelele. It tells the story about Joan thinking about her childhood playmate and maybe even first boyfriend - and how much fun they use to have despite that the others (probably the other children) disapproved. Eventually they stopped playing together and Joan now reflects upon why it ended like that because the others were wrong and they - Joan and her friend - were right.
Since cruising to victory in the national selection, Nationaal Songfestival, the song was released as a digital download single.The release saw numerous records broken and an unanticipated reaction from the Dutch public, with it taking only a mere week from its release on the 27th of February until it stormed to the top of the Dutch charts a feat that had never happened before. The single has since spent 11 weeks on the chart, with 3 weeks in the top 20 and is currently residing at number 87.
About the participant:
Joan Franka is 22 years old, the daughter of a Dutch mother and a Turkish father. She was born on the 2nd of April, 1990 in Rotterdam. She first became known to Dutch viewers when in 2010 she took part in the TV show The Voice Of Holland. It was through the show that she met producer Holger Schwedt and she later met her co-songwriter Jessica Hoogenboom in his studio. Fate would have it however that they already had met a year earlier - in hospital! Since her screen debut on the show she has been busy recording her debut album with Schwedt, which will undoubtedly be speeded up following Joan's triumphant victory at the Nationaal Songfestival.
About the selection:
In recent years the Dutch broadcaster TROS has been experimenting with its national selection, having problems finding the right format. 2012 saw yet another format: Six artist singing their songs competing in three duels and the three winners then competed against each other in a second round.
In this last round Joan Franka was up against Pearl Jozefzoon and Ivan Peroti. The overall result was made up by both jury and televoting - which differed greatly. As the jury gave 20 points to Ivan Peroti's Take Me As I Am and 19 points to We Can Overcome by Pearl Jozefzoon and only 11 points to Joan Franka and her You And I nothing at that stage indicated that she would be representing the Netherlands at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. TV viewers wanted it differently however, so when their points were added the combined result looked as follows:
Joan: 37,1
Pearl: 33,6
Ivan: 29,3
Lyrics:
I was five you were three
We were dancing in the street, and you looked just like an angel
You looked up and saw the sky, saw the birds and wondered why, they could fly away so high
We were dancing in the street, and you looked just like an angel
You looked up and saw the sky, saw the birds and wondered why, they could fly away so high
In the morning I would wake, and my heart just couldn't wait
To play in your backyard
In the evening I would go telling you I love you so
And I couldn't wait to see you again
It's you and me and everybody out there
And I can see that everybody knows about
You and me, but I don't really care for it
I can see that everybody knows about us
We grew up knowing love, thanking God up above
That we could be together forever
We would never say goodbye 'cause we promised you and I
But our love couldn't handle time
And I see you walking by my house and wonder why we don't play around no more
Such a shame we had no time they were wrong and we were right
I still love you and in my mind
So I'm laying in bed thinking about the old days
Thinking 'bout it all and how it ends sometimes
Was it wrong or right was I good enough
It's you and me and everybody out there
And I can see that everybody knows about
You and me, and everybody out there
And I can see that everybody knows about
You and me, but I don't really care for it I can see that everybody knows about us
Video:
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