The Netherlands 2025: Claude with C'est La Vie'
Claude has officially revealed his entry as the Netherlands look to recapture some of the same themes of last year, but in a totally different style:
The Netherlands have been floating around the 30s range for much of the year so far and I've always felt that was fair. A solid entry was ex pected and is what we have here but Cest La Vie doesn't alter any of the fundamentals this year or launch Claude into contention.
This is very Evidement (France 2022) in transitioning into a bit of a disco number after a promising slow open. This doesn't overly commit to that either and can also be considered close to their other neighbour Belgium's 2022 effort, which reached 10th in the semi televote before being ignored in the final. My most random and least flattering comparison is to a random schlager entry that was in Germany's national final last year. The hook is pretty strong and this is quite catchy, but I’m not sure how effective it is competetively.
I'm not really a ballad purist, nor am I particularly bothered about all the televote bait this year, but I do think The Netherlands and Claude have missed a trick in not keeping this a downtempo, stripped back affair. I'm sure at some point this year he will treat us to an acoustic version which will make us say "he should have sent that". It's actually a trap a few might be falling into in attempting to replicate The Code's genre melting success *cough CzechiaAustria cough*.
This is not as interesting as it is trying to be and there is a bit of a conversation to be had on qualification. Switzerland and Belgium are good Francophone support and it's a pretty western/Nordic leaning semi which is a plus, as is the second half draw. I don't know if mega points are coming however.
This feels just in for me whilst we wait on the last few blanks to be filled in (Portugal, Croatia, Cyprus). In the final this will be moderately supported by juries but unlikely to make any impact on the televote - dare I say perhaps the weakest appeal on that side in a final context.
Overall, having gave this a good few hours (ok fine, over a day) to settle, I was probably hoping for a bit more.
Personal Rating: 11/20
Staging Potential: 12/20
Televote Potential: 7/20
Jury Potential: 14/20
Track Record: 15/20
Total Rating: 59/100
Early Prediction: Semi One 9th-13th, 17th-21st if in the final.