Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004
The Netherlands was represented by Re-Union in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the song "Without You".
Before Eurovision
Nationaal Songfestival 2004
Nationaal Songfestival 2004 was the national final that selected Netherlands's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2004. The competition consisted of four semi-finals on 22 January, 29 January, 5 February and 12 February 2004, a Second Chance round on 19 February 2004 and a final on 22 February 2004 which all took place at the Pepsi Stage in Amsterdam, hosted by Nance Coolen and Humberto Tan.Format
Twenty-four songs were divided into four semi-finals with six songs in each. From each semi-final, two directly proceeded to the final: one selected by a five-member jury panel and one selected by public televoting. In the event that both the jury and public placed the same song first, the second-placed song in the public vote proceeded to the final. After each semi-final, a second round of public televoting took place which selected one song from the non-qualifying acts that would proceed to the Second Chance round. The jury panel then selected an additional two songs from all non-qualifying acts in the semi-finals that would proceed to the Second Chance round. In the Second Chance round, two songs proceeded to the final as well: one selected by the jury panel and one selected by the public. In the final, the winner was selected based on the combination of votes from the public and the jury panel. Viewers were able to vote via telephone and SMS.The five-member jury panel consisted of:
- Cornald Maas – journalist
- Daniël Lohues – member of group Skik
- Cor Bakker – musician
- Rob Stenders – radio DJ
- Ruth Jacott – Dutch representative in 1993
Competing entries
| Artist | Song | Composers |
| Adriana Romeyn | "On a Wing and a Prayer" | Christian Grotenbreg, Bruce Smith |
| André Kuik | "Change" | Leonie Kuizenga, Jeremy Ebell |
| Anja Wessels | "Heart of Stone" | Kees Patijn |
| Arjen & Margriet | "De dag na de dertiende" | Arjen Tijs |
| Arno Kolenbrander | "The Story of My Life" | Johnny Logan |
| Babette Labeij | "Alright" | Adam Bar-Pereg, Babette Labeij, Dimitri Veltkamp |
| Bas & Joël & Voice Male | "Celeste" | Eric Dibek |
| Camp Girls | "In het licht in jouw ogen" | Frédérique Spigt, Jan van der Mey |
| Charly | "She'll Take Your Breath Away" | Alan Michael, Charly Luske |
| Cherwin | "Show Me the Love" | Ton Dijkman, Ferry van Leeuwen, Giovanni Caminita |
| Hot Black Stuff | "Bump!" | Richard Ascroft |
| Jaco van der Steen | "Here’s to the Summer" | Robbert van Ark, Sven Jansen |
| Jorge Castro | "Ritornero" | Edwin Schimscheimer, Arsenio Mangieri |
| Judith Jobse | "Love Me" | Judith Jobse |
| Kaysee | "Butterfly" | Kees Koedoder |
| Mai Tai | "Bring Back the Music" | Han Epskamp |
| Mandy | "Tell Me Why" | Mandy Gruijters, Tim Janssens |
| Mary Amora | "The Power of an Angel" | Romeo Samuel, Sietse Bakker |
| Re-Union | "Without You" | Ed van Otterdijk, Angeline van Otterdijk |
| Suzy 'n' the Hi-Rollers | "Mississippi Miss" | Paul Meyer, Bruce Smith |
| Triple 10'rs | "De liefde" | Darre van Dijk, Lars Boom |
| Varna Springer | "Heimwee" | Varna Springer |
| William | "Love Me, Don't Leave Me" | Robin Albers, William Jansen, Boy Hagemann |
| Yellow Pearl | "For You and Me" | Emiel Pijnaker |
Semi-final 1
The first semi-final took place on 22 January 2004. Two entries qualified directly to the final. A jury panel first selected one song to proceed: "Without You" performed by Re-Union. The remaining five entries then faced a public televote which determined an additional direct qualifier: "Alright" performed by Babette Labeij. "The Story of My Life" performed by Arno Kolenbrander proceeded to the Second Chance round after an additional round of public televoting took place between the remaining non-qualifiers, and was revealed during a post-show. "She'll Take Your Breath Away" performed by Charly was also selected to proceed to the Second Chance round by the jury panel.Semi-final 2
The second semi-final took place on 29 January 2004. Two entries qualified directly to the final. A jury panel first selected one song to proceed: "For You and Me" performed by Yellow Pearl. The remaining five entries then faced a public televote which determined an additional direct qualifier: "Love Me" performed by Judith Jobse. "Celeste" performed by Bas & Joël & Voice Male proceeded to the Second Chance round after an additional round of public televoting took place between the remaining non-qualifiers took place, and was revealed during a post-show. "Tell Me Why" performed by Mandy was also selected to proceed to the Second Chance round by the jury panel.Semi-final 3
The third semi-final took place on 5 February 2004. Two entries qualified directly to the final. A jury panel first selected one song to proceed: "On a Wing and a Prayer" performed by Adriana Romeyn. The remaining five entries then faced a public televote which determined an additional direct qualifier: "Mississippi Miss" performed by Suzy 'n' the Hi-Rollers. "Change" performed by André Kuik proceeded to the Second Chance round after an additional round of public televoting took place between the remaining non-qualifiers took place, and was revealed during a post-show.Semi-final 4
The fourth semi-final took place on 12 February 2004. Two entries qualified directly to the final. A jury panel first selected one song to proceed: "Heart of Stone" performed by Anja Wessels. The remaining five entries then faced a public televote which determined an additional direct qualifier: "Show Me the Love" performed by Cherwin. "In het licht in jouw ogen" performed by Camp Girls proceeded to the Second Chance round after an additional round of public televoting took place between the remaining non-qualifiers took place, and was revealed during a post-show.Second Chance
The Second Chance round took place on 19 February 2004. The six non-qualifying entries in the preceding four semi-finals, selected by the public and jury vote, competed and two entries qualified to the final. A jury panel first selected one song to proceed: "She'll Take Your Breath Away" performed by Charly. The remaining five entries then faced a public televote which determined an additional qualifier: "Celeste" performed by Bas & Joël & Voice Male.Final
The final took place on 22 February 2004. Ten entries competed and the votes of the jury panel and public televoting selected the winner, "Without You" performed by Re-Union. The viewers and the juries each had a total of 255 points to award. Each jury member distributed their points as follows: 1–6, 8, 10 and 12 points. The viewer vote was based on the percentage of votes each song achieved. For example, if a song gained 10% of the viewer vote, then that entry would be awarded 10% of 255 points rounded to the nearest integer: 26 points.At Eurovision
At Eurovision, the performance began with an "A cappella" opening sung by the backing singers. After the music started the focus shifted to the duo who delivered their presentation on stools. The simple performance and the advantage of performing last pushed the song into the final from the semi. In the final, the song was drawn into a bad spot surrounded by stronger songs that made the Dutch performance forgettable. The song finished 20th with 11 points, which is a huge difference from the 146 points they earned in the semi-final. As Netherlands failed to reach top 12 in the final, country was forced to compete in semi-final of the 2005 Contest| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |