She was the start and opener for all the good Dutch entries that followed

Now that NL seems to have a good chance of winning this year, I think it's time to thank Anouk once again for her gutsy decision to demand to represent the country in the ESC after a long period of misery for the Dutch. After Anouk, going to Eurovision was no longer regarded as an embarrassing thing to do for 'serious artists' in NL. Thank you Anouk!

Can we just say how underappreciated most of the Dutch songs have been throughout the last ten years of Eurovision? Sure, Duncan Laurence won in 2019 but even Anouk, O'Gene, Common Linnets and the male singer who later partecipated solo were all astounding in their depth and underlying emotions. I think Netherlands are among the best in the festival and deserve much more recognition than, say, Sweden or Russia. Much love from Italy

Arguably the best ever song in Eurovision. Astounding vocal. Should have won by a mile. A great song by any standard. I still listen to it quite often. I just love her voice.

One of my favorite performances ever on the Eurovision stage. Amazing. Also my winner last year, this is real music.

I still think this should have won, and it's one of the best songs to grace this competition in my lifetime...

Don‘t be sad, Netherlands, this song will be remembered.

The Netherlands was quite revolutionary with this song. After this entry, and their following slow country pop entries, they really changed the culture in Eurovision of countries grotesque circusshows entries. Now many more entries are ‘real music’ that ‘don’t fit eurovision’. And Anouk (together with the common linnets) started it. Greetings from Germany!

This is the most underrated song in ESC ever! It is so beautiful and so unique

I remember watching this with some friends at home in Sweden. I was mesmerized and it felt like time had stopped during this performance. My friends however were more interested in the chips and dipping on the table. One of my absolute favourites in ESC ever.

She started everything and now we're going to The Netherlands in 2020 😍 So happy for this amazing country and this song will forever be my favourite of 2013, love from Argentina ❤️

too good for the eurovision

I think Arcade is the revenge of The Netherlands that so many recent acts of the country were robbed by fandom.

Always love The Netherlands songs you never dissapoint me :)

In my opinion the best Dutch entry ever and one of the best songs in Eurovision history.

1:51, gotta give a like to the guy with the German flag on that feather duster!

Still get goosebumps hearing Anouk singing Birds. One of the best Dutch entries ever. The controverse of a well known Dutch rock chick performing a moving ballad in this Eurovision atmosphere brings tears to my eyes. After many years of dull Dutch entries with no chance to reach the final, it was Anouk who changed the Dutch Eurovision history at once. She paved the way for strong Dutch entries like the Common Linnets, Douwe Bob, Duncan Laurence for taking the Eurovision Songcontest seriously. Hear the heavenly interference of her choir at 2.10. Totally underrated at the end of the final but certainly one of the chosen songs when my time on earth is done.

Incredible... One of the best Eurovision songs ever... Should have won

My favourite Dutch entry of all times. Still gives me goosebumps today.

2:30 backing vocals KILLING it! What an arrangement!

Beautiful. So raw and magicial.

This is quite incredible, gives me chills everytime I listen to it. One of the best we’ve ever heard at Eurovision! This also gave Netherlands their 1st qualification in 9 years! Anouk has plenty to be proud of

She lives 5 streets away from me in my town Haarlem. Greetings from the netherlands 🇳🇱❤️

Quite simply the most beautiful song ever on ESC. A timeless masterpiece.

This song has slowly grown on me. Looking back at it now, it's Anouk that makes it work with a pitch perfect, no-nonsense performance that is totally authentic and highly enjoyable. The best thing is that she clearly enjoyed the experience and the audience sensed that and responded to that.

The fact that the song sounds so depressing but she has such a hopeful and strong smile

Anouk, this is the best thing that happened at Eurovision in recent years. Thank you Netherlands! For 8 years, thanks to the ESC, I have been listening to an amazing singer from the Netherlands. I would very much like to see her as a special guest in Rotterdam

She had the best song of 2013 by far. Very underrated and melancholic. Timeless masterpiece.

This song was beautiful and far too good for Eurovision. I love how she just stands there and sings. No gimmicks.Just art.

Too perfect to ESC, love this song!

Such a beautiful song and I love her performance. It looks simple, but her standing in the middle of all those waving flags I think is just really powerful. She makes the audience part of the performance.

After watching 2024 I yearn for these days with fabulous singers and real songs, no gimmicks

Certainly one of the strangest ESC contributions of its time, and I mean that in a positive way. The song absolutely stood out at the time and even 10 years later it is one of the few entries of the last decade that I still remember well and continue to listen to from time to time.

A masterpiece that had a huge impact on Eurovision in The Netherlands and overall: Anouk proved that if you are talented enough and you stay true to yourself, it doesn't matter how different your song is - people will admire you! Without a doubt her performance and her qualification after years and years of non-qualification for the Netherlands was one of the biggest moments in Eurovision history 🇳🇱❤

For people saying that it is Boring, Plain, To Slow, or Weird. It is about fcking Suicide. Anouk wanted to do this without dancers because she lost so many people of Suicide and jut wanted to handle it alone. Just look at 2:27 , she was about to cry but then later the audience started singing.

At the time-living in Congo DRC- having a satellite dish I was able to follow the euro songcontest and being absolutely absorbed and captivated by the sheer beauty of this song and Anouk’s presence on scene is something i’ll never forget. Being a patriotic Belgian my vote was for our neighbour country of the Netherlands. My congolese friends, watching the show with me were humming the tune for the next couple of days . It was quite surreal. Thank you Anouk for a lovely memory.

"So when did the Netherlands start to become good again?"

By far the best song. Original,well composed and great performance

Anouk practically ended The Netherlands’ 10 years of not qualifying for the grand finals with this song. If it wasn’t for her, the Dutch delegation wouldn’t have bothered to send The Common Linnets and Duncan Lawrence.

10 years later this song still sound so good and emotional. One of the best Eurovision song in year 2013!!

She is My Favorite ! Best of the Best ! Anouk love you!

I love how the flags move to the music

Anouk is an amazing international artist!! Simplicity powerful and just about music and no act. Anouk is one of the best artists from Europe!!

I don't know how many times I have come back to listen to this song, but one thing I know for sure: I'll come back to it until I'll take my last breath here on earth. What a stunningly beautiful song !

that's what I call a masterpiece.

this is probably the most beautiful song ever performed in eurovision

noorderburen jullie hebben de laatste tijd een goede smaak in het sturen van nummers ;) keep up the good work, A vote from me

I get goosebumps every time I hear the last chorus

This is the first song I’m listening to after booking a trip to Amsterdam, just because it’s the most beautiful thing I think of when I think of the Netherlands ☺️

I really like the return of the jury voting. Because of that, the finals now have a more balanced combination of great songs, entertaining performances and guilty pleasures. I'm glad Anouk contributed to the great songs part, and to me the song gets better every time I listen to it.

i can't believe that this was 9th...she deserved at least top 5

This song has always moved me since I was a child

I'm still coming back to this song even 5 years later, now I think that should tell me something... Thanks to Anouk for one of the most beautiful songs written in so, so many years! And to all those "would be", "could be", "might be" or "should be" artists: Listen and Learn !!!

Beautiful, magical, classy, powerful, ... This song is a real masterpiece. I enjoy it everytime I listen to it. Thanks Anouk and The Netherlands for this outstanding piece of art! My winner that year!

One of the most beautiful melodies ever on ESC. It surely was too good for the masses to take in.

Dat moment dat niemand verstand had van muziek. Want anouk had toch zeker in de top 3 moeten staan.

This performance was brilliant! Thumbs up from Portugal!

to this day I still adore this song.

Who is listening this masterpiece in 2021?

Isolated from the outside Clouds have taken all the light I have no control It seems my thoughts wander off Of the time when I tried to Live life without you Birds falling down the rooftops Out of the sky like raindrops No air, no pride If being myself is what I do wrong Then I would rather not be right Hope's turned into fear With my one wing I can't fly With sunrise embrace my Dreams tight and that's why Birds falling down the rooftops Out of the sky like raindrops No air, no pride Birds To a place without fear, with no moonlight All I need are trees and flowers and some sunlight When memories are being made and where the old one dies Where love ain't lost Birds falling down the rooftops Out of the sky like raindrops Birds falling down the rooftops Out of the sky like raindrops No air, no pride That's why Birds don't fly

One of the most interesting songs I have ever heard, thoughtful, brilliant, complex, touchy.....i am speechless!

This song is absolutely beautiful :) Greetings from Denmark

every year that the netherlands qualify this entry becomes more meaningful

So beautiful and heartwarming! You can really see she was there to share her art above all. Thanks!

I love Anouk and her last album

best song that year winner love denmark

This song was heavily underrated, who remembers this years winning song? I don't....

I love so much this song! It calm me in every moment. 12 points from Italy.

My clearly winner!!! So beautiful✌ Greetings from Luxemburg

A memorable moment for the Netherlands.

This is what the ESC should be. A singing contest and not an act contest. This is one of the most beautiful song in the whole contest history IMO. This lady is amazing whit such a wonderfull sound

I could n`t believe something of this calibre would be entered as a Eurovision song, but delighted. Still a great song, and, for me, the most memorable Eurovision entry ever.

Best song of ESC 2013 without a doubt. Greetings from your German neighbour. I voted for you back in 2013.

Das ist so ein wundervoll starkes Lied, was Anouk so kraftvoll, in sich ruhend und voller Wärme singt.... es wirkt auf mich tröstend und friedenstiftend für die Alltagssorgen.... Hoffnungsvoll & optimistisch = toll!!! Liebe Grüße aus Berlin :-)

It´s not only a song, it´s a poem. Bravo!!

ART. One of my favorite perfomances ever. And after that Netherlands won with arcade. Deserved.

We in the netherlands are thankful that anouk changed how we viewed eurovision, since this song we took it seriously again.

It is interesting to see how countries who win in ESC in the years leading up to the victory, "prepares" with good entries which do well. So in retrospect, Anouk's amazing song heralded a Dutch win in the near future - only question was when. And now we know.

"No birds where harmed in the making of this song"

One of those songs I come back to time and time again. Thanks a lot to the Netherlands to send such a beautiful song to the ESC! Admittedly, when I first heard this song, I didn't know, what to make of it, as it wasn't the average ESC "easy listening" song you'd expect, but it grew on me more and more. Now I know, that it is a masterpiece and some of the juries will probably soon have kicked themselves for not noticing it on that evening.

Now I see how beautiful this song is

Will never forget that day during the semi final in that Arena! GOD we were so happy to finally get to the finals after all these years of not qualifying! We cried like little babies! That was just Amazing. Anouk We Love You for that!

Dankje Anouk door het eurovisie songfestival leuk weer te maken voor Nederland.

A pure and simple magical moment!

Simply MAGICAL. This is pure music. Thanks Anouk. Thanks Netherlands.

I hope she participates again with a more powerful rocksong. Maybe 2024??? ❤

Such a powerful song - and what perfect staging. Dress Anouk in black, put her in the middle of the audience and just let her sing!

and three years later, Salvador from Portugal, doing the same kind of thing, won

Still in love with this Song

I love this performance. I voted for this song. Greetings from Germany.

how genuine, genius and pretty!

This song was brilliant, and to see Anouk in the contest even more special. Thank you Netherlands

I don't really mind that she didn't win. I mean, I love the song, and wanted her to win, but I'm just glad that she was on Eurovision, so that I could be introduced to her and her music. It was a great performance. She sang in tune throughout and gave it lovely tone and emotion. I love Anouk, and can't wait for her new album in November!

So majestic and beautiful. I love it!

One of my two favorite songs from Eurovision. Her performance is magical. *This is Art !*

This Song give me some mystic vibes. So emotional. I had tears in my eyes.

One of the best songs ever in ESC

This is where The Netherlands said, yeah we are coming back guys!

This is absolutely one of my favorite songs from the contest! It is so melancholic and ambivalent that makes you sway for a moment from your reality! I listen to the same album and her songs there are pure art! I didn’t actually know who she was when I watched the contest back then, but this song was stuck in my head and now I cannot understand why she didn’t win!!

Kijk, dit nummer had moeten winnen, prachtig gezongen en een pakkend MOOI lied ! Topnummer Anouk.