"Birds" is a song recorded by Dutch singer Anouk, released as the first single from her eighth studio album Sad Singalong Songs (2013). The song was written by Anouk Teeuwe and composed by Tore Johansson, Martin Gjerstad and Anouk Teeuwe. It is best known as the Netherlands' entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, Sweden.[1] The song competed in the first semi-final on 14 May 2013 for and managed to qualify for a spot in the final on 18 May 2013, the Netherlands' first qualification in 9 years, where Anouk achieved 9th place in a field of 39; the best result for the Netherlands since the 1999 competition.
| "Birds" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Anouk | ||||
| from the album Sad Singalong Songs | ||||
| Released | 11 March 2013 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
| Label | Goldilox | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Tore Johansson, Martin Gjerstad, Anouk Teeuwe | |||
| Anouk singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 2013 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| Languages | ||||
| Composer(s) | Tore Johansson & Martin Gjerstad | |||
| Lyricist(s) | Anouk Teeuwe | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | 6th | |||
| Semi-final points | 75 | |||
| Final result | 9th | |||
| Final points | 114 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "You and Me" (2012) | ||||
| "Calm After the Storm" (2014) ► | ||||
Background
editOn 17 October 2012, Dutch broadcaster TROS selected Anouk to represent the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013.[2] Anouk selected "Birds" as the Dutch entry and presented it during a press conference on 11 March 2013.[3]
In November 2011, Anouk played a portion of the song during an interview on the Dutch pop/rock radio station 3FM.[4] The rules of the Eurovision Song Contest for 2013 indicate that a song cannot be released prior to 1 September 2012. However, a new clause added for the 2013 contest allows songs, such as in the case of "Birds", to compete if their previous airing in public would not give them an advantage over the other competing entries.[5] The European Broadcasting Union cleared "Birds" for the competition under this new rule.[1]
The official videoclip of the song was released on 15 May 2013, together with the clips of three other new songs of Anouk.[6]
Track listing
edit- Digital download[7]
- "Birds" - 3:23
- "Birds" - 3:23
- "Stardust" - 3:31
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] | 74 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] | 12 |
| Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[12] | 24 |
| Finland (The Official Finnish Download Chart)[13] | 22 |
| Germany (GfK)[14] | 49 |
| Iceland (RÚV)[15] | 5 |
| Ireland (IRMA)[16] | 71 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] | 3 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] | 1 |
| Sweden (DigiListan)[19] | 3 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] | 158 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2013) | Position |
|---|---|
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] | 34 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] | 37 |
References
edit- ^ a b Storvik-Green, Simon (22 February 2013). "The Netherlands: Anouk to sing "Birds" in Malmö". Eurovision.tv.
- ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (17 October 2012). "Anouk to represent the Netherlands in 2013". Eurovision.tv.
- ^ Storvik-Green, Simon (11 March 2013). "Today: Anouk's song presented in the Netherlands". Eurovision.tv.
- ^ Mikheev, Andy. "The Netherlands at Eurovision Song Contest 2013". ESCKaz.
- ^ "2013 Eurovision Song Contest rules" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
- ^ "Anouk Playlist featuring "Birds", "Kill", "The Good Life" and "Pretending As Always"". YouTube. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
- ^ "Birds (2013) Anouk MP3 downloads 7digital Nederland". 7digital. 12 March 2013. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "Anouk - birds CD-Single". musicandmoviesdrunen.nl. 15 March 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2013. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ "Birds - Anouk". Bol.com. 11 March 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ^ "Anouk – Birds" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "Anouk – Birds" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "Anouk – Birds" (in French). Ultratip.
- ^ The Official Finnish Downloads Chart
- ^ "Anouk – Birds" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
- ^ "RÚV - Vinsældalisti Rásar 2". RÚV. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ "Chart Track: Week 21, 2013". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 2013" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Anouk – Birds" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "DigiListan 2013-05-26". Sveriges Radio. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
- ^ "Eurovision 2013: The real winners revealed!". Official Charts Company. 26 May 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
- ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2013". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
- ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2013" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 25 April 2020.