escYOUnited
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The Netherlands NETHERLANDS 2020 - Jeangu Macrooy - Grow
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Mrm
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You dont see some juries going for it?
Mrm
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But it serves quality....
cassio
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Changed my vote from 10 to the only 12 points vote ..... Im in love with this song (how sad)
ecsstatsfan
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Cap here, new Eurovision video is out and this time it's about NETHERLANDS!
Go check it out and leave your thoughts in the comment section 
Go check it out and leave your thoughts in the comment section
Zeus
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People in The Netherlands are always hating on Eurovision (besides the argument that the music is tasteless, which yeah, I kinda agree with for the most part), because they say it's just about friendly politics. But The Netherlands and Belgium pact seems to be real as well! Funny thing is that there isn't one with also neighbour Germany. But I think that is still because of uhm, yea, history. Also I have the feeling that Dutch people often just don't really get or feel German people. In sports like football there still is a big rivalry between the two countries and the older people do still feel discomfort or hate against Germany.
CypriotGirl
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I gave it . This song doesn't do anything to me, but in the same time it isn't that bad to give it less points.
. This song doesn't do anything to me, but in the same time it isn't that bad to give it less points.
Himan
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New version:
youtu.be
Jeangu Macrooy - Grow (akoestisch)
Het Eurovisie Songfestival gaat vanwege het coronavirus niet door. Jeangu Macrooy was bij ons in de studio en speelde een adembenemende versie van zijn songf...
youtu.be
NikolaiMoller
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This finally grew on me. It's fantastic 
NemesisNick
Well-known member
Oh dear! The usual peril of being the host country; you (the broadcaster) want to send an impressive host entry, but you don't want to win again (correction, want to foot the bill for hosting again next year). This is disappointing compared to "Arcade" last year; this wouldn't have made it through the semi-finals had The Netherlands not been the host country. Comparing this to recent host entries, I think it's better than Portugal's entry in 2018, but not as good a Israel last year.
My review:
NETHERLANDS 2020 - Jeangu Macrooy - Grow: "nah, not for me"
The Dutch and I have never been BFFs more than two years in a row (2013-2014) since I follow the contest. Taste-wise, we don't get along most of the time because there is very little variety to what they offer and their tendency to focus on country music this decade did not help imo. But as I said, I acknowledged them a few times, especially for "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)", "Birds" and "Calm After The Storm" (that should have won that year imo). Of course, if we step back in time, they have a nice bunch of golden oldies that should never pass into oblivion: especially "Amsterdam", Ding-a-Dong", "De Troubadour" and one of my all-time favourite Eurovision entries "Net Als Toen" Too bad that in recent years their contributions leave me cold: the last act that gave me something to chew on was The Common Linnets, Waylon's solo attempt was not bad either but it didn't quite light my fire as much. As a result of my history with them, I had no expectations for their 2020 entry. I remember EscGeek posting one of Macrooy's songs in the thread when his name was revealed, and I was pleasantly intrigued: it was a funk-y track, which led me to believe it could be interesting if they actually went there... But they did not.
"Grow" is a slow ballad that leans toward soul and gospel music. Well, needless to say it ruined my appetite quite a bit. On a positive note, I should praise Macrooy's voice, which I find pleasant and quite expressive here. Also, I cannot fault the carefully-crafted arrangements, it sounds expensive and I like the effects (from quiet to loud) they opted for to create a build-up: the organ, the synths, the layered vocals were nice touches... And that's where I will end the compliments because it just doesn't do anything to me. Firstly, the melody is almost nonexistent to me, I'm not sure how many times I've listened to it while writing these lines and I still could not hum any part of it even if my life depended on it. Development-wise, I think the momentum goes down past the 1'20 threshold or so when the first backing voices come in AND it eventually ends so abruptly I don't feel like it really took me somewhere. To sum up, despite a noteworthy wrapping paper, the core of the composition does not give me what I need to either like or dislike this effort, which means it's a matter of me not connecting to what's presented. It has its merits but ultimately it stirs nothing in me and I would not intentionally listen to it. And this is coming from the ballad person that I am.
Prediction-wise, maybe the juries would have ranked it decently, but I cannot imagine people voting for this at all. If "O Jardim" and "Home" flopped, I doubt "Grow" would have escaped that fate.
Well, I am not sad Macrooy gets another chance. Personally, I would not have envisioned a ballad for him, but if they go for that once again, I just hope it will be more memorable as far as I am concerned. Otherwise, why not try something else? It pains me when host nations don't make the most out of their pre-qualification, it they don't experiment/have fun when there is little pressure to win, when will they?
NETHERLANDS 2020 - Jeangu Macrooy - Grow: "nah, not for me"
The Dutch and I have never been BFFs more than two years in a row (2013-2014) since I follow the contest. Taste-wise, we don't get along most of the time because there is very little variety to what they offer and their tendency to focus on country music this decade did not help imo. But as I said, I acknowledged them a few times, especially for "Ik ben verliefd (Sha-la-lie)", "Birds" and "Calm After The Storm" (that should have won that year imo). Of course, if we step back in time, they have a nice bunch of golden oldies that should never pass into oblivion: especially "Amsterdam", Ding-a-Dong", "De Troubadour" and one of my all-time favourite Eurovision entries "Net Als Toen"
Too bad that in recent years their contributions leave me cold: the last act that gave me something to chew on was The Common Linnets, Waylon's solo attempt was not bad either but it didn't quite light my fire as much. As a result of my history with them, I had no expectations for their 2020 entry. I remember EscGeek posting one of Macrooy's songs in the thread when his name was revealed, and I was pleasantly intrigued: it was a funk-y track, which led me to believe it could be interesting if they actually went there... But they did not."Grow" is a slow ballad that leans toward soul and gospel music. Well, needless to say it ruined my appetite quite a bit. On a positive note, I should praise Macrooy's voice, which I find pleasant and quite expressive here. Also, I cannot fault the carefully-crafted arrangements, it sounds expensive and I like the effects (from quiet to loud) they opted for to create a build-up: the organ, the synths, the layered vocals were nice touches... And that's where I will end the compliments because it just doesn't do anything to me. Firstly, the melody is almost nonexistent to me, I'm not sure how many times I've listened to it while writing these lines and I still could not hum any part of it even if my life depended on it. Development-wise, I think the momentum goes down past the 1'20 threshold or so when the first backing voices come in AND it eventually ends so abruptly I don't feel like it really took me somewhere. To sum up, despite a noteworthy wrapping paper, the core of the composition does not give me what I need to either like or dislike this effort, which means it's a matter of me not connecting to what's presented. It has its merits but ultimately it stirs nothing in me and I would not intentionally listen to it. And this is coming from the ballad person that I am.
Prediction-wise, maybe the juries would have ranked it decently, but I cannot imagine people voting for this at all. If "O Jardim" and "Home" flopped, I doubt "Grow" would have escaped that fate.
Well, I am not sad Macrooy gets another chance. Personally, I would not have envisioned a ballad for him, but if they go for that once again, I just hope it will be more memorable as far as I am concerned. Otherwise, why not try something else? It pains me when host nations don't make the most out of their pre-qualification, it they don't experiment/have fun when there is little pressure to win, when will they?
