Eurovision fans will recognise Anouk as the artist who kickstarted the transformation of The Netherlands at the contest. Prior to Anouk’s appearance at Eurovision in 2013, The Netherlands had failed to reach the final eight years in a row, the longest non-qualification streak of any nation at the contest.
Who is Anouk?
Anouk Teeuwe, known simply as Anouk, hails from The Hague in The Netherlands. Her interest in music came from her mother, who was a blues singer. She began performing at the age of 15, and went on to perform with the band Shotgun Wedding. Anouk began attending the Rotterdam Conservatory in 1994, however dropped out after two years.
The Journey to Eurovision
Anouk was well and truly established prior to her Eurovision appearance.
In 1997, Anouk released her second single, ‘Nobody’s Wife’ which went on to top the Dutch charts for a number of weeks, and was also a hit in Norway and Sweden. She released the album ‘Together Alone’, which was another success.
Her second album was titled ‘Urban Solitude’, which was released in 1999. In 2001, she released the album ‘Lost Tracks’, which featured acoustic versions and B-Sides from previous releases. The following year, she released ‘Graduated Fool’ which was much more rock oriented than her previous releases.
Anouk released her next album in 2004, titled ‘Hotel New York’ which featured the singles ‘Girl’, ‘Lost’, ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘One Word’. In 2007, her next album ‘Who’s Your Momma’ was released, with the first single ‘Good God’ featured on the video game Guitar Hero World Tour.
In 2009, she released ‘For Bitter or Worse’, with the single ‘Three Days in a Row’ reaching first place in the Dutch charts. Her next album was titled ‘To Get Her Together’ which was released in 2011 which featured a number of hits, including ‘Killer Bee’, ‘Down & Dirty’ and ‘I’m A Cliché’
It was revealed in later 2012 that Anouk would be representing The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013. She performed the song ‘Birds’ at the contest, and the performance ended up breaking the eight year long non-qualification streak. The Netherlands not only qualified, but they finished in the Top 10. Overall, Anouk finished in 9th place, the best result in 14 years.
What Happened Next?
Anouk’s Eurovision journey continued in 2015, where she wrote the entry ‘Walk Along’ which was performed by Trijntje Oosterhuis. Unfortunately, Trijntje was less successful at the contest, failing to qualify.
In the same year, Anouk was a coach on the sixth season of The Voice of Holland. In 2016, she released two albums, ‘Queen for a Day’ and ‘Fake It Till We Die’.
In 2018, Anouk released her first Dutch language album, titled ‘Wen d’r maar aan’. This marked the 12th studio album that Anouk had released in her impressive career. She has also won a number of awards, including two MTV Europe Awards for Best Dutch/Belgian Act in 2005, and Best Dutch Act in 2006.