Sam and Merijn Knoop are very proud of their second place at the Regional Song Contest that was held on Saturday. “First with the professional jury. The people who really understand it. That’s what made it a success for us,” Sam said immediately after the festival in Utrecht. On Sunday morning, he and his brother Merijn actually still felt the same way.
It is not the disappointment about missing out on first place, but the pride in achieving second place that dominates. The hangover they say they have on Sunday is not the result of that result, but of the fun after the show.
“We never actually watch the Eurovision Song Contest, so we didn’t know at all how such a points count works,” Merijn reflects. The song competition was ultimately won by Limburg. On behalf of that province, Emmy Ackermans passed over the musical brothers and their entry ‘Cheers to life’. This is thanks to more points from the public.
“It’s a bit of a shame that the people of Brabant let us down.”
It was ‘a beautiful and intense evening’ for the brothers, they say. After they came off the stage, they had to go into the greenroom still have to wait a while for the end result. “Very exciting.” The favorite of the two was Groningen, but according to them, the Limburg Emmy definitely did very well.
What the brothers are especially proud of is the fact that they have been able to show that they are ‘proud Brabanders’ on behalf of our province. “It’s a bit of a shame that the people of Brabant have let us down,” says Sam with a wink. However, he calls the fact that the professional jury put the brothers first, ‘a good basis to continue’.
“We are already working on a theater show.”
According to the two, the Regional Song Contest is not the last we have heard from them. “We are now taking some time to recover, but we are already working on a theater show,” they indicate. And in the theater they will be accompanied on piano by Roy Koopmans, just like during the Regional Song Contest. The ‘lost brother’ in Merijn’s words who wrote and composed ‘Cheers to life’.
The final of the Regional Song Contest could be followed live via the TV channels and Facebook of the regional broadcasters. Did you miss the broadcast or would you like to watch the performances again? Then watch via Uitzending Gemist.
Take another look at the Brabant entry for the Regional Song Contest here:
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