Mia Nicolai & Dion Cooper will represent the Netherlands at Eurovision 2023
01 November 2022 at 10:33 CETTheir potential was spotted by Eurovision (2019) winner Duncan Laurence and songwriter Jordan Garfield, who brought them together. The four then wrote a song that impressed the selection committee and they were chosen, unanimously, to be the Dutch offering for the 2023 Contest.
Eric van Stade, general director at Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, speaking on behalf of the selection committee, said:
‘We received a lot of songs this year, especially from young talent, which is a great development. Dion Cooper and Mia Nicolai are themselves unconventional young talents, as well as songwriters with a story to tell. The selection committee were, without exception, very positive about their song, in which their voices work together beautifully. Though we can’t say too much now about the song, we can say it’s a song that’s distinctive, outspoken and meaningful, and we have no doubt will stand out in a positive sense from the field of Eurovision contestants.’
According to AVROTROS, Mia and Dion didn’t know each other when two years ago they were paired up by Duncan and Jordan, but there was an immediate musical click. Their voices worked well together, and the message they wanted to share was also similar; music that allows room for showing vulnerability and emotion.
Mia and Dion released a statement expressing their excitement to be participating in Eurovision:
‘The Eurovision Song Contest is the place where people can see what you have to offer as an artist. After all these years of hard work, translating our feelings into music, this is a great opportunity to tell our story on such a large scale. It feels fantastic and a little unreal that the AVROTROS selection committee has chosen our song, but we’re ready to share something really positive with Europe.’
The song will remain a secret for the time being.
About Mia Nicolai
Music has been a big part of the 26-year-old Mia’s life from an early age. She began taking violin and piano lessons when she was just three, and had a very creative upbringing which included drama, ballet, music and storytelling.
Mia finds inspiration in artists like David Bowie, but more than anything in the free expression of creativity and merging of different art forms.
One of life’s genuine go-getters, she’s always had the courage to pursue her dreams. After Melbourne, London, Mexico and New York, she has now settled in Los Angeles.
Her debut single Set Me Free reflects on travel and her need for complete freedom. Mia shows time and again how her big dreams are coming true, one step at a time. In November 2020, she released a second single Mutual Needs, which was immediately picked up internationally with a premiere in America on the famous Zane Lowe Radio show.
About Dion Cooper
The dream of becoming a musician started for 28-year-old Dion when he was just four. His father was a drummer in his spare time and raised Dion musically on the likes of Toto, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. He picked up a guitar for the first time when he was fifteen and hasn’t let go of it since.
In the years that followed he began singing and writing his own music. His quest to find his artistic self went hand-in-hand with a conscious choice also to seek personal growth. This parallel of personal and professional development are reflected in his first EP Too Young Too Dumb (2021).
He describes his sound as Bryan Adams meets Harry Styles.
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