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Rehearsal impressions from the Netherlands

26 February 2012 at 18:35 CET

Tonight, six acts will go head to head in three duels from which three acts will compete for the right to represent the Netherlands at the 2012 edition of Europe's TV show in Baku, Azerbaijan in May. 

Your Eurovision.tv team have been to see the rehearsal and have some comments about the acts making sure not to ruin the suspense. 

Duel 1 - Tim versus Pearl

The first duel to perform are Tim with Undercover Love and Pearly with I Can Overcome. 

Tim's song is very uptempo and a definite pop song with lots of colours and some quite clever choreography. He sings the song well and keeps a smile all the way through. This song is quite uplifting and has universal appeal. On stage he is joined by some dancers and backing singers. 

Pearl has an incredibly powerful voice and her performance is very genuine and powerful with some brilliant lighting and effects, including some pyros towards the end of the performance. She wore a light blue dress and was joined on stage later on by some backing singers after performing most of the song by herself, letting her powerful voice carry the melody. 

Duel 2 - Joan versus Raffaëla 

The second duel is between Joan and her song You And Me and Raffaëla with Chocolatte

Joan's performance is quite unconventional and her song has a distinct country feel. She stood on stage wearing a very interesting costume (we won't reveal it as we believe it is worth the surprise). She is joined on stage by a backing singer and other support wearing equally unusual costumes. Her performance is good and her voice is very powerful and distinctive. 

Raffaëla has a Beyoncé inspired disco/R'n'B very high tempo song. Her costume is also worth the wait so we won't reveal anything here but be sure to tune in! The song has some heavy beats and very active stage lighting along with some very energetic dancing. Despite all the action on stage her vocals remained good throughout. 

Duel 3 - Kim versus Ivan

The final duel is between Kim with Children Of The World and Ivan with Take Me As I am 

Kim's song has a definite Disney element to it with a very magical start with Kim sitting at a white piano. Her voice is very powerful and her stage presence is good. Kim has in fact performed with British superstar Adele so she seemed up to the challenge. Her song has a very distinct message and Kim is joined by some backing singers on stage. 

Ivan's song is very upbeat and inspired 70's pop. His performance has a very homely feel with a number of backing singers surrounding him. The vocals of the song are very strong and he knows how to own the stage. Unlike some of the other songs he has not used any energetic dancing or effects, instead relying on the song to carry him through the performance. 

Now that you have a little impression of each of the performances tonight, be sure to watch Nationaal Songfestival 2012 right here on Eurovision.tv from 20:30 CET.