Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012

For the first time since 2005 the Dutch entry was selected through an open national final.[3] Six acts chosen from an open call participated at the national final, which was held on 26 February 2012.[4] The national final was produced together with Big Brother and The Voice creator John de Mol[5] and was hosted by singer Jan Smit.[6]

Entries could be submitted from 6 July 2011 to midnight on 30 September 2011 in a number of ways: people were free to submit just lyrics, (sheet) music, the name of an artist, a complete audio production or a combination thereof. For the submissions, a huge suitcase was installed in the courtyard of the TROS headquarters for these three months. TROS invited artists and composers, both known and unknown, to post their entries through the mailbox belonging to the suitcase. Bidding hopefuls had to submit their entries in person and when posting their envelopes into the large suitcase, had to give their reasons for entering into a camera built into the suitcase.[7] On 1 October 2011, TROS announced that more than 450 songs had been submitted, with the selected entries being announced on 5 January 2012.[8][6]

The final consisted of three duels with two candidates competing in each. The three duels were determined by a draw on 19 February 2012.[9] The three winners of these duels advanced to the superfinal that selected the overall winner. The voting in both rounds was a combination of a professional jury (50%) and public televoting (50%). The jury that voted in the both rounds included Carlo Boszhard (TV personality, singer, impersonator and host), Afrojack (DJ), Stacey Rookhuizen (entrepreneur and presenter), Ali B (rapper) and Jeroen Nieuwenhuize (radio DJ). The final also featured an 100-member international jury, but their vote was merely consultative.[6][10] "You and Me" performed by Joan Franka was selected as the winner, while "Take Me As I Am" performed by Ivan Peroti was the winner of the non-binding international jury vote.

The live TV show achieved a 30,6% market share and 2.3 million Dutch television viewers. Therefore, it was the most watched Nationaal Songfestival in recent years. The event was also a worldwide trending topic on Twitter on 26 February 2012.[4]