Amambanda

"Amambanda" was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, performed predominantly in an imaginary language but with some words in English by Treble. This was the second occasion on which a song had been performed with lyrics in an invented language - Belgium having entered Sanomi by Urban Trad at the 2003 Contest.

The song is an up-tempo number, with many influences from African and flamenco music. The lyrics explain that "There is a way/To understand without a language", in keeping with the musical theme of exuberant joy in spite of an apparently insurmountable language barrier.

The title was the cause of much confusion prior to the Contest, with the official CD of entries titling the track "Amanbanda" (with an "n" instead of an "m"). BBC commentary referred to the song as "Amamdangda" briefly, as well as describing the group as "a mother and her two daughters", which was also incorrect as Caroline Hoffman was not the mother of the two van Dijk sisters.

As the Netherlands had not finished the 2005 Contest in the top 10, the song was performed in the semi-final. Here, it was performed seventeenth, following Finland's Lordi with "Hard Rock Hallelujah" and preceding Lithuania's LT United with "We Are The Winners". At the close of voting, it had received 22 points, placing 20th in a field of 23 and thus missing out on the final and requiring the Netherlands to qualify from the semi-final at the next Contest.

Immediately following this result, rumours began to circulate that the Netherlands would opt out of the next Contest. These rumours were, however, proven to be untrue as the country began qualification for the 2007 Contest.

It was succeeded as Dutch representative at the 2007 Contest by Edsilia Rombley with "On Top of the World".