Corry Brokken

Cornelia Maria "Corry" Brokken (3 December 1932 – 31 May 2016) was a Dutch singer, television presenter and jurist. In 1957, she won the second edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Net als toen", representing the Netherlands. Throughout her career, she scored a number of hits, sang in the popular Sleeswijk Revue with Snip en Snap, and had her own television show. She was also the presenter of the Eurovision Song Contest 1976, which was held in The Hague, Netherlands, following the victory of Teach-In the year before. She ended her career as a singer in 1973 to study law, after which she became a lawyer and ultimately a judge.

Biography

Eurovision Song Contest

In 1956, Brokken won the Nationaal Songfestival 1956 with the song "Voorgoed voorbij", which gave her the right to represent the Netherlands in the first edition of the Eurovision Song Contest alongside runner-up Jetty Paerl. In 1957, she won the Nationaal Songfestival for the second time in a row, and represented the Netherlands again in the Eurovision Song Contest 1957. Her entry "Net als toen", written by Willy van Hemert and composed by Guus Jansen, received most points from the international juries and gave the Netherlands its first win in the competition. In 1958, Brokken won the Nationaal Songfestival once again, this time with the song "Heel de wereld". In the international final, held in Hilversum, Netherlands, her entry finished in last place with only one point. In the book The Eurovision Song Contest – The Official History, John Kennedy O'Connor notes that Corry is the only singer ever to have finished both first and last in the contest.