Anouk first revealed taking part in the contest on Facebook on 17 October 2012, after negotiations with broadcaster TROS. Her song was officially revealed on 11 March 2013. Anouk performed "Birds" in the first semi-final on 14 May 2013, where she progressed to the final on 18 May 2013. Anouk reached the 9th place at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden on 18 May 2013 with her song "Birds". The Dutch broadly perceived her result to be a major achievement, as it was the best ranking for the Netherlands in 14 years and the first time in 9 years that any Dutch artist even made it to the finals.