Life after JESC... Julia van Bergen!

"I was very nervous but excited because I knew my whole school was watching in the school on a big screen!" said Julia, of the time when she was waiting backstage before going out as the last singer to perform in Malta. "Afterwards I felt so happy! Everybody said it was great! And I loved the feeling that everybody was screaming and yelling. I never had that feeling before, and I will never forget it!".

Julia caught the imagination of the Dutch public during their national selection process, as it was revealed that she entered a song with no previous experience of stage performing. She won all three juries in the final - kids, adults, and the public, to be chosen for Malta. "When I returned home, my family was there at Schiphol Airport, and my school was very excited!" she told us. "When I won the finals in The Netherlands, and I returned home, they filmed for television, and suprised me with flowers and stuff. And the mayor of my home town, Zeewolde, was there to wish me luck".

The week in Malta was full of exciting times, but what were Julia's best parts? "My favourite memories?.. uhm, I can't choose! But I think the flights with my dancers, because I had a lot of fun with them. And of course when I visited the Maltese girls school," she said. But aside from the show itself, Julia also had a rather exciting time at the after party! "My best friend was there, and at midnight we sneaked out of our room and went to my dancers' room, where we stayed there till 5:30 in the morning!"

My experience in Malta was awesome because I had the best team around me, The Dutch delegation was one of the biggest delegations, and I love all these people with my heart.

Which songs did Julia like the most? "My favourite song was the one from Sweden, and Georgia! And my favourite voice was Italy" she added.

Since returning home Julia has been on several TV shows in The Netherlands, and of course has celebrated Christmas and the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas. But what's next? "I'm going to make more songs with my producers, the Rocketeers (who were the producers of "Aound"), and maybe will release "Around" in English - but I'm saying nothing, haha!"

Finally, what would Julia say to something thinking of taking part in next year's Junior Songfestival or Junior Eurovision? "Be yourself, don't get rude or jealous, and ENJOY!"