OGAE members placed the song third overall, behind Switzerland's and Italy's entries. He praised the song's composition and lyrical content, and thought the song had 'the potential of changing the face of the contest for good', comparing the song to Loreen's ' Euphoria', Sweden's 2012 entry. Dan Niazi from ESCXtra, another Eurovision fan site, said he was not prepared for a song 'as good and as perfectly produced as Arcade' to represent the Netherlands. Editors of the Eurovision fan site Wiwibloggs praised the emotional atmosphere of 'Arcade' and gave the song an average score of 9.15 out of 10. Peter Van de Veire, Belgium's Dutch-language Eurovision commentator, said that the gravity of the song's lyrics and composition would appeal to Eurovision viewers. The sound of 'Arcade' has been compared to that of Coldplay. Īfter 'Arcade' itself was revealed on 7 March 2019, the track received mostly positive reactions. Following the announcement, the selection committee received backlash from social media users, because of the decision to let an unknown artist represent the Netherlands in Eurovision, after previously sending unknown artists to the contest who usually achieved miserable results for the country. The song was never specifically written for Eurovision. Laurence was revealed as representative of the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 on 21 January 2019, after 'Arcade' was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster. DeLange sent one of those songs, 'Arcade', to the Dutch Eurovision selection committee. Ilse DeLange, runner-up of Eurovision 2014 as a member of The Common Linnets, came across Duncan in The Voice of Holland later that year, where she became his coach, and he regularly shared his songs with her since. Main article: Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 Selection and reception After the soft verses, in which he expresses his sadness and vulnerability, the chorus kicks in with heavy drums, accompanied with a choir of backing vocals, to enhance the lyrics' expressions of anger and frustration. Heavy emphasis is put on Laurence's vocals. The triple metre verses contrast with the 4/4 time signature of the rest of the song, giving it a distinct sound. The pop song opens with four chords played on piano, accompanied by a simple piano riff and overdubbed vocals. 'Arcade' is inspired by film soundtracks and consists of 165 tracks. Throughout the song, the fair and its arcade games are used as a metaphor for love, addiction and gambling with relationships. The namesake lyric 'Small town boy in a big arcade' refers to his experience, being from a small town, as a Rock Academy freshman entering the summer fair of Tilburg, the largest in the Netherlands. It's about the hope to reach something that seems unreachable'.

Laurence told WiwiBloggs, 'Arcade is a story about the search for the love of your life. The song is inspired by the heartbreak of a loved one of Duncan's who died. He worked on the song for over two years, predominantly while collaborating with Wouter Hardy, a former band member with Sharon Kovacs. Laurence wrote the song while he attended the Tilburg Rock Academy. In 2022, The Independent named 'Arcade' the 30th best Eurovision-winning song of all time. Later that year, in April, 'Arcade' became the first Eurovision song in 25 years and the first Eurovision winning song in 45 years to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 by September, it peaked at number 30. In January 2021, 'Arcade' became the most-streamed Eurovision song on Spotify, passing ' Soldi' by Mahmood, the runner-up of Eurovision 2019. In the second half of 2020, 'Arcade' went viral on social media platform TikTok, resulting in new chart successes and streams on various platforms. In February 2020, 'Arcade' won an Edison Award for Best Pop Song of the Year.

An acoustic version of the song was released on 19 July 2019, followed by a duet version featuring American singer Fletcher on 27 November 2020. After the complete line-up of songs was announced, 'Arcade' was the bookmakers' favourite to win Eurovision, and had remained so until the contest ended. 'Arcade' represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, which it won, marking the Netherlands' first Eurovision victory since 1975. The song was written by Laurence, Joel Sjöö, Wouter Hardy and Will Knox. It was later included as the lead single on his debut studio album Small Town Boy, and also features on his debut EP Worlds on Fire. The song was released on 7 March 2019 by Spark Records. ' Arcade' is a song by Dutch singer-songwriter Duncan Laurence.

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