Europe get ready! Dutch representative Joost Klein just released his Eurovision entry “Europapa” at De middag-avondshow met Arjen Lubach. With this song, he will be representing The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Mälmo, Sweden. You can listen to the song in the video below!
Europapa is a tribute to Joost’s father. Through the song, the artist informs the listener that there are no limits if you want to make your dreams come true and tell your story.
According to Joost himself:
“‘Europapa’ is about an orphan who travels throughout Europe (and beyond) to find himself and tell his story. At first, people don’t recognise him, but he goes on seizing any opportunity he gets to let himself be seen. ‘Europapa’ is a tribute to my father. When bringing me up, he passed on to me an expansive view of the world”
Europapa is produced by Teun de Kruif (Tantu Beats), with a special contribution from DJ Paul Elstak, one of the founders of happy hardcore and the man behind the mega-hit Rainbow in the Sky. Joost wrote the lyrics himself with input from his good friends Donnie and Tim Haars.
The following weeks, he’ll be working on the act on the Eurovision stage:“The Eurovision performance will be a full circle experience of converting sadness into euphoria. When people see my act, the first reaction should be: “What’s happening here?”, but in the end it still will touch the viewer. An invitation to dive deeper. At first glance it seems like a very happy act, but once beyond that there is blood, sweat and tears.”
About Joost Klein
Joost Klein is a 26-year-old musician, writer and artist. His energetic style combines elements from mainstream pop with happy hardcore and pop punk. He is praised for his poetic lyrics in combination with catchy beats that capture the spirit of the youth. In his songs he discusses his own personal suffering such as losing his parents at a young age and is open about his mental problems. He turns sadness into euphoria. With the message: We are all human. “It’s okay; we are all not okay.”
In the Netherlands, Joost tours regularly with his band and has played festivals like Lowlands and Pinkpop.Last month Joost won the prestigious Popprijs 2023, which is awarded annually to the band or artist that has had the most impact in Dutch pop music in the past year. Last November, he had two sold-out concerts at the AFAS Live. Joost’s fan base abroad has been growing, too. In Belgium, he performed at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp and was a candidate on the popular TV show De Slimste Mens (The Smartest Person).
Last summer, Joost had a number 1 hit in Germany, Switzerland and Austria with Friesenjung. The song has had over 100 million streams worldwide and won Best Song in Germany’s 1LIVE Krone radio awards. The song has also had a lot of airplay in Italy and Ukraine.
On finding out he would represent the Netherlands in 2024, Joost remarked:
‘Taking part in the Eurovision Song Contest is a dream come true. I used to watch it together with my parents, glued to the screen, year after year. It’s an honor to represent the Netherlands, and I’m committed to giving my all for the best possible outcome.’
The Netherlands in Eurovision
The Netherlands entered the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956. A year later, they won the contest for the first time with Corry Brokken. They even won again in 1959 with Teddy Scholten, setting an early record of 2 victories in the first 4 years. After a record-setting 1950s, the new decade didn’t bring much success to the Dutch entries, until Lenny Kuhr finished as 1 of the 4 winners of the 1969 Eurovision Song Contest.
In 1975, The Netherlands won again after Teach-in opened the show with their song “Ding-a-Dong.” The first time that the show’s opener became the winner! However, the Dutch fortunes changed and it took the country 44 long years to win the contest again. In 2019, Duncan Laurence brought the Eurovision trophy back to The Netherlands with his song “Arcade”
This year, Mia & Dion represented The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool with their song “Burning Daylight.” The duo didn’t qualify for the final, ended up in 13th place in the first semi-final with 7 points.
What do #YOU think of ”Europapa” ? Let us know on social media @ESCUnited, on our Discord, or on our forum page!
