“Friesenjung” Joost Klein
The Netherlands has found its ESC participant
Joost Klein poses for his ESC announcement.
© imago/ANP
The Netherlands is sending Joost Klein to the ESC 2024. He proved to have hit potential with his hit “Friesenjung” in the summer.
The Netherlands was one of the first nations to find its participant for the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest: The rapper Joost Klein (26), born in Leeuwarden in the Dutch province of Friesland, was selected from more than 600 candidates, it says on the official ESC 2024 homepage.
“Participating in the Eurovision Song Contest is a dream come true,” the 26-year-old is quoted there. “I watched it with my parents glued to the screen year after year. It’s an honor for me to represent the Netherlands and I’m determined to do my best for the best possible result.”
Surprise hit of the summer
This summer, Joost Klein proved that he has the potential to be a hit with a catchy tune. In cooperation with Ski Aggu (26) and comedian Otto Waalkes (75), he reworked his fun song “Friesenjung” from 1993 – which in turn is based on Sting’s (72) hit “Englishman in New York”. With success: The reinterpretation with techno beats rose to number one in the Official German Singles Charts in June – Waalkes had never achieved that in his decades-long career. The new edition of “Friesenjung” had previously climbed to number one in the Spotify charts.
Since the Swede Loreen (40) won the ESC in Liverpool last year with her song “Tattoo”, the next edition will take place in her home country. Malmö was chosen as the venue. The two semi-finals will take place on May 7th and 9th, and the final will take place on May 11th.
In contrast to the Netherlands, Germany has not yet appointed an act for the ESC 2024. This will only be determined at the preliminary decision “Eurovision Song Contest – The German Final 2024”, which will take place on February 16th in Berlin.