Eurovision in Malmö is now less than two weeks away. In the lead-up to the start of rehearsals, we will get to know a bit more about this year’s artists, their discography, and their Eurovision 2024 journey so far. Next up, we will preview The Netherlands’ Joost.
Joost’s Eurovision Journey So Far
Following a social media campaign after he expressed his active interest, Dutch broadcaster AVTROTROS confirmed Joost as The Netherlands’ representative for Eurovision 2024 in December 2023. His song, Europapa, which is dedicated to his late father, was released on February 29 with a premiere on a special editon of De Avondshow.
Joost attended two preparties in the build up to Malmö, Eurovision in Concert in his home country and Nordic Eurovision Party in Stockholm.
What we think of Europapa
The team at That Eurovision Site have reacted to Italy’s entry for Malmö. Shiloh gave his thoughts on “Europapa”, which you can check out below, you can also check out our written review here:
Who is Joost?
A Friesland native (which gave name to his 2022 album Fryslân) Joost Klein got his start on YouTube, initially making sketches and mini-documentaries, before releasing his debut EP in 2016.
Mainly a hiphop artist, Joost also mixes influences of drum & bass, hardstyle and gabber into his songs.
Joost lost both of his parents during childhood, which is the inspiration for a number of songs including Europapa, as well as others such as Florida 2009 and Papa en Mama.
Joost regularly performs at festivals in the Benelux such as Pinkpop and Lowlands, and has to date released 8 studio albums.
His first breakthrough into the European market was with the song “Friesenjung”, a collaboration with German rapper Ski Aggu, which is an adaptation of a song by East Frisian comedian Otto Waalkes, the song reached number 1 in both Austria and Germany.
His song for Eurovision, Europapa, which was written alongside 6 others, is already a commercial success in both the Netherlands and Flanders in Belgium.
The Netherlands’ Eurovision Journey
The Netherlands are one of the founding countries of the ESC, having performed the very first song ever on the Eurovision stage back in 1956. While the result of “De Vogels van Holland” is unknown, the Netherlands have clocked 5 wins, with their most recent in 2019. However the Netherlands are also known to have had the longest ever non qualification streak in the semi-final era – they missed out on the final a whopping 8 times between 2005-2012.
The most recent Dutch entry to the Contest was in 2023, when Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper represented the nation with “Burning Daylight” – written by Eurovision winner Duncan Laurence. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the final in Liverpool, placing 13th with a total of 7 points from the televote.
What do you think of “Europapa”? Are you excited to see what Joost will do in Malmö? As always, let us know what you think by commenting below. Also, be sure to follow “That Eurovision Site” on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr, Threads and Bluesky as we gear up for Eurovision 2024!
News Source: That Eurovision Site / Joost
Photo Credit: Joost
Rory Gannon