Yesterday we had the honour to go to the television studios of the Dutch national broadcaster, NPO, to witness the release of this year’s Dutch entry, which is Joost Klein with his song “Europapa”. Joost was announced as the Dutch 2024 representative on December 11th 2023, but the song release happened yesterday, February 29th 2024.
The reason why we publish this article today instead of yesterday is because we wanted to see the (online) impact of the song once it was released, and we have to say that we kind of dig this song!
De Avondshow
Yesterday there was a special afternoon edition of the popular Dutch comedic daily show, “De Avondshow” (trans. “The Evening Show”); especially for the release of Joost Klein’s entry, the show was named “De Avondmiddagshow”, which translates to “The Evening Afternoon Show”. The show is presented by popular Dutch TV show host, Arjen Lubach. The host of the show told the audience beforehand that Joost and him go way back, and that if Joost would ever be in the Eurovision Song Contest, his show would be the one where Joost’s song would be announced, and apparently the rest is history.
Good to mention is that only large-scale Dutch media was allowed to take pictures and to interview Joost Klein after the live show ended.
Joost Klein’s entry release
There was a short interview with Joost Klein during the show accompanied by a countdown indicating when Joost’s song and music video would be released, so the interview was done with a certain haste and anticipation. And then, the Netherlands could witness the release of the Dutch entry for Eurovision 2024 in Malmö (Sweden); the name of the song is “Europapa”. The audience went silent, and when the first chorus belted through the studio everybody went wild. The end of the song is a little sad and melancholic, so there were also people emotional when the lights went back on, and Joost himself was too.
Joost could not have been happier, running through the décor of the studio and interacting with the audience, everybody was ecstatic and rooting for Joost.
About the song “Europapa”
Although Europapa might sound like the next rebellious, or maybe even joke entry, there is a lot more to it. The music of the song is very Joost Klein, it is the type of music with which he has scored a number 1 hit in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Next to this, Joost Klein is very popular in Belgium. The genre of music is ‘90’s happy hardcore, which is a great reference to the Dutch Gabber culture, which is all about slick hair and shaven heads, tracksuits, and “hakken”, a dance during which you have to kick with your feet and you move your hands like you are on a motorcycle, this can be seen at almost the end of Joost music video. The Dutch like Joost’s entry because it reminds them of the happy hardcore artists they had in the ‘90’s, like: DJ Paul Elstak (who also made part of the music of this year’s entry and can be seen in the music video), Charly Lownoise & Mental Theo, 2 Brothers of the 4th Floor, and world-renowned 2Unlimited.
Ode to Joost’s parents
The lyrics and music video are an ode to Joost’s parents, because he lost both his parents at a young age, and that he is going to be in Eurovision now and his parents are not there to witness this grand event is heart-breaking to Joost.
The end of the video is an ode to Joost’s dad especially, because after the fast-paced, uptempo part of the song, the music’s getting slower and Joost reads from a letter to his dad, saying:
“At the end of the day we are all humans,
My dad once told me: “Out there is a world without borders”.“I miss you every day”, that is what I secretly whisper,
– from “Europapa” by Joost Klein
Look at me now, dad. I have finally listened.”
In the music video you see how Joost burns a childhood picture with him and his parents on it, while he is in a room that is on fire with both himself in the past, present and future. The end of the video refers to that sometimes you need to burn your past to be able to start over again.
Reception of the Dutch entry
Yesterday there were several Dutch and Belgian media outlets and TV shows that reported on the online success of specifically Joost Klein’s Europapa. In about 4-6 hours after the song’s release it already hit the one million view mark on YouTube, and today there is an indication of 2.1 million views. This does not mean anything when it comes down to Eurovision, but it is an indication of how popular Joost already is.
Of course, Europapa is pretty out there, but also indicates, with other entries this year, that Gen Z is taking over the Eurovision Song Contest, and if there ever was an event that shows a certain progression in music, it might as well be the Eurovision Song Contest.