Duncan Laurence
Duncan Laurence | |
|---|---|
 Laurence with the 2019 Eurovision trophy | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Duncan de Moor |
| Born | 11 April 1994 Spijkenisse, Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Labels |
|
| Website | duncanlaurence |
Duncan de Moor (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdʏŋkən də moːr]; born 11 April 1994),[1] known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, giving the Netherlands its first Eurovision win since 1975.[2][3] "Arcade" became one of the most successful Eurovision Song Contest winning entries on streaming platforms and international charts in recent history. Prior to Eurovision, Laurence was a semi-finalist in the fifth season of The Voice of Holland.
Career[]
Early life and career[]
Born in Spijkenisse, Laurence grew up in Hellevoetsluis. He began writing his own songs as a teenager, as an escape from being bullied.[4] He started his musical career at the Rock Academy in Tilburg, playing in a number of school bands,[1] including his own, The Slick and Suited. Formed in 2013, the band went on to perform at Eurosonic Noorderslag.[5][6] In February 2020, he revealed that he had oxygen deprivation at birth, and thus has had a motor disorder affect his right hand.[7]
2014–2018: The Voice of Holland and independent work[]
Laurence participated in the fifth season of The Voice of Holland, choosing Ilse DeLange as his coach. He advanced to the Cross Battles/Semi Finals before being eliminated.[8] In March 2016, he left The Slick.[9] Laurence graduated from the Rock Academy in 2017.[10] He, with Jihad Rahmouni, wrote the music to K-pop duo TVXQ's song "Closer" for their 2018 album New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love.[11]
| The Voice of Holland performances and results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Performed | Song | Original artist | Result |
| Blind Audition | "Sing" | Ed Sheeran | Joined Team Ilse |
| Battle Rounds | "Love Runs Out" | OneRepublic | Winner |
| The Clashes | "Streets" | Kensington | Advances |
| "Impossible" | Shontelle | ||
| Liveshow 4 | "She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)" | David Guetta featuring Sia | Public Choice |
| Cross Battles/Semi Finals | "Iris" | Goo Goo Dolls | Eliminated |
2019–2021: Eurovision Song Contest, Worlds on Fire EP and Small Town Boy[]
In January 2019, Laurence was internally selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, held in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was nominated by DeLange, with whom he remained in contact after The Voice. His song, "Arcade", was released in March 2019. Arriving as the main favourite to win, Laurence eventually went on to win the contest, having received a total of 498 points. He is the fifth Dutch entrant to win the competition, and the first since Teach-In won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Ding-a-dong".[12] As a result of the following year's contest being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Laurence is the longest reigning Eurovision winner, having held the title for two consecutive years.
After his Eurovision victory, Laurence embarked on a concert tour across the Netherlands and Europe.[13] On 10 June 2019, he performed at the 50th anniversary of Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, the first Dutch Eurovision winner to perform at the event. He replaced the Swedish duo First Aid Kit who dropped out due to health reasons.[14] On 23 October 2019, Laurence released his second single, "Love Don't Hate It". It was also announced that he signed a record deal with Capitol Records.[15][16] In 2020, the artists' entrance at Rotterdam Ahoy was re-named "Door Duncan" in his honour.[17] On 13 May 2020, Laurence released his first extended play (EP), Worlds on Fire, which included the singles "Arcade", "Love Don't Hate It", and "Someone Else", along with two new tracks. His first studio album, Small Town Boy, followed on 13 November 2020. It was certified platinum in the Netherlands three days after its release.[18] The album's release was preceded by "Feel Something", a collaboration with fellow Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren.[19]
In the second half of 2020, "Arcade" went viral on social media platform TikTok, resulting in the song's new chart success and rise in streams on various platforms.[20][21] In January 2021, "Arcade" became the most-streamed Eurovision song on Spotify, surpassing a record previously held by Eurovision 2019 runner-up Mahmood and his entry "Soldi".[22] On 12 February 2021, "Arcade" reached the UK Singles Chart's top 40,[23] and two weeks later it peaked at number 29.[24] In March, Laurence made his US television debut performing "Arcade" on Today,[25] and later also performed the song's duet version alongside Fletcher on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[26] Following these promotional appearances, the song broke into the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first Eurovision song in 25 years and the first Eurovision winning song in 45 years to do so; it eventually peaked at number 30.[27][28][29]
At the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 held in Rotterdam, Laurence opened the first semi-final with "Feel Something". In the same event, he was awarded a Global Platinum record for one billion streams of "Arcade".[30] However, he later tested positive for COVID-19, which prevented him from performing live in the grand final.[31] Pre-recorded footage of his performance, consisting of "Arcade" and a new single from Small Town Boy's deluxe edition, "Stars", was broadcast instead during the final.[32]
2021–present: Post-Eurovision releases[]
On 11 June 2021, the soundtrack album for the second season of the Hulu series Love, Victor was released. Among the artists featured on the soundtrack was Laurence with "Heaven Is a Hand to Hold", which he co-wrote with Leland, Jordan Garfield and Peter Thomas.[33] Laurence also features on American singer Wrabel's single "Back to Back", which was released on 30 July off of the latter's debut album These Words Are All for You.[34] "Wishes Come True", a standalone Christmas single, followed on 26 November.[35]
Musical influences[]
In a brief interview, Laurence has cited Coldplay, Snow Patrol, Ryan Tedder, Sia, Sam Smith and Adele as influences.[36]
Personal life[]
Laurence came out as bisexual in 2016, which he addressed publicly in an Instagram post in October 2018.[37] During a press conference shortly before the Eurovision final, he affirmed his sexuality: "I am more than just an artist, I am a person, I am a living being, I'm bisexual, I'm a musician, I stand for things. And I'm proud that I get the chance to show what I am, who I am."[38] On 5 October 2020, he announced that he was engaged to his boyfriend, American songwriter Jordan Garfield.[39]
Discography[]
Studio albums[]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL [40] |
BEL (FL) [41] |
US Heat. [42] | |||
| Small Town Boy |
|
6 | 94 | 8 | |
Extended plays[]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NL [40] |
US Heat. [44] | ||
| Worlds on Fire |
|
60 | 12 |
Singles[]
As lead artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL [40] |
BEL (FL) [41] |
BEL (WA) [45] |
CAN [46] |
GER [47] |
IRE [48] |
NOR [49] |
SWE [50] |
UK [51] |
US [52] | ||||
| "Arcade" | 2019 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 45 | 26 | 23 | 10 | 6 | 29 | 30 | Small Town Boy | |
| "Love Don't Hate It"[61] | 41 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ||
| "Someone Else" | 2020 | 72 | 86 | 93 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Last Night"[63] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| "Stars"[A][64] | 2021 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[B] | — | ||
| "Wishes Come True"[35] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
As featured artist[]
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL [40] |
BEL (FL) [41] | |||
| "Feel Something"[66][67] (Armin van Buuren featuring Duncan Laurence) |
2020 | 85 | 78 | Small Town Boy and Euthymia |
| "Back to Back"[34] (Wrabel featuring Duncan Laurence) |
2021 | — | — | These Words Are All for You |
Non-single album appearances[]
| Title | Year | Other performer(s) | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Laat Gaan"[68] | 2017 | Sjors van der Panne | Met Elkaar |
Soundtrack appearances[]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Heaven Is a Hand to Hold"[33][69] | 2021 | Love, Victor: Season 2 |
Awards and nominations[]
| Award | Year | Nominated work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eurovision Song Contest | 2019 | "Arcade" | N/A | First | [70] |
| Marcel Bezençon Awards | 2019 | Press Award | Won | [71] | |
| Edison Award | 2020 | Himself | Best Newcomer | Nominated | [72] |
| "Arcade" | Best Song | Won | |||
| Best Videoclip | Nominated | ||||
| NRJ Music Award | 2021 | Himself | International Revelation of the Year | Nominated | [73] |
Notes[]
- ^ "Stars" features on the Deluxe edition of Small Town Boy.
- ^ "Stars" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 89 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[65]
References[]
- ^ a b "Who is The Netherlands 2019 Eurovision entrant Duncan Laurence?". Metro. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ Groot, Evert (21 January 2019). "Duncan Laurence will represent The Netherlands this year". eurovision.tv.
- ^ McCaig, Ewan (6 March 2019). "The Netherlands: Duncan Laurence To Sing 'Arcade' In Tel Aviv". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ "Duncan Laurence". eurovision.tv. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ "VestingPop | Duncan Laurence". VestingPop. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ Duncan de Moor (15 June 2014). "The Slick and Suited". Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
- ^ "Duncan Laurence on Instagram". 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on 23 December 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
- ^ Popescu, David (21 January 2019). "Netherlands: Duncan Laurence on his way to Tel-Aviv!". escunited.com.
- ^ "The Slick on Facebook". Facebook (in Dutch). 24 March 2016. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021.
- ^ "Duncan Laurence Information - meet the Dutch star". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
- ^ Koeleman, Danja (21 January 2019). "Duncan Laurence naar Songfestival: Wie is de 24-jarige zanger?". nu.nl (in Dutch).
- ^ "Eurovision 2019: Netherlands wins song contest". BBC News. 19 May 2019.
- ^ Valérie, Charlotte (18 May 2019). "The Netherlands: Duncan Laurence announces first European tour". Wiwibloggs. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest Winner Duncan Laurence At Pinkpop 2019". Pinkpop. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019.
- ^ Clues, David (23 October 2019). "Duncan Laurence Releases Follow-Up Single 'Love Don't Hate It'". ESC Bubble. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019.
- ^ Capitol Records [@CapitolRecords] (23 October 2019). "We're thrilled to welcome the supremely talented @dunclaurence to the #CapitolFamily" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 October 2019 – via Twitter.
- ^ "