Julie Benoit from Tilburg, better known as artist Xxjulía, won the 3FM Trending Talent election on Thursday. The Tiktok talent show to new musical talent is a springboard to national fame. Julie hopes to get that with her win, but she doesn’t leave her beloved Tilburg so quickly. She even wants to organize a fries table in her hometown to celebrate that she has won. “With Belgian mayonnaise,” laughs the born Flemish.
Julie managed to win the prize with her quirky music. The artist makes alternative soul pop, with influences from funk and jazz. The surprise was great when she received the prize on Thursday.
“I was lured by a friend to drink a coffee when I was surprised. I turned a table and emptied a champagne bottle for the first time,” laughs the winner. “It was super fun.”
After the festive moment, Julie immediately called her girlfriend Hannah Roelofs from Geldrop. As a singer Hannah, she was the second finalist in the game, but that was not in the way of friendship.
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“It is very double, because Hannah has also worked hard and together we have made a lot of preparations for the talent show. But the plans for a collaboration are being mapped out,” Julie promises.
“Brabant cosiness really exists.”
The musical centipede who, in addition to singing but also produces her own music, was born in Belgium, but came to the Rock Academy to Tilburg for her studies. “I want to stay in Tilburg for a long time, even after winning this competition,” she laughs. “The Brabant cosiness I heard about exists really I found out.”
Julie even promised a fries table in her beloved hometown to everyone who voted for her. “I don’t make empty promises. But I want to do well and that requires some preparations in advance. I want to organize the fries table in June,” she promises.
The typical Dutch scene then gets a touch of her native country. “If Belgian fries are too expensive, there is Belgian mayonnaise on the table,” she laughs.
In addition to a culinary party, Julie also hopes to propagate a message with her musical win. “That more women are going to call themselves a producer. That happens too little now,” she says.
“Second woman who graduated as an audio engineer.”
“I was the second female audio engineer who graduated from the Rock Academy in six years. It is often put away as a men’s job, something that is far too technical for women. But that stereotype is incorrect.”
The online language hunt of 3FM gave artists such as Froukje, S10 and Goldband a large stage. As a prize, XXJULía can perform live on the radio station on Thursday evening and her song ‘Push & Pull’ will be regularly played in the coming weeks.
“I have slept far too little in recent weeks to be nervous. The performance will certainly have great opportunities,” she thinks.
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